Recently, ePro Direct published a new white paper detailing Meeting Planners Digital Preferences. The report is the culmination of a survey to 892 meeting planners with the vast majority representing association and corporate planners.
The survey found that meeting planners top three types of information meeting and event planner first access when researching a site or destination are:
- Meeting space capacity and layout
- Location and the destination
- Costs and rates
While these top three priorities haven’t changed with the influence of digital technology, what has shifted is the way the meeting planners access this information. Quite frankly, hotels and destinations have merely a few minutes to ensure the meeting planners qualify their meetings needs. Here are the key items planners are scanning your website for:
- Meeting space specifications 81.54%
- Catering menus 68.21%
- Fact sheets 57.95%
- Audio Visual 44.62%
- Direct sales contacts 41.54%
- Dining and entertainment 36.41%
- Local area 36.41%
- Sales brochure 13.85%
The planners indicated lots of photography that showcases the event space in a few layouts is key along with video to showcase the meeting spaces. Some of the comments from planners regarding imagery included:
- “It’s not the type of media it’s the contents and they are usually lousy! They show gorgeous people doing not much other than standing around, or meeting rooms set traditionally badly and nothing that tells me this is a property that can do anything interesting.”
-
“Photos and lots of them are key. Especially ones that show a blank space and then set up for an event.”
The planners indicated the impact of digital marketing on their meeting and event planning is led by email marketing followed by online display advertising, content marketing, blogs and then paid search. Facebook and Twitter ads had less than 10% influence on planners.
Knowing how planners evaluate your websites and the influence of digital marketing on meeting planners, have you set your destination or property up for success?
Does your website clearly showcase the meeting space opportunities?
Do you have vivid imagery that showcases the types of meeting set ups and showcases your creativity?
Are you utilizing digital marketing campaigns to reach meeting planners as they search for their next destination?
Digital Edge Marketing can help you ensure your website is set up to convert meeting business and create compelling digital marketing campaigns to reach planners while they are looking for their next meeting location.
It’s time to make sure your taking advantage of meeting planners digital preferences.
