Snöball’s Influencer Marketing Extends Event Amplification

June 12, 2019

Event marketers are used to seeing a lot of buzz onsite at their events. Between messaging pushed out by the host organization itself, social media sharing and media coverage, an event is a hive of marketing activity. But what’s often lacking, says Rachel Stephan, chief snöballer at snöball, is the authentic voice that comes from the people who are actually experiencing the event — the attendees, speakers, partners and exhibitors.

That’s the idea behind snöball, a digital tool that helps event organizers harness the power of influencer marketing and put it to use at their events: to provide a way for those event participants to easily share your message through the filter of their own personal experiences. 

“With influencer marketing, you’re giving the megaphone to your influencers, because [the message] is more authentic coming from them,” Stephan says.

Ideally, the buzz should start long before your event takes place, helping to raise awareness and excitement to drive attendance, media awareness or any other goals around visibility, she adds.

In an initial snöballcampaign, everyone involved with the event is considered an influencer. Snöball provides your influencers with the assets and tools they need to advertise the event. For a speaker, these communications focus around the fact that they’re speaking, their topic, the date and time. For an exhibitor, it would be their booth number and what they’re demoing. The content could be anything that will help your influencer promote their participation and become an advocate or ambassador for your event.

Snöball recently launched additional services designed to expand content and extend event marketing amplification even farther. These new offerings, which can be considered a “phase two” of the campaign, allow event planners to take influencer engagement one step further.

The first new service is focused on retargeting. Snöball takes all the data gathered from the initial campaign and figures out who your most engaged — and engaging — advocates are. Then, the company works with that specific segment to further amplify your message by retargeting all the people who may have visited the assets or landing pages shared by that influencer. The idea behind the retargeting is that the more times those prospects see your event advertised, the more likely they are to click through to your landing page and hopefully decide to register.

snoball

This retargeting can also be expanded to include “lookalike” audiences, whose demographics mirror that of those who have engaged with your influencers.  

The second offering is centered around co-creation of content with these highly engaged influencers. Based on the data, they are the people sharing the most event-related content and getting the most hits on their landing pages — so they are already extending your reach. Why not work with them to create a piece of content that can be used year-round?

Snöball will approach these influencers on your behalf, and working with you, will take charge of creating this new content. It could be a short interview video, or a 30-second video clip of them talking about what people will learn at their session, or why they are excited about the event. Post-event, it could be a video telling people what they missed, and driving them to recorded sessions, slides or other content on your site that may be of interest.

Stephan says that essentially people come to events for two things: networking and education. And they are looking for content that will help them make a decision on which events to attend.  

“[These video clips are] a low-key authentic way to get that piece of content,” Stephan explains.

She adds, “Here is a video from the speaker themself about the topic. We give it to them to use on their landing pages, so they have another way to promote their participation. And from a meeting planner point of view, you now have a great content asset to use in your marketing campaign.”

Stephan also notes that these video clips come across as more authentic because they aren’t highly produced and polished.

These pieces of content can also be repurposed into additional content. Say there’s a recorded conversation with a speaker on a specific topic of interest for your event. That could be turned into a blog post, or quotes could be used in a compilation of testimonials. All this new content can be used to improve not only your event website but also your marketing campaigns throughout the year.

“You can include these pieces in your email marketing and it's great for inbound to bring traffic back to your site,” says Stephan. “It creates more variety and more content for your campaigns.”

Snöball has also just released a new guide to event influencer marketing, to help event marketers learn how to better engage with influencers. 

To learn more about launching your own snöball, go here.

Download your complimentary copy of the Event Influencer Marketing Guide here.

 

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MGM Resorts is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse culture, not just among employees and guests but also within its supply chain. The company prioritizes procuring goods and services from businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals and those facing economic disadvantages. This commitment is integral to MGM Resorts' global procurement strategy.    Through its voluntary supplier diversity program, MGM Resorts actively identifies and connects certified diverse-owned suppliers to opportunities within its supply chain. The company is on track to spend at least 15% of its biddable procurement with diverse-owned businesses by 2025, demonstrating that supplier diversity is not only a social responsibility but also a strategic business imperative.    Supplier diversity isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s good for business. A diverse supply chain allows access to a broader range of perspectives and experience, helping to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and resilience, while strengthening communities. At MGM Resorts, engaging diverse suppliers ensures best-in-class experiences for guests and clients. Supplier diversity ensures a more resilient supply chain while supporting economic development in the communities in which it operates.   The impact of MGM Resorts' supplier diversity initiatives is significant. In 2023, these efforts supported over 3,500 jobs across more than 30 states, contributed over $214 million in income for diverse-owned businesses and generated more than $62 million in tax revenue. The story extends beyond the numbers – it reflects the tangible benefits brought to small and diverse-owned businesses, fostering economic empowerment in their communities.    MGM Resorts also supports the development and business skills of diverse-owned businesses through investment, mentorship and education. Through the MGM Resorts Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program, the company identifies, mentors and develops diverse-owned businesses to fill its future pipeline, while providing businesses with tools and resources to empower and uplift. Since 2017, the program has successfully graduated 105 diverse-owned businesses and is on track to achieve its goal of 150 graduates by 2025.     MGM Resorts’ commitment to supplier diversity not only enhances its business operations but also plays a crucial role in uplifting communities and fostering economic development. This approach reinforces the idea that diversity is a powerful driver of innovation and resilience, benefiting both the company and the wider community.