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What makes a good story? Is it the happy ending? Maybe it’s the valuable lessons, or the hilarious, unexpected plot twists. But what makes a story just that — a shareable, captivating narrative — is the experience it describes. It’s the who, what, where, when, and how. It’s the tale of what happened.

As marketers, we love good stories. We seek to tell them through the messages and content we put out there. But while we’re great at telling those stories, what we don’t do nearly enough of is creating them. And that’s where experiential marketing comes in.

It’s not that experiential marketing is anything new. There are entire summits and programs dedicated to it, and the majority of marketers that use it say it yields significant results. And while we may have seen examples of its execution, many of us are still left asking — how can I do that?

We sought to find out. We looked at some of our favorite examples of experiential marketing, and looked at some of the things they have in common. Here’s what we found, and the tips that you can take into account as you plan your own experiential marketing initiatives.

What Is Experiential Marketing?

According to a CMO magazine article on the topic, experiential marketing “is a mutually beneficial interaction between customer and brand in an authentically branded engagement.”

It’s authentic in the sense that it goes beyond sending messages to your audience, digitally or otherwise, and requires creating a live opportunity to interact with your brand, instead. As for its mutually beneficial nature, the consumer benefits by experiencing your brand in a tangible way — and you benefit when that content is shared. Consider that 49% of attendees at branded events create videos of it , a significant percentage of which is shared on social media. People talk about remarkable experiences, and the brands that create them.

It might sound a bit like event marketing, which makes sense — experiential campaigns do tend to be event-centric. But even when they are, the emphasis isn’t so much on the event format, but is rather on the type of interaction that people can have with a specific brand.

But what does that look like, and how can you pull it off — especially with a limited budget? Here are some of the best practices we’ve found.

7 Experiential Marketing Tips

1) Take advantage of VR.

Marketing tools like virtual reality (VR) and 360° video are steadily on the rise. More than half of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that offers VR experiences — and when a video comes in a 360° format, viewers are more than 2X likely to watch it in full.

I’ll never forget what Michael Rucker of OmniVirt — makers of 360° video content delivery technology — told me when I interviewed him about this kind of media. Its power, he said, is in its ability to give the user a “sense of autonomy” — one that provides an immersive experience, but still puts the viewer in control. He challenges brands to ask, “What are those experiences?”

That’s why VR can be an experiential marketer’s best friend. Like 360° video, it allows users to become immersed in something beyond their current surroundings — like an experience that your product or service provides. Shell, for example, used this technology to virtually transform users into a drop of V-power fuel and follow its path through an engine. That’s not something that human beings would ever be able to tangibly experience otherwise, which is what we think makes it so cool.

For that reason, we challenge you to ask yourself the same question that Rucker posed: What are those experiences that your brand can create? Once you know the answer, turn it into a VR experience — here’s a great guide for doing so on a budget from CinematicVR — and bring it to the user.

But where and how can you do that? That brings us to our next step.

2) Find people where they already are.

One of the core tenets of inbound marketing is to avoid interrupting your audience. Instead, the best way to turn strangers into customers is to bring them to you , instead of fighting for their attention in a sea of marketing messages. Experiential marketing is no exception, which is why it’s often best executed when it takes a “you’re already there” approach — knowing where your audience is already hanging out, and engaging them there.

It can work on a number of different levels. There’s the approach of installing something small but noticeable where your audience already exists, like Google did with its Impact Challenge. The search engine giant wanted to involve the San Francisco Bay community in deciding where to make a multi-million-dollar donation, and installed large, interactive posters in places where people “had the time to make a difference” — like bus shelters, food trucks, and restaurants.

That approach creates excellent opportunities to create experiences with local businesses, especially those whose products or services complement yours. We’ll talk more about partnering with other brands in a bit, but working with other businesses on these initiatives can benefit everyone involved, especially if it enhances the experience and helps you both reach previously untapped audiences.

3) Transform the space.

Every year, the city of Austin, TX is taken over by an event known as SXSW: A self-described conference and collection of festivals that “celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries.” And, it’s chock full of experiences created to promote the work of the above industries — like when Warner Bros. converted a local tattoo shop into a branded one that was named for a notable character from the movie Suicide Squad.

Source: Suggest

Granted, most of us aren’t creating experiences with the budget of a major Hollywood studio, nor are we marketing a hopeful box office hit. But that shouldn’t stop you from transforming a space into a branded one — especially if it’s one where your audience might already be, as noted above.

When Netflix revitalized the TV series “Gilmore Girls,” for example, it teased the premiere date by converting neighborhood diners around the U.S. into a famed diner that the show’s characters often frequented. And while we don’t believe it’s necessary to take your experiential marketing to a national level, we do love the idea of partnering with a local business to create a branded experience like this one, according to your product or service.

Don’t be afraid to think outside-of-the-box with this concept. Use things like holidays and seasonality to your advantage — for example, brands can use a holiday like Valentine’s Day to transform something that’s typically part of the “daily grind,” like a train station, into pop-up date night environment.

But that’s not limited to B2C brands. Companies within the B2B sector can partner with a consumer-focused business — like a local restaurant or coffee shop — to convert the space for something like “advisory speed dating,” where learning about your product or service becomes a fun, interactive, and inviting experience. Here’s an example of how Progressive Insurance by creating a pop-up motorcycle shop:

4) Seek out brands to partner with.

Of course, when you’re looking to transform a space for an experience, it’s probably not the best idea to just show up and take over. Not only do you likely need permission, but you also need to provide incentive — how is this partnership going to benefit the proprietors?

That’s a fundamental piece of co-branding: Ensuring that you both stand to benefit from the partnership. Creating an experience together can accomplish that, but you’ve got to be strategic about it. When you begin to plan your experience, do so with a partner in mind — with a contingency plan, of course. As you begin to determine what the experience will look like, start thinking about the co-brands that would complement and enhance the experience for participants, rather than making it redundant. You should each bring different elements to the table, for example, instead of duplicating each other’s efforts.

The same goes for the people who you want to to draw to the event. A co-brand that already shares your audience might not accomplish much — the goal here is to reach a population that would be interested in your brand, but might otherwise be difficult to reach. That goes for your partner, too, in that it should stand to benefit from exposure to your own audience.

Google once creatively pulled this off with Zappos. While it was marketed under the pretense of being a “takeover” — in that Zappos playfully sabotaged Google’s cupcake giveaway with a guerilla bargain of its own — we suspect the entire thing may have been planned to benefit both brands. Watch this video to see how:

The takeaway: Zappos and Google created an experience that required an “exchange” of both brands’ product and service. The audience was more likely to interact with both of them that way, earning them both exposure. So when you work with your co-branding partner, build an experience that allows the audience to engage with both of you — and at a place where they’re likely to already be present.

5) Teach people something.

If you’re wondering what’s stopping people from learning more about your brand, here’s a thought — it could be that they simply don’t understand it. Maybe that’s why 58% of customer experience experts say that simplifying products and processes should be a business priority .

But in addition to creating the valuable, teachable content that helps your audience learn more about your product or service, consider building an experience that accomplishes the same thing. That’s what Facebook did with its IQ Live event, where the company used data on how businesses use the platform to create real-life experiences and settings that brought the numbers to life — like the IQ Mart, which was a mock retail setting used to represent the online shopper’s conversion path when using social media for buying decisions.

The experience taught its attendees something, without a classroom or lecturer in sight. In fact, 93% of them said that the experience provided them with valuable insights on how to use Facebook for business.

It’s a great example of how B2B brands can build an experience for people who aren’t sure how your product or service applies to them, simply don’t understand how to use it, or don’t think they need it. Bringing your data to life in a way that lets people interact with it and spells out how your brand can benefit them can be rather impactful — after all, 65% of people think that live events help them understand a product. Here’s how Allstate pulled that off by gameifying the subject of insurance:

6) Let people create something — together.

People are more creative than they might think. After all, 70% believe that creativity is a valuable quality to have, but only 44% believe they fully embody it .

Maybe it’s up to us, as marketers, to put our own creativity toward allowing others to express theirs. That would be quite a remarkable experience to witness and to participate in. And while it’s not exactly new — American Greetings did that at SXSW when it invited passersby to stop and, among a sea of digital conversation, do some old-school crafting. The experience, quite appropriately, was called #analog.

But it didn’t stop there. In addition to creating their own works of art, participants were invited to contribute to a coloring book mural — essentially a giant, wall-sized page with shapes to be colored in — to create one, big masterpiece that contained a little bit of everyone’s work. It’s a concept that might look familiar, especially if you attended INBOUND 2016:

 

Coloring at #inbound16

A photo posted by Kipp Bodnar (@kippbodnar) on Nov 8, 2016 at 3:25pm PST

7) Add a digital element.

As if we didn’t love the experience created by American Greetings enough — the brand also made it shareable. The title of the initiative was, in and of itself, a branded hashtag that people could use to attribute tweets and other social media posts from the engagement. That made it easy for people to share the experience in a branded way — and remember those stats about how people love to share their event experiences online? Give them an easy, creative way to attach your name to it.

American Greetings took it further than a branded hashtag, however. It created a new location on Instagram that people could attach to their photos — “Analog by American Greetings” — leaving little doubt about who created the experience.

 

Ready for an epic day at #analog featuring live art installations by @kelseymontagueart #SXSW #sxsw2016 #Repost @kelseymontagueart ・・・ My first coloring book mural is up and ready to go for @amgreetings;) This is from one of my favorite pages in the #WhatLiftsYou coloring book. If you’re in Austin come out, relax, color and take some time for yourself ❤️🎨 #SXSW #adultcoloringbook

A photo posted by American Greetings (@amgreetings) on Mar 12, 2016 at 6:24am PST

You May Now Proceed to Go Nuts — Within Reason

These tips should give you a good baseline for getting started on your experiential marketing initiatives — but at the end of the day, you’re free to run with them as creatively as you see fit. Of course, the scale of your ideas will likely match your budget, but as we’ve seen, many of these ideas don’t require a ton of money, but rather, a lot of good planning.

And that’s why we say to “go nuts” — if it aligns with your product, service, and brand, and you can afford it, give your audience every reason to not only show up, but also, stick around and share the experience. That’s applicable to every sector, both B2B and B2C. You can offer entertainment. You can offer something unexpected. Just make sure it makes sense.

What are your best experiential marketing tips? Let us know in the comments.

Anyone remember AIM — previously known as AOL Instant Messenger?

I do. I remember downloading it to get through hours of a high school computer science class. I remember insisting to my parents that, no, it wasn’t a distraction from my homework — even though, you know, of course it was. And, I remember when it pretty much stood alone in the world of instant messaging technology.

Those days are gone. Now, we have a plethora of instant messaging options — at your computer or on your phone. And with more people using mobile as the primary method of getting online, it makes sense that there’s a growing number of instant messaging apps. 

But are any of these apps better than the others? As it turns out, that depends on the scenario — like if you’re traveling overseas, trying to communicate at cruising altitude, or just want to send a text message without a cellular connection. We found some of the best messaging apps for a variety of scenarios, and make our recommendations below.

6 of the Best Messaging Apps for Different Scenarios

1) WhatsApp

When to Use It: While Traveling Abroad

Free | iOS | Android | Windows

HubSpot currently has offices in five cities. Much of the time, our employees travel between offices, especially when we all come together for INBOUND in Boston. And during those events, we have to communicate with each other, usually via mobile. But there’s a problem — sending SMS messages while abroad often results in a hefty roaming charge, and international dialing from mobile devices can be complex if you don’t have a specific wireless plan that allows it.

That’s why WhatsApp is such a popular app among our traveling colleagues. It works particularly well for folks without international data or dialing plans, since it’s free to use over WiFi.

WhatsApp is most popular for its text messaging capabilities, but includes features that allow users to place voice calls and send photos over a wireless connection, avoiding mobile international calling fees. But be careful — if you become disconnected from WiFi and haven’t disabled your device’s data roaming option, you could be charged by your wireless carrier for using the app over a cellular connection.

Source: Microsoft Store

2) Hangouts

When to Use It: When You Already Use Google Voice

Free | iOS | Android

Hangouts, made by Google, tends to be a better option for people who already use its suite of products for, say, business. Its biggest differentiator from Allo is its ability to make calls — it works well if you have an established phone number with Google Voice, and want to use that to make calls or send SMS messages. But you don’t need to have previously connected with someone specifically via Google to reach them — you can use the app to reach the contacts who are already stored in your phone. Plus, it also has a video call interface.

For example, when I owned a small business in New York, I used Google Voice to set up a phone number for it — one that had a local area code, unlike my mobile phone. Having the Hangouts App on my mobile device allowed me to make and receive calls using my business number, even when I wasn’t at my desk. That way, clients could reach me at any time, using one single phone number.

Many people are understandably confused about the differences between Hangouts and Google’s new messaging app, Allo. With the latter, contacts can still receive SMS messages from you via the app — but not from a recognizable number. We’ll explain below.

Source: iTunes Store

3) Allo

When to Use It:

• When You Want an Assistant With Your Messaging App

• When You Want to Avoid SMS Fees

Free | iOS | Android

Although they’re both made by Google, there are a few differences between Allo and Hangouts. First, Allo doesn’t (yet) have voice call capabilities — it’s strictly used for text messaging. Plus, it only works on one device at a time, as the New York Times explains.

That said, it does offer some of the same benefits as many other mobile messaging apps, in that it doesn’t require a cellular connection and is free to use over WiFi. And like Hangouts, you don’t need to have previously connected with someone specifically via Google to reach them — you can use the app to reach the contacts who are already stored in your phone. Plus, for any of those contacts who have Allo installed, the message will arrive via the app, helping them to avoid any SMS fees.

Allo’s biggest attribute is its integration with Google Assistant. Take this conversation about recipes — having the assistant included with the messaging app makes something like planning dinner that much more seamless.

4) Zello

When to Use It: When You Need Walkie-Talkie Capabilities, Without the Clunky Hardware

Free — Pricing options for different types of usage | iOS | Android | Windows

During something like a major event, managers and planners might have to get a hold of each other immediately — which, as crazy as it sounds, means that sending a text message might take too long. In situations like these, emergencies require the immediacy of something like a walkie-talkie, but without the clunky hardware.

That’s why apps like Zello are so helpful. They allow you to page someone immediately, like you would via radio communication, but don’t require any special equipment. Instead, you can download it right to your mobile device, and communicate with colleagues on there — no phone calls or SMS messaging necessary.

Source: Zello

5) Messages

When to Use It: When You Have an iOS Device and No Cellular Connection

Free | Included With iOS Devices

We’ve written before about inattentional blindness, which is essentially the psychological term for not seeing what’s right in front of us, so to speak. That’s why we couldn’t leave Messages — previously known as iMessage — off of the list. For anyone with an iOS device, it’s right there, and often provides an easy way to communicate without a cellular connection.

Take a long flight, for example. Some airlines now offer WiFi connections that allow in-flight messaging across a variety of mobile operating systems. But for those that only permit old-fashioned WiFi, having access to Messages is one advantage of using the iOS — you can still send text messages across a variety of devices, but only to other iOS users. To reach that portion of your contacts, at least, you don’t have to download a separate messaging app.

Another nice thing about Messages is its availability on MacBook devices, which allows users to send text messages to contacts via desktop — including those who don’t use iOS, as long as your phone has a cellular connection. And because that’s powered by cloud technology, it should mean that those messages are synced across all iOS devices with the same Apple ID being used to send the messages — MacBook, iPhone, and iPad, for example.

Source: Apple

6) Facebook Messenger

When to Use It: When You’re Missing a Facebook Friend’s Phone Number

Free | iOS | Android | Windows

Messaging apps that integrate with your contacts are great. But what happens when you need to reach someone who isn’t stored in your phone, but to whom you’re connected elsewhere, like Facebook?

That’s why the messenger app is so helpful. I’ve lost count of the number of times I befriended someone on Facebook — socially or professionally – but we failed to exchange numbers. What happens if we want to make plans, or exchange other contact information, like email addresses? Enter Facebook Messenger.

It’s yet another app that works without a cellular connection, too. So if SMS simply isn’t an option, Messenger provides another way to instantly connect with your network. Plus, it offers voice and video call technology.

Taking a break from social media? No problem. You can use your phone number to set up Messenger — which also syncs the app with your phone’s contacts — and you can deactivate your Facebook profile, but still use Messenger to communicate with friends.

Source: Facebook

Get the Message

Back in those days of AIM, it would have been had to believe that, eventually, it would be this easy to reach someone. For the most part, all you really need is a smartphone and a WiFi connection — with any of these largely free apps, you can use those two things to connect with the people you want to reach.

And the technology will only continue to progress. As AI continues to work its way into the zeitgeist and bots are taking on more responsibilities, this type of communication might come with even fewer technical requirements — and effort.

What are your favorite messaging apps? Let us know in the comments.

 

Running a business takes everything you have. Entrepreneurs pour their creativity, passion, effort, savings — their everything — into their work. And five years after they start, half of them are out of business. A decade later, two-thirds have called it quits.

But why?

For marketing firms, I believe it comes down to a lack of diligent measurement. Sure, measuring and tracking may not be the sexiest part of running an agency, but it’s the only way to ensure you’re not throwing money away.

Commit to tracking these five things in 2017, and you’ll have your most profitable year yet.

5 Metrics Your Agency Should Measure in 2017

1) Adjusted Gross Income per Full-Time Equivalent Employee

Determining your number of full-time equivalent employees (FTE) is a convenient way to measure labor. To do this, denominate employees into 40-hour-a-week units. A full-time employee is equal to one FTE. A 20-hour-a-week employee is 0.5 FTE.

Your target should be $150,000 of adjusted gross income (AGI) for every FTE. That amount should cover salaries, benefits, and overhead while leaving enough profit to reinvest in the business or offer bonuses to high-achieving team members.

Years ago, the target AGI for each FTE was $100,000. Inflation accounts for some of the increase, but marketing agencies are also hiring expensive people to fill positions on growing digital teams.

In short, the world has changed. It’s gotten more expensive.

Many marketing agencies haven’t adjusted their billing rates to keep up — and that’s a big problem. If you’re only earning $100,000 per FTE, your agency likely isn’t very profitable. Those thin margins carry extra risk when an unexpected tax bill comes due, equipment breaks down, or you need a retention bonus for a key team member.

2) Over/Under

No, I’m not talking about the score in tonight’s basketball game. I’m talking about how often you are over or under budget.

When agencies complain to me about how hard they work and how little they make — which is often — I always go straight to their over/under. How often do you go over budget? What are you writing off? How often are you under budget? By how much?

After they answer these questions and start tracking the numbers, they’re usually horrified by what they find.

Companies are willing to write off thousands of dollars’ worth of time on jobs in which they overservice their clients. Those are hours that could be spent on other clients, finding new business, or marketing your services.

The solution to this problem is often a process change. Typically, the problem is that budget estimates are too low. My advice is to add an additional 50 percent to any job estimate. Initial estimates always assume a perfect world where everything goes according to plan. How often does that happen in reality? Adding 50 percent to perfect-world estimates usually brings them firmly into the real world.

3) Profitability by Client

Agencies always keep track of their overall profitability, but seldom do they get as specific as how much profit they earn from each client. That number can hide some ugly truths.

Most marketing shops have a mix of clients. Some are easy to work with and contribute handsomely to the bottom line. Others are difficult. Some might actually be costing you money. You won’t know until you start tracking.

Once you have the numbers, decide what the minimum is you’re willing to accept. For some agencies, it might only be a 3 percent profit margin. Others might want 20 percent. It’s up to you. I personally only want clients that have at least a 10 percent profit margin.

If you see that you have clients that aren’t bringing in the profits you’d like, figure out why and what can be done to fix it. Sometimes, the problem is simply that you’re not charging enough. If that’s the case, raise your rates. If you lose the client, so be it.

Other times the problem might be subtler. It might require a conversation about how to streamline work processes and avoid delays. Insist on a solution. They’ll either cooperate and become a good client, which is great, or you’ll lose them. Again, so be it.

Losing unprofitable accounts is not a bad thing. Yes, your cash flow will take a hit. Don’t be trapped by that. Accumulating clients that provide cash flow but not profit will eventually choke your business.

4) Minimum Client Engagement

Clients come in all sizes. Some are going to be too big for your agency to handle well, and others will be too small to be worthwhile. Some will hit the sweet spot. But you won’t know the difference unless you track two things for each client: how many hours you bill and your adjusted gross income.

Once you track your gross billing and AGI for each client, establish a minimum amount they need to provide of each for you to retain them. The threshold will be obvious once you look at your data paired with the profitability percentages.

You’re going to see some clients that have few hours billed, bring in little income, and generate low profitability. These clients are too small. Some clients will be too big. Your team will spend a lot of time on these clients, but the time will be eaten up by written-off hours for redone work and overdue deliverables. This client likely won’t be happy, and the account won’t be profitable.

So how do you know what your sweet spot is? Usually, it’s when the client is big enough to generate income and small enough to service effectively and keep satisfied. And it will have a healthy profit margin to prove it.

The goal then is to move all your clients to the sweet spot. If they won’t move, let them go. Armed with your new knowledge, you’ll be poised to find perfect-fit clients.

5) Timesheets

This last item ties all the previous four together. Everyone hates timesheets, and there are some consultants who say they aren’t necessary. I couldn’t disagree more.

Timesheets are central to running a data-driven, profitable agency. Indispensable. Everyone needs to do them. Even you. Your employees are your biggest expense and your biggest asset. If you don’t trace it, how are you going to know whether you’re managing it well?

Moreover, you can’t track the other metrics without time sheets. If you don’t know the hours worked, you can’t calculate FTE or AGI per FTE. If you don’t know how many hours you put into a project, you can’t know whether you were over or under your bid. If you don’t track time spent per client, you can’t know profitability per client or income or billable hours, which leaves you guessing what your minimums should be. You’re left running everything with a hunch and a guess.

Measure Your Way to Success in 2017

If you track all five of these metrics, you’ll be able to leave guesswork behind. You’ll be able to act decisively to improve your job estimates and profitability. You’ll know which clients to move resources to and which clients to jettison. You’ll also recognize new clients that are good fits and worth pursuing and ones that are bad fits.

You’ll make informed, strategic decisions. You’ll run your agency like you’ve always wanted to.

Happy tracking.