· The event industry increases its social media measures
· Facebook and XING are the most important social media channels
· More than half of all organisers were able to reach their goals
· Matchmaking is becoming more important
Munich, August 19, 2014 – Today XING EVENTS, the event industrys’ expert for attendee management and event marketing, publishes its fourth Social Media & Events Report. Social Media is a vital element of organisers’ communication channels and marketing mix. With new technologies, it seems, the use of social media before and after events is indispensable. But how is the event industry using social networks for event marketing? And how do German-speaking organisers compare to their international colleagues? XING EVENTS has once again set out to find out how event organisers utilise social media as marketing instruments, what the latest trends are and where challenges lie.
The event industry increases its social media measures
Almost every organiser is planning on increasing social media activity further. It is evident that organisers are seeing even more marketing potential for events in social media.
Facebook, XING and Twitter are the most important social media channels
Facebook and XING are the most used social media channels by German speaking organisers, followed by the video streaming service YouTube. These channels are seen as the ones with the highest event marketing potential. In an international context, without the survey results of German event organisers, the significance of the individual networks shifts slightly. As was the previous year, Facebook (89%) and Twitter (63%) remain the most important.
Almost half of all event organisers were able to achieve their goals
The most important goal is still the increase of event and brand awareness. Almost 50% of event organisers were able to achieve this through social media activities. The results show that it’s possible to achieve ones goals through the use of social media, if sufficient resources are made available. Despite the huge potential, there are still not enough resources being made available. Lack of time and a shortage in human resources continue to be the biggest obstacles for reaching ones goals.
Matchmaking is becoming more important
The opportunity of networking has become just as important for attendees as the content of the event. Organisers have identified this trend. 30% are already providing their attendees with the option to network prior to the event. While 70% of the surveyed organisers are not yet offering matchmaking functions at least 41% are interested in the idea of matchmaking.
About the Study
XING EVENTS GmbH surveyed about 2000 event organisers from April until the end of June 2014 in order to learn how theyutilize social media as a marketing instrument, what the latest trends and what the biggest challenges are. The surveyed were 59% male and the majority between 30 and 50 years of age. 76% from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 6% from the rest of Europe and 18% from North and South America. 20% organise mainly conferences and conventions, 21% seminars and courses, 14% corporate events, 11% stated to be mostly organising concerts, festivals and nightlife events, while the remaining 28% are spread out among various events, networking events and private events.
