The overall concept of event planning has drastically changed over the years because of the increasing popularity of the Internet. Several decades ago, hiring a professional event planner or meeting coordinator was an essential requirement simple because these experts had the knowledge and networking connections that were needed in order to make sure that all arrangements were made properly and in a timely fashion.
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The Internet made it easier for event planners to fulfill their duties and even made it easier for many people to coordinate and plan their own events without the assistance of a professional. With the rising popularity of social media and mobile technology, it is even easier to plan many different types of events conveniently and efficiently through the Internet.
The Effect of Social Media on Event Planning
Social networking websites have evolved into effective communication tools that are used personally and professionally by hundreds of millions of people around the world. This level of international exposure is what attracts event planners, because they are able to reach many more people through social media than would have ever been possible through traditional methods of advertising and marketing.
A recent study confirmed that over 80% of event planners currently use Facebook, over 60% use Twitter and over 40% use YouTube to promote their various events, generate interest and increase their attendance rates, according to Eventility. That same study showed that close to 80% of event organizers state that they will definitely use social media even more in the future. It is clear, then, that the evolving world of social media has had a significant impact on event planning overall. However, when it is combined with mobile technology, the list of marketing possibilities becomes seemingly endless and the potential long-term benefits are even more impressive.
The Dominating Force of Mobile Technology
Stating that mobile devices are popular is definitely an outrageous understatement. It has been estimated that there will be more mobile-connected devices than there are people in the whole world by the end of 2013, according to Cisco. Studies have shown that people of all ages have become more and more attached to their mobile devices in recent years. One study shows that over 40% of people that own cell phones even sleep with these devices nearby just to make sure that they do not miss any calls, messages or any other notifications, according to the Pew Research Center.
Therefore, one of the most effective ways to reach the average person is through their social media profiles which are, in most cases, easily accessed through their mobile devices. Many companies have even invested in developing a mobile website to ensure maximum compatibility whenever someone wants to find out more about them using their smartphones and tablets. By taking advantage of this popular marketing opportunity, event planners are able to reach many more people faster than ever before.
Enhancing Benefits through a Custom Mobile App
A wide variety of different mobile applications are currently being used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Studies have calculated that over 1 billion people used these programs throughout 2012 and that number is expected to increase to over 4 billion by the end of 2017, according to Portio Research. This is primarily because of the fact that mobile app companies are developing these programs to be used conveniently as tools to complete a wide variety of tasks efficiently and quickly.
By using a mobile app that is customized specifically to help promote various events, this opens the door for many other opportunities in addition to stimulating interest and increasing attendance. This will also allow attendees to become even more engaged, encouraging them to use their own personal and professional networks to advertise these mobile events and the hosting organization or company even further. They will share their feedback with friends, relatives, coworkers and so on before, during and even weeks after the event has ended. This type of real-time feedback can also be used as accurate analytical data that possibly never would have been gathered otherwise.
A Powerful Networking and Marketing Tool
Even though it is clear that social networking websites and mobile technology have revolutionized the business world in many different ways, there are still quite a few companies that refuse to embrace the digital age. They insist on sticking to traditional methods and means of getting the job done without investing in mobile website development or relying on the quality assistance of social networking tools.
The bottom line is that these companies are stunting their own growth and limiting their overall marketing potential by doing so. When it comes to reaching a maximum number of people, stimulating their interest and increasing their engagement in anything that a specific company or organization has to offer, social media and mobile technology are the most effective networking and marketing tools that are currently available.
Author Bio
Nikhil Jain is a graduate of MD University. He specializes in SEO and online advertising. He frequently writes on these topics as well as articles relating to the developing mobile web trends. He also works as a marketing specialist for Mobi Manage. You can connect with him on Google +, Facebook, and Twitter.
