ROI – making events pay using social media technologies

The recent financial downturn has had a big impact on budgets.  Wise use of new technologies could significantly increase the return on investment (ROI) from events.

Here are some ideas:

• Film your event. Filming need not cost the earth, a local art school may be able to provide a student to film and edit the event.  Clips could be placed on your website or on YouTube.
• Film a short interview with the speaker beforehand and place it on your website, or place it on YouTube and place a link to it on your website.
• Make a podcast of your event  – a sound recording of the event could be made available to download from your website.
• Broadcast your event using live video streaming.  Live video streaming sites, such as Ustream currently provide this service for free.  It is relatively easy; you just need an internet connection and a projector in the secondary venue.
• Take minutes at the event and then place the transcription on your website after the event.  They need not be done at the event if  it has been recorded.
• Hire a professional photographer and place the pictures on your website and/or Flickr.
• Set up a Facebook page for your event.
• Use Twitter to keep people updated.

How this increases your ROI:

1. Increases viewership of event. Filming enables people who were not present to view the event.
2. Filming reduces the need to run multiple workshops on the same subject. This saves venue hire costs and speaker and administration time.
3. Increases the listenership. A sound recording (podcast) could made available to download to mp3 players which could be listened to at leisure.
4. Eases capacity problems. Live video streaming allows the event to be broadcast in an anteroom or in other locations.  This could eliminate the need to hire a bigger venue.
5. Low attendance problems can reduce the ROI of an event. There may be many reasons why an event is not well attended but filming the event will enable people to view it on the internet at a later time and therefore increase its ROI.
6. Generate interest for an event and therefore increase attendance.  Filming a short interview with the speaker beforehand and placing it on the internet could generate interest.
7. Increases inclusion.  People with mobility problems could watch an event at their desk or at home.  Also the provision of a film or written transcript of the event on your website will assist non-native English speakers to fully understand the event.  Transcripts could be translated and sub-title options could be added to the film.
8. Reinforces key messages.  Films or transcripts will remind attendees of the event’s key messages.
9. Assist communications prior to and after the event.  Setting up a Facebook page could supplement current communications with attendees.  People can be overloaded with emails these days and may miss event instructions.  Keeping people updated via a Facebook event page could make communication more effective.
10. Make communications more personable.  Keeping people updated by short Twitter messages can be more personable than formal communications.
11. Generate press coverage.  This could be just internal depending on your event.  Films and images make  web pages and articles more interesting. Photographs of events could be placed on Flickr and attendees could be encouraged to upload their photographs to the site.

Examples of organisations who have used social media technologies in the delivery of their events

• The Digital Britain Forum webpage is a good example of an organisation who have filmed their event.  There is also a link to the edited version of the event on YouTube.
• Ted Talk has provided links to download the audio to mp3 file.  (See under the film)
• The Digital Britain Forum was also broadcast via live video streaming. (See the above link)
• See Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Crime Summit pictures on Flickr.
• See  Davos 2009 Facebook event page.
• 10 Downing Street actively use Twitter to make news more personable.

Although some planning and cost is involved in setting up these technologies they can significantly add value to the time you are already spending on planning and organising events.

Addendum

David Benjamin Kopp commented on my post above and summarised it with this wonderful image, which I have inserted into my post below.  Read his comment to this post for more information.

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