Rachael Wimberly’s article, “Report Indicates More Events Embracing Digital Media” in TSNN last week says 72% of show organizers expect to have a digital event strategy in place by the end of 2010.

I almost jumped out of my seat when I read this latest statistic! This is great! Digital tools like social networking sites are a great way to build relationships before, after and during events and after all, isn’t that the point of face-to-face events?

So what will 3 out of 4 show organizers be thinking about when planning their foray into the digital world?

I think there are 5 critical questions to ask when planning the campaign:

1. What is our goal in using digital media? Is it to draw people to register on your website, engage your attendees or exhibitors to enhance your working relationship, or establish industry expertise and credibility? Determining upfront goals will help you measure them and keep the folks at the top focused on realistic results.
2. Where is our audience hanging out online? Knowing the answer to this question will save resources—both human and budget—from being wasted on the hot site your audience isn’t even on.
3. What will we blog about? Tweet about? Engage our Facebook fans with? Developing an editorial calendar will help keep everyone involved on task when the show planning ramps up and there’s little time to sit around and brainstorm new ideas.
4. Who will maintain our social media presence? The absolute WORST thing that can happen with a social networking account is to create it and let it die. People will find it and see you haven’t been posted anything in a month and never return—audience lost.
5. How much time is reasonable to spend on said maintenance? While digital tools seem so inexpensive compared to traditional direct marketing, the time it takes to do it right adds up, so it’s important to set a budget (and the realistic expectations that will be accomplished within that budget).

Let me know what other critical questions your organization is asking as it develops its digital marketing plan.

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