In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with social distancing being encouraged, it’s no surprise that events of all sizes and types are being postponed until further notice to prevent spread of the virus – and rightly so to ensure the safety of all potential attendees. From conferences to music festivals, sporting events to teambuilding workshops – events are being postponed on a global scale.
However, there are plenty of ways you can connect with your customers or clients that still adhere to social distancing guidelines and ensure that your brand stays top of mind during these challenging months.
1. Recreate the Live Experience, Virtually
Instead of postponing your event, follow Microsoft’s lead and make your event virtual. The software giant announced that one of it’s biggest events of the year Build is still going ahead despite the COVID-19 outbreak – just all online. Microsoft hasn’t yet revealed how it will achieve this, no doubt through bespoke software. However, you don’t have to be a global tech firm to reap the benefits of bringing your event online.
There are an abundance of ways you can bring your event online and encourage interaction through live-streaming. With most of the main social media platforms providing live-streaming capabilities – including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – it’s easy to broadcast to your audience on a budget. If you want a more slick finish, Pluto can offer state of the art, TV quality, live-streaming services that integrate with all social platforms to ensure not only a professional output, but that your event is broadcast directly to your audience – just drop us a line.
2. Social Advertising, While Social Distancing
We are all being encouraged to stay home as much as possible and we are heavily relying on our devices for contact.
With screen-time increasing drastically, now is the time to shift your businesses efforts to digital and social advertising. Turn your event messaging into a killer content plan and social strategy to ensure your audience remains engaged.
3. Podcasting
Many businesses could hugely benefit from reach their audience through podcasts – especially if events are on hold for the foreseeable future. According to Irish Examiner, 1 in 3 Irish people tune into podcasts at least once per month – meaning that podcasting is a massive opportunity to reach a niche audience on a budget. There are so many ways you could use podcasting to your advantage, no matter what industry you happen to be in. For instance, had to postpone your conference? Why not create a podcast series with each episode dedicated to one of the original conference speakers. Producing professional-quality podcasts has become increasingly more affordable. At Pluto, we’ve extensive experience producing and promoting chart-topping Irish podcasts – get in touch, we love a brainstorm.
4. Webinars
Don’t cancel your training days while your employees are working from home. There are many out there, but one our favourite webinar tools is GoToWebinar. GoToWebinar is a great solution for marketing, training events and internal comms. It integrates with dozens of CRM softwares, allows custom branding, powerful post-event stats and analytics and many webinar design templates for easy setup.