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Pulling off a great virtual event is not an easy feat. But with the right ex*****on, it can effectively build sales pipelines, acquire new customers, and retain existing customers. Here's sort of ABCs for virtual events.

Why we care about virtual events: The ultimate marketers’ guide Everything you need to know about virtual events in our increasingly digital world.

Event planners are more comfortable and familiar with tech than ever, but innovation is moving at light speed. That means to stay up to date, planners and marketing groups must stay in the know. Here's what the most influential tech and event experts say is needed to keep up with the changing world and virtual and hybrid events.

Top Event Tech Priorities and Pain Points for Planners in 2022 Event planners may be more familiar with event tech than ever, but the rapid pace of innovation means that tech literacy is a moving target. To understand what planners need from event tech in 2022, we spoke to some of today’s most influential event profs.

Customers don't want to just stand back and be sold to, they want to immerse themselves in an experience. On BizBash, they've brought together marketing experts to give you the rundown on the latest trends and biggest predictions for the year. https://www.bizbash.com/production-strategy/experiential-marketing-activations-sponsorships/article/21992699/2022-forecast-whats-next-in-experiential-marketing

Looking to deliver better brand experiences and stand out from your competitors? At XISM, we offer creative, custom-crafted plans to give your audience an engaging experience and help you see the results you need. Visit our website or contact us today to get your brand headed in the right direction.

Xism We help agencies and brands build authentic human connections. We can help you stand out from competitors and grow your business through smarter experience design.

If COVID-19 cases run rampant in your area, it may be time to think about postponing an event or making it virtual. Consider safety measures as you plan in-person events.

COVID-19 derails Grand Park New Year's Eve countdown, other in-person events A growing number of holiday events in Los Angeles County have been canceled or postponed amid a rash of new coronavirus cases.

2021 is quickly coming to a close, and it’s left most of us wondering what to expect from 2022. Marketers have had to learn and adapt in an industry that changes from one day to the next. Here are some predicted trends for marketing this coming year.

3 disruptive trends that will shape marketing in 2022 – TechCrunch As we wrap the year, it’s become clear that "normal" is a thing of the past. This is a reality growth marketers live in everyday. What worked yesterday may not work today and likely won’t tomorrow.

Sustainability = meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We hear the term applied to products and manufacturing processes, but it also applies to event production. Click the link to learn how to make your next event future-proof by embracing both sustainability and flexibility.

Flexibility and Sustainability Are Critical Aspects of the Future of Special Events Whether you’re planning a hybrid event or returning to fully live events, planners are prioritizing two main criteria: how flexible and how sustainable the event is for participants.

Virtual events became commonplace in 2020, and even in a post-vaccinated world companies are embracing virtual elements to create hybrid events. Here's some good advice for a successful hybrid event.

10 Tips for Hosting Both Live and Virtual Speakers at Your Next Hybrid Event Bringing both IRL and remote presenters to your panel discussions is a great way to expose your audience to new viewpoints. Follow this step-by-step checklist to ensure a smooth experience for everyone involved.

XISM is not your average marketing consultant. If you are seeking innovation and willing to think outside the box, your brand can flourish with our award-winning marketing strategies. We'll create memorable experiences for your audience.

Xism | Creative Our award-winning program design helps brands define, develop and deliver unique relevance to their audiences – driving demand and desire for their products and services – while increasing social currency for their campaigns and advocates.

Humans have told stories since the beginning of time. So storytelling is an excellent way for your business to communicate your message and engage your audience. Explore the building blocks of storytelling here:

Council Post: How To Tell A Beautiful Business Story Is it worth investing time and money (independently or with the help of an agency) into getting your story straight? Here’s my perspective and how you can get started creating a brand story.

Making the most of virtual events is a real challenge. Gratitude can be key to helping build relationships without a physical presence.

Elevating Your Virtual Event With Gratitude The key to building stronger relationships in virtual event environment is personalization. Through personalization, you can express gratitude

Event marketing can be complex, but it doesn't have to be if you know your audience. For instance, you should realize that marketing values are different around the world. Here's a decent rundown of regional differences:

When Marketing Your Meetings, Demographics Aren’t Enough Veteran marketer David Allison contends that values-focused campaigns will attract more attendees to association events. Here’s what that means.

Every marketing strategy could use a touch of magic. Getting creative, focusing on human experiences, and embracing the tradition of storytelling can take your efforts into a wonderful territory. Read more:

How To Make Marketing More Magical And Powerful We need to rediscover the power of human insights, creativity and connection if we want to make marketing more magical, powerful and effective.

Keeping people entertained at a virtual event can be complicated. An essential step to avoiding "zoom fatigue" is engaging attendees. Start by welcoming people individually and asking questions. This will more than likely prevent them from logging off early. https://www.eventmanagerblog.com/tips-for-virtual-events

If you know XISM at all, you know we're obsessed with event metrics. This is a decent overview of the what and why of event data collection. And this stuff is our specialty. https://www.eventmanagerblog.com/engagement-scoring-for-event-marketing-sales

There is some overlap between the crew you'll need for a hybrid event and the one you're accustomed to hiring for traditional, in-person events. This guide contains seven essential hybrid-event personnel tips — starting with the hiring of an event technologist. Click on the link below for the six other tips.
https://www.eventmanagerblog.com/hybrid-event-team-checklist

If you know us, you know we're a little obsessed with psychology and storytelling. This is a fascinating article focused on an analysis of how narratives form within our brain. Get ready to think about your hippocampus!

How Storytelling Narratives Come Together Inside the Brain Storytellers unwittingly rely on their hippocampus to form cohesive narratives.

Stories engage audiences, and they're extremely powerful on social media. What stories are you using to attract your customer base? Read on for more about this effect:

Storytelling And The Power Of Social Media At the heart of all successful social media marketing is one thing – great storytelling. Storytelling is what captivates an audience, it’s what gives brands a voice. Let’s look at how to tell a great brand story, and the impact your social media presence can have.

Let's talk about what you need out of your event. As we say on our website, we aren't an agency. But we are a band of committed professionals who vow to do right by your company.

Visit us online and learn a little bit more about our consulting services. We've got you covered.

Xism | Consulting Our human centered approach combines the psychology of storytelling, design and data science to engineer programs that influence audiences and generate measurable outcomes.

At some point, no matter how accomplished your marketing team, it's good to reassess, to see what you might be missing. The best innovation can come from stripping back to fundamentals and asking some simple questions.

https://www.business2community.com/strategy/the-strongest-question-in-your-marketing-strategy-isnt-how-its-why-02436853

Have you started working on your marketing strategies for the post-pandemic world yet? We may not be there yet, but it helps to have a plan in place. Study what you already know about your target audience. Use their likes and dislikes to craft experiences that will really resonate with them.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2021/09/24/marketing-in-the-next-normal-four-marketing-strategies-for-a-post-pandemic-world/

Marketing In The Next Normal: Four Marketing Strategies For A Post-Pandemic World There is no handbook for the “next normal,” but we can align our goals and strategies to lift our businesses into high gear.

Does your event involve a meal? There are some new trends you might want to follow. As the pandemic continues, opting to serve appetizers and snacks throughout the night instead of a big main course can be a good way to ease back into in-person events.

Our New Rules for Dinner Partying, Emphasis on “Party” As the legendary hostess Dua Lipa says, I got new rules.

As we are learning to live with the coronavirus, many organizations have figured out a way to safely throw events and return to a sense of semi-normalcy. Check out the link below to see how the San Francisco Symphony made it happen. Take a page out of their book.

Photo: Show Ready Event Photography
https://www.bizbash.com/catering-design/event-design-decor/media-gallery/21771692/how-to-throw-a-highprofile-gala-in-the-era-of-covid19

Are hybrid events worth the time and effort? Totally. But you need the right event marketing strategies. Here's a decent overview of the benefits and considerations for hybrid events.

Hybrid events: worth the effort? | Marketing Magazine Event marketing is going through a revolution. Restrictions, social distancing and remote working means the classic event is dead. Enter the hybrid event.

Organizations have proved that they can have live events despite uncertainty around the pandemic-- by adopting safety measures. You can throw your own live event and market it successfully. Just let your audience know what you're doing to keep them safe.

https://www.marketingdive.com/spons/discovering-and-seizing-the-new-event-marketing-opportunity/606449/

The tales you tell are shaped by your surroundings, but they also shape your life. And questioning the stories you tell yourself can be the first step to removing the limitations those stories impose.

Why You Have to Question the Stories You Tell Yourself A Personal Perspective: Questioning your personal narratives about who you are.

Narrative psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the role of tales and storytelling in giving meaning to people's experiences—shaping their memories of past events, knowledge of the present, and predictions of future occurrences—as well as in defining themselves and their lives. Learn more about it at:

APA Dictionary of Psychology A trusted reference in the field of psychology, offering more than 25,000 clear and authoritative entries.

When every creative person applies their own methods and thought processes to their work, there are five stages that most artists follow unconsciously while pursuing their creative efforts. Each of the five stages of the creative process flows logically into the next. As you begin your own creative process, let your imagination run wild as your ideas develop through the five stages of creativity.

More information about fostering creativity may be found at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-improve-creativity

Friedrich Nietzsche was a poet, cultural critic, and philosopher with one of the most brilliant brains in history. His system of ideas have had a tremendous influence on the Western World, making significant contributions to intellectual debate both during and after his life. He believed in the ability of individuals to reject societal norms and cultural conventions in order to live according to a larger set of ideals, and his works have helped countless creatives learn to think differently.

Here are more philosophers and their ideas: https://thebestschools.org/magazine/major-philosopher-ideas/

A successful event can build your company's brand and profile as few other things can. It allows you to interact with your customers and leave them with a powerful and lasting memory. But the experience you create before the event can be just as important as what happens there.
https://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/how-to-promote-events-and-boost-attendance-02430055