4 ways of knowing if an event is worth attending.

In today's age where consumers are bombarded with 'Check this out' advertisements, paid promotions and email, it is crucial that we make the right decisions. With respect to attending business events, it is even more critical - since it involves making an investment of an entire day, besides the monetary factors.

Attend an event if the following criteria are met

1. Digital marketing + website quality :- You must ask yourself 

a. Is the Google/Facebook ad on my search relevant to what I was looking for?

b. Does the event promotion seem to appear on multiple relevant keywords? 

c. Does the event website explain what the event is all about in a simple, structured way?

d. Is the website up to date with all the information I require

Why this is important:  You want to make sure the organisers have done their homework and have invested enough to care what their target attendees are looking for. If not, then you're probably better off spending that one day doing something more productive.

2. Content on the website: Are the event agenda, speaker profiles, testimonials and list of exhibitors mentioned exhaustively on the website? Does the website mention important statistics about the previous edition of the event? Is every event session explained in detail?

Why this is important: Transparency is a good thing. When organisers state facts and leave the decision making to the attendees, organisers are respecting the maturity of the attendees and also stating a subtle fact - 'Our event is good and the attendee is bound to benefit'.

3. People that matter to you are also talking about this event: If leaders/colleagues from the industry are also talking about the event, then clearly the organisers have done their homework in promoting the event. There is no better way of attracting attendees then tapping into those resources that matter.

4. Networking is possible event before, during, and after the event: If an organiser has invested in creating methodology for attendees to discover one another, set up meetings, download content and provide feedback - then we would highly recommend you attend the event. The purpose of events is networking, and if you are assured that there are ways in which you can be introduced to potential customers - then go for an event. Event apps are probably the most relevant tools in this regard. 

These 4 points are just the basic aspects you should be considering before deciding on attending that next event!

10 salient points on Digital Marketing of Tradeshows: 4th Open Seminar of the Indian Exhibitions Industry Association

The following were the 10 salient points discussed at the 4th Indian Exhibitor Industries Association Open Seminar, at HITEX Hyderabad - 29th-30th August.  Abhay Bhatia of Procialize was invited to be a panelist on the same.

Topic: 'Social Media, Digital and e-commerce as an opportunity for Trade Fair Business'

1. Marketing for Trade Fairs needs to be a year long affair - and not just 1-2 months before the event.

2. Digital Marketing (Google Ad Words, Facebook, LinkedIN and Twitter campaigns) are the most cost-effective way of marketing, because they are the most accurate tool for targeted campaigns.
3. Quality of content needs to be important. Speak to your exhibitors about their top 10 customers, and post content about those customers. Remember, it is the visitors at your trade fairs which will ultimately drive home the success or the failure
4. Do not post content such as 'We acquired X customer, or Y number of exhibitors'. Post content that is valuable to your customer such as trends in the industry, any merger/acquisition activity or any industrial forecasts.
5. Digital Marketing is only effective when you know your customer. Knowing your customer means acquiring all information about the customer as well as the activities (meetings set up, campaign carried out, and visitors met) done at your event.Procialize is a great event app that can capture all these activities at your next trade fair.
6. Digital Marketing cannot be thought in isolation. It has to be integrated with the entire marketing activity. You can capture the people who have clicked on your Facebook page, google ad, or website, and then use that data to make smarter cold calls and pitch attractive packages.
7. Organisers need to be patient with digital marketing. A 3 year window is needed to reap the real benefits of your digital campaign
8. Your website and your Facebook/Twitter page need not be two separate entities. You can integrate your Twitter page into your Website, so that the content on the website always remains fresh. Click here to see how Procialize did this with CII's Digitize - Digital Marketing Conference 
9. Roughly 15% of your overall marketing spend should be directed towards Social Media - Panel Verdict
10. Your marketing strategy will differ for different industries. Example: Spend more on Social Media campaigns versus Google Adwords for Healthcare related shows and vice versa for manufacturing shows.

We're hiring - hop in and let's take a roller coaster ride!

July 24th, 2014

Procialize as a company is around 14 months today and is almost done with it's second version.

Having validated our proof of concept, we have now developed a mobile app that focuses on user experience. The goal is simple - ensure that every professional on this planet can network seamlessly.

We have made some blunders in the past - be it in packing too many features, not collaborating enough and underestimating the need of a team. We plan on eliminating all blunders within the next 3 months.

In terms of product, we have kept out features and our UI extremely simple. We want a user to be able to use this product easily and not discover an exhaustive list of features.

In terms of collaboration - we plan on teaming up with the various stakeholders within the event space. Be it exhibition centres, event companies, associations and even organisations. We realise that a professional has to deal with companies, events and associations to ensure career growth. We promise to make the professional's life easy.

In terms of building a great team, we are looking for the following

1. Head of Marketing: Someone who can realise the potential of professional networking, is well versed with various media of business generation, and has a strong B2B background. This leader should have had at least 6 years of experience in marketing in organisations of any size. We would love to interview anyone from the world, but given our financial constraints - we would like to have the candidate based out Mumbai.

2. Lead iOS Developer: 3-4 years of experience is compulsory. We are looking for any developer who has worked on multiple projects and has testimonials live at the App store. Mumbai candidates preferred again.


We shall be posting more jobs on our website as well on our social media pages. We'll keep you posted.

Changing the way attendees network...one event at a time!

We've crossed 15 events already, and each one has been a new experience.

Firstly, Procialize was never just about the tech, but also about delivering a memorable customer experience. We send our volunteers to the event to ensure everyone uses it. Not because we aren't sure of our product, but because we know that this is a behavioral change, and requires guidance and patience. People are used to wandering about exhibition stalls and picking up brochures, not browsing through their mobile phones to connect with network worthy contacts.

Secondly,we don't just send some random report to the event organizer, but carry out a detailed presentation. After all, the organizer doesn't care as much about 'how many people used the app', but about how to lower is customer re-acquisition cost. We ensure we explain each and every unit of measurement, and help the organizer plan and execute the next event better.

And finally, we have ended up going out of the way, on almost all our executions. Not because we had to, but because we wanted to. Be it sending mass mails, or digital marketing, or even creating graphical content for the organizer - we believe the event business is a tough one, involving tiring coordination. We want to ensure we are remembered not as a vendor, but as a partner.

Consider this as our mission statement.

P.S. Our new website is up and running. You ought to check out www.procialize.net