As you know, the economic landscape over the past few years has been very rocky, resulting in a tightening of company budgets — a direct affect on event marketing budgets and general marketing strategies. Now, as we push through to an economic recovery, there will be a change in budgetary allocations by most companies, increasing spend levels for marketing departments.

With this increase, marketers should look to event marketing as a vehicle to build relationships with their audience. In a recent study conducted in 2010 by EMI (Event Marketing Institute) global underwriter George P. Johnson Experience Marketing and EMI (http://beta.eventmarketing.com/static-homepage-continued/), respondents of the study identified their primary marketing concern as reaching new customers (25%), followed by tracking ROI (15%) and growing market share (14%). Other study results revealed that event marketing is considered a key element in the marketing mix, used to build relationships.

Here are some of the survey’s top findings:
Post event details on your Facebook fan page then create a discussion around the event for your fans to add comments. If you’re thinking of trying something new or different with your event, you can post it and let people give feedback. Use the conversation feature to your advantage.

1. Marketers confirmed that of the top three marketing elements, event marketing is the most effective for accelerating and deepening customer relationships leading at 64 percent; with social marketing and web marketing as the second and third elements respectively.
2. Only second to web marketing, event marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies that generates the greatest return on investment
3. Marketer’s confidence in the effectiveness of events has changed. In the past, only 29 percent ranked events as important to the marketing mix, now the ranking has increased to 36 percent within one year.
4. There is a move to an experience-driven portfolio within the next three to 12 months, with 34 percent of respondents planning to move to this portfolio, while 31 percent say they have already done so.
5. A third (30%) of respondents said they saw the highest ROI from conferences and seminars, followed by trade shows at 24%.

Given the findings of the survey, and the change in the economic atmosphere, marketers should consider turning to events to ramp up consumer connections. These connections are just the beginning in the marketer’s relationship building efforts, with next steps being online interactions with customers. Most of these initial online interactions can start at the event.

In another report released by EMI, consumers are more likely to interact with companies via social media based on their experience at an event. Moreover, companies now have an opportunity to integrate the customer’s event experience with the company’s online presences by way of user-generated content created at the event. Based on the report’s findings, approximately 45 percent of respondents have posted content on a social media page; a photo, video or message after attending an event.

To ensure that customers actually engage with the brand, marketers should provide a way to do so outside of the typical mobile device. Keshot, a Los Angeles based internet photo booth company, offers a new event platform that links the event to social media networks. During the event, customers send digital image to friends and family members, and later upload the images to their Facebook page or a Fan page, increasing awareness of the event.

Your marketing efforts on Facebook (or any social media) should be based on a strategy, which may change over time depending on the event. To be effective, there should be one constant factor built into any strategy for social media sites - build a relationship with your customers. The conversation should be fresh and ongoing, providing information and maintaining customer engagement. Keep one thing in mind, find out what they want and give it to them.

The ease with which customers engage with Facebook validates the facilitation of a connection from the event to online. Therefore, marketers need to create that enhanced experience right onsite, during the event, further validating event marketing as the most efficient conduit to build relationships with customers.