Corporate gifts for online events can make your audience feel valued. Let your attendees know the experience will be worth it and increase your ROI too.
Online events, also known as virtual events, are exactly as the name suggests – they are an event that takes place in an environmentally effective and economical virtual setting. These can be training sessions, demos, webinars, conferences and other types of online events. Although the COVID pandemic placed difficulty on the in-person events market, online events served as a lifeline and are still growing in popularity post-pandemic. This is because although event marketers were compelled to explore alternative platforms to host seminars, conferences and other events; there were many advantages to virtual events that made the option preferable.
In this blog we will take a look at the appeal of gifts for online events and other reasons to be a digital-first brand.
The Importance of Corporate Gifts at Online Events
In times of unexpected and unprecedented circumstances, it is always necessary to experience and have knowledge of virtual avenues to host events. But virtual events are not necessarily a back-up plan. In fact, with the numerous advantages to online event marketing; the charm of this setting almost outweighs the benefits of in-person events.
This means that businesses are adapting and looking at virtual events more and more. Moreover, as per a recent LinkedIn survey; at least 45% of B2B in the future will be entirely virtual. However, getting people to attend your online event may not be so black and white. Some ways to increase your attendee list is to entice your audience with a corporate gift after signing up, during the event or event afterwards as a thank you.
If you’re contemplating using gifts for online events and not sure if it will be worth it, take a look at this list of why you should:
It will increase your turn-outs: When people feel they are receiving something to complete an action that requires little to no effort, they are often more enticed to reciprocate the action. Thus, if your audience is to receive a corporate gift simply for attending your virtual event, chances are they will.
It sets you apart from the competition: A possible downside to the increasing popularity of online event marketing is the fact that more businesses are likely to jump onto the bandwagon. With more and more competition lurking, companies are pressured to find new ways to stay relevant and attractive. Gifts for webinars and other virtual events can make your brand catch the eye of prospective attendees.
Brand awareness: Corporate gifts are versatile. You can “speak” through them; often highlighting your brand’s vision, beliefs and other aspects that are important to you. Well-chosen gifts for online events will make your brand known and be the highlight of your marketing strategy.
Create a more engaging experience: A virtual event creates an environment for your audience to engage with you and relate to your brand on a deeper level. There are various ways that you can create an impressionable experience for your attendees, from running competitions to hosting fun and engaging quizzes.
The Timing and Delivery of Corporate Gifts
Before you jump into action with your online event, it’s best to map out a timeline for the timing and delivery of the gifts for your virtual event. If you want gifts to arrive before your event, at least three days beforehand may be appropriate because this will get your audience talking about the event and increase the excitement all around.
Alternatively, you can send a corporate gift during your virtual event and surprise your attendees. This can be done with a lucky draw or a competition. As an appreciation for attending your online event, a gift can be sent after; which is also a fantastic way to use corporate gifts as part of your occasion.
If you intend to send corporate gifts on your own, especially to different countries, there are many facets to consider. One of the main challenges is having your corporate gift delivered on time, with the unexpected issues that can arise. A corporate gifting platform is a great solution to the delivery of gifts for events. All you have to do is choose your gifts, personalize them and decide how you want to send them. The rest of the logistics are seen to and you can have peace of mind that your gift will be delivered timeously.
Using Technology to Enhance Your Corporate Gifting Strategy
Convenience, cost-saving, improved accuracy – the benefits of technology are endless. And if you draw from these, your corporate gifting strategy can align with your brand identity. An easy way to send gifts for online events is to send them through an international gifting platform. There are various ways to deliver your online event gift, each tailored to your wants and needs. Some avenues to explore include:
Direct sends: If you are in search of a quick, simple way to send a corporate gift, you can simply choose the gift and fill in the delivery details of your recipients. This is a no-fuss, almost effortless way to send gifts for webinars and other virtual events.
Gift links: If you are not entirely sure (or unsure) of the delivery information of your recipients, you can choose to send a gift link. This is a link that will be delivered to your attendees, which will allow them to choose a gift – from your pre-selected list – before filling in their delivery details. This is an easy way to send many corporate gifts to different countries – all ensuring the correct delivery information is gathered as it is entered by the recipient themself. One campaign can be used for all the recipients.
Email gift invites: You can design a custom branded email containing the gift link to deliver to your recipients, for a delivery method that further promotes your brand. In this way you get to showcase your brand identity and easily send your gift link too.
CRM integration: You can schedule bulk gifting campaigns for your virtual events through synchronization with CRM systems, such as HubSpot and Salesforce. This is simple, especially when you are using gifts for webinars and sending them to employees, clients, prospects etc. in various countries.
Best Practices for Corporate Gifting at Events
Although corporate gifting is generally done with nothing but good intentions, there are certain practices that ensure you remain within proper business etiquette. It’s relatively simple to be smart about sending gifts to people attending an online event. For one, be sure the product you select doesn’t send the wrong message. When sending a gift to the attendees of your event, if the gift is in different countries ensure they are culturally appropriate. Some cultures may be offended by what you may think is a simple gift. Research your audience first and tailor your gift accordingly.
Also, be sure to choose a product that is in line with your event and markets your brand suitably but not overbearingly. You want people to notice your company logo and colors yet it should not be the sole focus of your corporate gifting strategy. The intent is the event you are hosting and the idea is to stir up excitement around said event. Selecting gifts that are local, handmade and environmentally friendly is another practice that is current and relevant. Businesses are opting to send gifts that are sustainable, in order to promote their business ethics, which in turn are allowing them to reach audiences with similar beliefs.
Branding your Corporate Gifts
Branding your corporate gift is done with the sole purpose of helping people remember your business. It’s as simple as that. Brand recall. But if you’re thinking of slapping on a sticker and calling it a day, you may want to consider being more strategic because after all, your intent is to be at the forefront of your recipient’s mind even when the gift is out of their sight. If you’re wondering how you can showcase your brand, let us help you out with some useful tips:
- Logo recreation is important. Your business logo is its trademark so it will serve you well to feature it with pride. There are several advanced methods to help you recreate your logo in a modern way. One such way is to use 3D printing to make your branded gift into an attractive paperweight.
- The story or mission statement of an organization helps to form its personality and character. You can display your business values on your corporate gift to represent your brand in a meaningful way.
- Sometimes opening a corporate git is just as memorable as the gift itself. A useful way to create a great unboxing experience is to develop branded packaging that creates an immersive experience for your recipients. In cases like these you can think out of the box and get creative with your gifts for online events.
Think of your brand as your stamp of approval. You wouldn’t approve something that is not up to par and when sending a corporate gift, be sure to use this concept.
Measuring the Impact of Corporate Gifts
Calculating the ROI of corporate gifts for online events can often be challenging because it may, in some cases, be difficult to quantify. Yet, it is important for your marketing strategy that you have at least an idea of how effective the impact of your corporate gifting was. Some metrics to concentrate on can include:
Sales:
Promotional gifts sent out for online events can have a significant effect on sales. Offering a gift for attending an event can often have an effect on people to make a purchase on a product they wouldn’t necessarily have. By measuring the impact on sales, before and after your event, you can have an idea of the effectiveness of your corporate gifting strategy.
Brand awareness:
As previously mentioned, using branded gifts for online events increases brand awareness. What this essentially does is turn your attendees into living, walking and breathing advertisements for your brand. You can track brand awareness by monitoring website traffic, social media pages and other metrics that indicate customer/ client engagement.
Close rates:
A close rate is an indication of how many prospects have effectively been converted in the sales pipeline. To determine the close rate of your campaign you can divide the total customers generated by the total number of prospects and multiply by 100 to determine the percentage. Looking at close rates when determining the number of opportunities influenced by your corporate gifting strategy will give you an idea of its effectiveness.
Real-time tracking of your gifting campaign with Giftsenda will enable you to keep abreast of the success of your efforts. On the platform you’re able to track the performance of your gifting strategies and use the data to identify areas to improve in future campaigns.
Wrapping Up
You don’t need us to convince you that corporate gifting is a good idea – there’s enough proof of that! But if you need a little something extra in your corporate gifting strategy, Giftsenda is a great way to send corporate gifts for online events to over 200 countries. You can take the hassle out of your gifting game plans and let us do all the work, while also getting insights into your campaign performance and ROI. The best part – there’s no subscription required. So, start your gifting campaign today and make your event a memorable one.