Let’s break down the power of understanding your “why” as a foundation for mastering digital event marketing, especially when you’re aiming to train others.
Why Focusing on “Why” Matters
- Clarity and Purpose: Having a clear “why” anchors your entire event and marketing strategy. It helps you:
- Articulate Value: Explain to attendees the real benefits your event provides.
- Define Goals: Set realistic and measurable goals beyond just the number of attendees.
- Make Decisions: When faced with choices, your “why” serves as a compass for staying on track
- Attracting the Right Audience: Knowing your “why” helps target people who align with your event’s purpose. This increases engagement and leads to better outcomes.
- Crafting Compelling Messaging: Your “why” becomes the heart of your marketing story. It inspires the kind of content and messaging that resonates with your ideal attendees.
- Motivation and Passion: Understanding your deep-rooted “why” sustains your excitement and fuels your determination – emotions that are contagious and persuasive when training others.
Your “why” becomes the heart of your marketing story.
Teaching the “Why”
When training people on digital event marketing, here’s how to emphasize the importance of the “why”:
- Start with Simon Sinek: Introduce Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” concept (TED Talk or his book). It’s a powerful way to frame the importance of purpose. You can find his TED Talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
- Case Studies: Discuss real-world examples of events with both strong and weak “whys.” Analyze how a defined “why” impacted their success.
- Practical Exercises:
- Scenario Analysis: Present trainees with event scenarios and have them work in groups to define the “why” and outline how it would shape the marketing strategy.
- Event Critique: Have trainees critique the marketing of past events, focusing on whether the “why” is evident and effective.
Key Questions for Defining Your “Why”
For both your own marketing and for teaching, some crucial questions include:
- What problem does your event solve for attendees?
- What transformation do you want them to experience?
- What larger impact do you want your event to have on the industry or community?
- What makes you passionate about this event specifically?
Additional Tips for Trainers
- Be Enthusiastic: Your passion for understanding the “why” will be contagious.
- Use Storytelling: Share real-world examples of events and how their “why” shaped their success or failure.
- Make it Interactive: Use group exercises and discussions to get trainees engaged and thinking critically.
Scenarios and teaching materials to enhance your digital event marketing training with a focus on the “why”:
Scenarios
- Industry Conference: You’re promoting a large-scale tech conference focused on AI trends. Attendees are developers, product managers, and executives.
- Possible “Whys”:
- Provide cutting-edge knowledge to advance careers and innovation
- Foster networking for problem-solving and collaboration
- Showcase the industry’s potential to impact the world
- Possible “Whys”:
- Local Business Workshop: You’re marketing a workshop on social media for small business owners. Attendees are struggling to reach new customers online.
- Possible “Whys”
- Empower business owners to drive growth through digital platforms
- Build a community for support and learning
- Make digital marketing less intimidating and more accessible
- Possible “Whys”
- Charity Fundraiser: Your event is a virtual benefit concert raising funds for a specific cause. Attendees are music lovers and those passionate about the cause.
- Possible “Whys”
- Raise critical funds and awareness for an important issue
- Unite people through shared passions and a desire to make a difference
- Create an inspiring and uplifting experience
- Possible “Whys”
Teaching Materials
- Worksheet: Create a worksheet with the following prompts:
- Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach? (be specific)
- Their Problems/Needs: What challenges are they facing?
- Event Solutions: How does your event directly address their pain points?
- The “Why” Statement: Craft a compelling “why” statement, in a single sentence, that summarizes the deepest purpose of your event.
- Template: “Why”-Focused Messaging
- Provide a template for crafting marketing messages:
- Problem: [State the attendee’s pain point]
- Solution [How your event solves it]
- Outcome: [The transformation they’ll experience]
- Call to Action: [What you want them to do – register, etc.]
- Provide a template for crafting marketing messages:
- Group Discussion Facilitator Guide: Prepare a short guide with:
- Key discussion questions (linked to the scenarios)
- Pointers to ensure focus on the “why”
- Tips for facilitating differing opinions or highlighting strong points
Additional Notes
- Adapt Complexity: Adjust the scenarios’ complexity to match the experience level of your trainees.
- Encourage Collaboration: Group work amplifies the learning process and helps develop teamwork skills.
- Real-World Supplement: Have trainees bring in examples of event marketing they’ve seen and analyze the “why” (or lack of a clear “why”)
From Simon Sinek
The law of diffusion of innovation, also known as the product adoption lifecycle, is a social science theory that explains how new ideas and products spread through a population. It was developed by communications professor Everett Rogers in 1962 and published in his book Diffusion of Innovations.
The law of diffusion of innovation states that not all customers will be willing to buy a new product immediately. Some customers are more resistant to trying new ideas than others. The law provides a framework for understanding how new ideas, products, or technologies are adopted and diffused in a society or market.
The law of diffusion of innovation identifies five adopter categories: Innovators, Early adopters, Early majority, Late majority, and Laggards.
The law of diffusion of innovation states that the first two and a half percent of any population are innovators. However, most people are majorities about most things, and only innovators or laggards about certain specific things.
The four key components of the diffusion of innovations are: innovation, communication channels, time, and social system.