Event technology for small businesses and non profits

In our last article we talked about new technologies in the event industry. We gave you some 5 tips to engage yourself in this new trend.

It is really common to think that it is easier for big companies which have important resources. Indeed, new technologies could appear as expensive.

Corbin Ball, through this interview, helps us to identify some ways to make some small business and non-profit events follow these trends thanks to different tools with low cost budget.

Before exploring the ideas developed in this article, we need to introduce Corbin Ball, the events and meetings tech analyst. He is describing as « an international speaker, consultant and writer helping clients worldwide use technology to save time and improve productivity. With 20 years of experience running international technology meetings, he now is a highly acclaimed speaker with the ability to make complex subjects understandable and fun. » (http://www.corbinball.com/aboutcorbin/)

The article treats about the up and coming in the world of event technology according to Corbin Ball. In his opinion, take part of this technology evolution is a requirement. It allows event planners to get a lot of information about attendees: what they like/dislike, the hot topics, better speakers, exhibitors, etc. In order to reach that goal, event planners need to become familiar with all the mobile and social media available, from low to high budget and from little to big events.
According to him, there are 3 mains tools to put into practice in marketing to succeed in the event industry.

- First of all, event planners have to use and set up campaign through email. It stays an important way of communication. Nowadays, almost every people have an email address and particularly in the business area, people can check their emails via their smartphones or tablets. Technologies and processes to send email automatically exist and event planners need to identify and use them to make their campaign more efficient in order to improve their productivity.

- Then, small businesses and non-profit events have to use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, etc to make their communication better. Your brand or event has to be represented on this kind of media: what people say about your brand/event is as important as what you want to say.

- Social medias are really important and prominent. This is necessary to invest time and money on it and not a waste contrary to people common opinion; results demonstrate it. Some companies are specialized on it and event planners need to work with them.

Considering technologies during the event, Corbin Ball gave us some more advices. This is the perfect period for small businesses to use it. All the tools, like the apps, are free or cheaper than before and it becomes easier to use it. However, his best advice is to be aware, to keep an open mind about these technologies, to educate yourself and hire.

To conclude, the two main ideas to keep in mind are:

-          Don’t forget to follow the trends day to day; the evolution is fast. The Techtalk, newsletter created by Corbin Ball to help event planners to stay on top of the latest industry news, could support you.

-          Follow the trends has to be consider as an investment, you will gain something at the end.

Camille et Clémence