It’s that time of year again when we take a step back, make the most of that lovely lull we tend to enjoy in January and February, and start devising a marketing plan for the next 12 months. For venues; taking a look at the successes and pitfalls of the previous year, is often a good way to start as well as knowing your venue USP’s and when the busier periods tend to occur at your venue.
Also key, is knowing your target audience. While generalising target audiences is often not advised, it is often necessary in targeting key personas. Arguably most of today’s workforce will be fall into the generational category of ‘generation y’.
So here are a few of our top tips to include generation y personas in your venue marketing plans for 2016.
#1 engage the appy customer
Excuse the well-penned pun. Even if your audience don’t fall into generation Y- most of the UK population own a smart phone if not an iPhone and the influx of marketing opportunities cropping up as a result of new app technologies is undeniable. According to Time Magazine; Facebook, Instagram and Youtube all featured in the top ten most downloaded apps of 2015.
I’ve recently become a bit of an Instagram addict and I think it can be a really useful tool to jazz up your venue social media content. For more tips on how to do this- check out our Social media for venues: Why Instagram is your new best friend
#2 Focus on audience engagement
The issue of audience engagement was a key theme in 2015 and is set to remain a key topic this year. There are a number of audience engagement technologies designed to help event organisers achieve and maximise the participation of event attendees and delegates. If you haven’t already, this year is a great time to partner with one of these tech companies, or simply select some preferred suppliers to help with audience engagement.
Offering the right tech to help engage conference delegates could really help to position you as a generation y-friendly venue.
#3 embrace gamification
The gaming trend is increasing in popularity and many have predicted it’s set to be a key theme in the industry in 2016. Finding ways to encourage the combination of work and play at your venue may just help you to be at the top of your game. Be it with a new teambuilding package, a virtual reality aspect or a hashtag competition on twitter, finding ways to add a competitive gamification element to the conferences and events at your venue.
For more tips on how to engage generation y check out Technology in the events industry: keeping-up with Generation Y
