Audience Engagement: Examples from in-person events and in the digital channel

Quick Case Study #1: How AI slashed speechwriting time 50% for conference

I met David Klein in the AI Guild many moons ago. He recently shared with me how he used artificial intelligence for crafting a speech for the SEOMeetup conference in New York City.

BEFORE: Traditional speech preparation

Ross Kernez used to spend hours drafting and rehearsing speeches for conferences. This conventional method, while thorough, required significant time and effort to achieve a final version that resonated with his natural speaking style and the intended audience's expectations.

AFTER: Introducing AI into the speechwriting process

Kernez reached out to Klein for help writing the opening speech for the New York SEO Conference, which was partly inspired by the Chiang Mai SEO conference where the two originally met.

“One of our biggest challenges was ensuring the conference didn’t feel like just another event. We wanted it to be a real community experience, and by focusing on personal touches – like crafting the perfect opening speech – we overcame that hurdle,” said David Klein, Director for Growth & Customer Advocate, Klein’s Organic.

He used the Copywriter - Instagram expert in  MeclabsAI to help craft the speech. “We chose the ‘Copywriter - Instagram’ AI expert because it’s designed to produce concise, engaging, and approachable content, which matched the tone we wanted for Ross. The goal was to keep the speech professional but relatable, with touches of humor that resonate well in spoken formats,” Klein said.

This is a great example of working with artificial intelligence, and not having the AI dictate the final output. He didn’t just take the exact output and use it. He used the output as inspiration, and then brought his human insights and abilities to it.

Klein used the prompt – Craft an introductory speech for an SEO conference in New York, inspired by the Chiang Mai SEO conference’s opening speech.

‘SEO enthusiasm has its own time zone’

Here is the original output from MeclabsAI…

Copywriter - Instagram

Given your requirements and the inspiration drawn from the Chiang Mai SEO conference introduction, I will craft an introductory speech for your New York SEO conference. This speech will aim to present you as a serious yet approachable host, infusing professionalism with a touch of humor to accommodate your speaking style and accent.

________________________________________

SEO Conference New York Introduction Speech

Welcome, everyone, to the inaugural New York SEO Conference, right here in the heartbeat of Manhattan. This moment is a culmination of tenacity, vision, and an undying passion for the transformative power of SEO. As I stand before you today, I am humbled by the trust and enthusiasm each of you has shown us, by choosing to be a part of something entirely new, yet profoundly familiar to our community.

Bringing people together, not virtually but physically, provides us with a unique energy and potential that simply can't be matched online. It's like when you try to explain the vibrant hustle of New York to someone who's never visited; words on a screen can't fully capture the essence. Our city, known for setting stages and pioneering movements, now hosts us, a community passionate about the art and science of SEO.

To our outstanding speakers, your expertise and willingness to share knowledge are the keystones of this conference. Each of you brings a world of experience, and let me offer my deepest gratitude for making this journey with us.

Before we dive deep into the world of sitemaps, backlinks, and the ever-elusive algorithms, let me share a brief story of how this conference came to be. Inspired by the spirit and success of similar gatherings worldwide, we saw an opportunity to create a platform here in New York. A platform where grey hats blend with white hats, and the only 'hat' that truly matters is the thinking cap we all share.

Now, I must admit, standing here does feel a bit like being the first person at a pop-up art exhibit. You know it's going to fill up, you know it's going to be brilliant, but there's that flutter of anticipation in being early to something destined to be remarkable. And speaking of being early, I've heard New Yorkers love to be fashionably late, but looking at this packed room, it seems SEO enthusiasm has its own time zone.

As we embark on this journey over the next few days, I encourage you to soak in every insight, question, and discovery. Remember, this conference is not just about what happens on this stage. It's also about the conversations in the hallways, the exchange of business cards over coffee, and perhaps, finding that one idea or partnership that could pivot your path to success.

So here's to us. To the pioneers, the innovators, the optimists. Here's to our shared quest for knowledge, excellence, and perhaps, a couple of laughs along the way. Because let's face it, if we can't find humor in a 404-page error, we're in the wrong line of work.

Let's make these days count. Let's connect, learn, and inspire one another to elevate not just our websites but our collective future in this digital world.

And remember, this is New York, the city where dreams are made, and rankings are earned. Let's do this!

Klein thought this output was in the ballpark but needed some work. “I know Ross and I know how he speaks and the thought of him practicing this in the mirror influenced the edits,” he said.

Here is Klein’s edited version. Black is original. Blue shows the alternate version of its MeclabsAI-written paragraph.

‘The trailblazers, the creative minds, and those looking on the bright side’

Refined SEO Conference New York Introduction Speech

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the very first SEO Conference right here in Manhattan, a city that's no stranger to setting the world stage with pioneers and innovators in every field imaginable. Today, we gather not just as professionals but as a vibrant community eager to connect, learn, and grow together in the dynamic world of SEO.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our first-ever SEO Conference, right here in Manhattan. This city is famous for leading and innovating in so many areas. Today, we come together not only as experts but as a lively group ready to meet, learn, and improve in the fast-moving world of SEO.

Bringing people together, not virtually but physically, provides us with a unique energy and potential that simply can't be matched online. It's like trying to explain the vibrant hustle of New York to someone who's never visited; words on a screen can't fully capture the essence. Our city, known for setting stages and pioneering movements, now hosts us, a community passionate about the art and science of SEO.

Meeting in person, not just online, gives us a special kind of energy and opportunity that's hard to find anywhere else. It's a bit like trying to describe New York's busy life to someone who's never been here; you can't quite catch the real feel of it through just words. Our city is famous for starting new trends and movements. Now, it welcomes us - a group excited about everything SEO has to offer.

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our distinguished speakers. Your expertise, experience, and generosity in sharing your knowledge serve as the foundation of this conference. Some of you have traveled halfway around the world to be here today, bravely facing the perils of jet lag with the grace of SEO warriors. Let's give them a round of applause, not just for their contributions but also for their impressive battle against the tyranny of time zones.

I want to say a big thank you to our amazing speakers. Your skills, your years of work, and your willingness to share what you know are what make this conference possible. Some of you have come from far away, overcoming the challenges of jet lag like true SEO heroes. Let's all clap for them, for their great work and for dealing with the different time zones to be here with us.

Before we start talking about sitemaps, backlinks, and algorithms, I want to share why we decided to host this conference. New York City is full of talented people who work in SEO. They understand how important SEO is. In this city, we have many companies, big and small. It made me think. What if we could bring all these people together for a conference? What if we could build a community around this event? One of the main reasons for creating this conference was because New York is a place with so many skilled people. We have small teams, big companies, and entrepreneurs. They all wear different 'hats' but they all care about SEO. Hosting this conference here means we can learn from each other, share our experiences, and grow together. New York's energy has brought us together today. It is a place where different people come together, and where SEO can reach new heights.

I must admit, standing here reminds me of being the first one to arrive at an art show. You know the place will be crowded soon, you know it's going to be great, but there's a special feeling in being the first. And about being early, people say New Yorkers like to be fashionably late, but looking at this packed room, it seems SEO enthusiasm has its own time zone

As we start this adventure for the next few days, I want you to grab every bit of knowledge, ask lots of questions, and discover new things. Remember, this conference is more than just the talks here on stage. It's about chatting in the hallways, sharing contacts over coffee, and maybe finding that special idea or new friend that changes everything for you.

So here's to us. To the pioneers, the innovators, the optimists. Here's to our shared quest for knowledge, excellence, and perhaps, a couple of laughs along the way. Because let's face it, if we can't find humor in a 404-page error, we're in the wrong line of work.

Here's to us – the trailblazers, the creative minds, and those always looking on the bright side. Let's dive into our journey of learning, striving for the best, and yes, sharing a few smiles and laughs as we go. After all, if we can't find something funny about a 404-page error, maybe we need to rethink our jobs.

Let's make these days count. Let's connect, learn, and inspire one another to elevate not just our websites but our collective future in this digital world. And remember, this is New York, the city where dreams are made, and rankings are earned. Let's do this!

“He integrated elements that reflect my personality, such as humor, storytelling, and a conversational tone. We then refined the content through multiple drafts, focusing on language that felt natural for me to deliver,” said Ross Kernez, Founder, SEOMeetup.

RESULTS: Time efficiency and positive feedback

“The AI got us about 80-90% there, but these human tweaks were crucial to making the speech authentically ‘Ross,’” Klein said. He estimates the speech took about 50% less time than previous speech preparations.

But the time saved was only part of the results, the audience reception was key as well.

“The audience was very responsive. They appreciated the balance of professionalism and approachability, with several attendees noting how well the speech set the tone for the rest of the conference,” Klein said.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: AI in speechwriting

1. Use AI to save time: Introducing AI into the speechwriting process can significantly reduce preparation time, allowing teams to focus on refining and personalizing the content rather than starting from scratch.
2. But don’t outsource your brain fully to AI: AI-generated content should be treated as a starting point. Incorporating human insights and adjustments ensures the final product aligns with the speaker's natural style and audience expectations.
3. Or lose your authentic voice: At the risk of sounding like a children’s book – there are eight billion people in the world, but there is only one you. The combination of AI's efficiency and human touch can create content that feels both professional and personable, and most importantly, like it comes from you specifically.

Quick Case Study #2: How state senator’s paid social campaign shifted strategy to better train Meta’s algorithm, increase petition signups 1,500%

Senator Robert Peters represents the 13^th district in the state of Illinois.

Any time we cover an elected official, I feel it incumbent to mention that MarketingSherpa does not endorse any specific candidate or political issue. The goal of our business journalism is to bring you a behind-the-scenes look at marketing campaigns and tactics to spark your best ideas for your own marketing.

Those ideas can come from industries outside your own, including government and politics. In the related resources section of this article, I include MarketingSherpa case studies from both sides of the political spectrum in the United States (President Barack Obama and The Heritage Foundation).

BEFORE: Meta traffic ads with multiple ad sets

Sen. Peters team launched a small budget campaign to increase his name identification and to grow his email database by highlighting legislation that he is currently working to champion in Illinois. The paid social ads encourage petition sign ups to certain policies that are currently in legislation.

In setting up the campaign, the team identified specific geos (geographic areas) around the state of Illinois and broke those geos up in their own separate ad sets using Meta traffic ads to drive clicks to the petition landing page. Below are examples of the social media ads used in the campaign.

Creative Sample #1: Social media ads promoting workplace rights, emphasizing the 'Say Yes to Workplace Rights' messaging across Facebook and Instagram

Creative Sample #2: Messaging focused on child labor laws

 Creative Sample #3: Messaging focused on healthcare

AFTER: Meta conversion ads with a single ad set

After seeing limited petition sign-ups over the course of a few weeks, the team changed their targeting strategy:

• Combined all identified specific geos into one ad set to create a bigger target audience for the algorithm to learn from.
• Switched Meta campaign set up from traffic ads to conversion/lead ads with a conversion goal using a pixel that was placed on the landing page.

“The landing page and pixel placement played a significant role in improving conversion rates. We were able to retarget constituents who already saw the petition with a ‘reminder ad.’ In doing so, we saw an increase in signatures,” said Olivia Goethals, Senior Media Manager, Stomping Ground Strategies (Sen. Peters’ strategic communications and public affairs vendor).

RESULTS: More petition signups

The strategic pivot paid off. After changes were made, over the course of a three-to-four-week period they saw petition sign ups increase by 1,500%, from 20 to more than 350 petition signatures. They also saw more engagement on the ad itself, garnering more than 150 comments and 135 shares.

“Constituents were very responsive to the campaign – good, neutral, and not-so-good," said Robert Peters, Senator, Illinois General Assembly. "Engagement increased with positive comments, praising the piece of legislation and work we are doing right here in Illinois.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Optimizing social media advertising for political campaigns

1. Don't let customers forget about you: For politicians, they usually only need their main conversion – a vote – every two or four years. But that type of customer relationship isn't unique to politicians. There are many brands – like realty agencies, tire companies, heavy industrial equipment manufacturers – that only get a purchase from customers every few years. These brands can still think of ways to win engagement from customers in between purchases, so when they are ready to purchase again, your brand is top of mind.
2. Play with strategic ad adjustments: In this case, switching from traffic to conversion ads and combining audience segments enhanced campaign performance.
3. Track everything you can track to better understand your audience: Proper use of landing page pixels and retargeting can significantly boost engagement and conversion rates, making campaigns more efficient even on a limited budget.

Quick Case Study #3: How content monetization platform interacted with 300% more attendees at event booth by focusing on fun instead of product usage

The destream platform helps content creators receive and manage their funds. The primary audience of destream’s marketing is bloggers, content creators, and gamers who actively attend events and livestream them on social media.

BEFORE: One-time activities that focused on product usage

The team participated in events like Gamescom and TwitchCon Amsterdam 2022.

For example, at Gamescom, a festival for gamers, destream set up a confetti machine to shoot real confetti when someone sent €100 or more to streamers and content creators.

But they realized to truly standout at an event, they needed to create a friendly atmosphere that was interactive and fun for their target audience – bloggers, content creators, gamers, and influencers, mostly from Generation Z.

AFTER: A carnival-like atmosphere that did not require product usage

During TwitchCon Rotterdam 2024, the team created a destream booth with a lively, carnival-like atmosphere.

The booth attracted crowds with a variety of engaging activities. For example, it featured a Wheel of Fortune, where attendees spun for a chance to win prizes.

The wheel’s grand prize was a long-sleeve shirt with embedded NFC technology, which allows fans to tip creators in real life. Out of more than 2,300 spins, 50 lucky participants won this exclusive item. After distributing the prizes, attendees were invited to explore the NFC long sleeve up close and the team demonstrated its functionality. 

Creative Sample #4: An influencer wearing NFC long-sleeve shirt

The booth offered classic amusements like Bingo and a popcorn machine that served over 600 portions. The team collaborated with well-known Twitch streamers and influencers to encourage the attendees to participate in their booth’s activities. While some influencers were brought to the event as part of the destream team, others were recruited locally through strategic social media advertising.

Creative Sample #5: Influencers attracting attendees to booth at TwitchCon Rotterdam 2024

The team was also proactive in engaging with influencers online, frequently following, liking, and commenting on their posts, both during and after the event.

RESULTS: 80% of attendees engaged at destream’s booth

The team interacted with 300% more attendees at TwitchCon Rotterdam 2024 compared to TwitchCon Amsterdam 2022, even though the booths had similar budgets.

More than 1,000 gifts and merchandise items were distributed at the event, and 80% of all attendees, including major bloggers and influencers, engaged with the destream booth (the team counted creators who received a merch item and other attendees that engaged in some way with the booth).

On Instagram, there were 40 organic interactions and destream’s Twitter account saw another 40 organic interactions, with mentions from prominent accounts like TheStockGuyTV and TwitchDE.

In total, influencer engagement resulted in 30,000 viewers watching the destream booth on live streams, with recorded versions receiving 15 times more views. Additionally, destream reached more than 8,500 accounts across social media.

The event also sparked significant B2B interest, with 15 discussions initiated with potential business partners and collaborators. On the B2C side, the team successfully connected with over 1,500 consumers.

“I do believe that participating in major industry events is an excellent strategy for making product announcements to a targeted audience. Moreover, it is a great method to increase brand awareness and leave a positive impression about the company,” says Dmitrii Zorkin, CMO, destream.

The team is now gearing up for TwitchCon San Diego, scheduled for September 20-22, 2024, where they plan to refine and scale their marketing approach. The main improvements include:

• Doubling the number of prize wheels, offering not just one but two, making it more engaging for all attendees, including streamers
• Deploying more staff to interact with guests
• Introducing a digital screen at the booth with a video to guide people on where to go in the booth

Additionally, the company launched an early and more extensive ad campaign targeting U.S. streamers, encouraging them to visit the booth.

Given the larger crowd expected in the U.S., destream will implement a digital system for handling surveys, since manual processing would be challenging with the increased volume.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Engaging event attendees with interactive experiences

1. Focus on how you can serve the audience, not what you can get from them: Shifting from product-centric promotions to creating an engaging, fun atmosphere can dramatically increase booth interaction at events.
2. Events are the place for human-to-human interactions, so leverage humans: Collaborating with influencers to draw attendees to your booth can amplify your brand's reach and create more memorable experiences for visitors.
3. Add a ‘wow’ factor: Incorporating unique elements – in this case, NFC-enabled merchandise – gives your booth an edge to stand out in a memorable way.

Related resources

Email Optimization: A discussion about how A/B testing generated $500 million in donations for President Obama’s re-election campaign

How The Heritage Foundation increased donations 274% by using MECLABS methodology

Effective Audience Engagement Strategies: Real-life examples from social media and email marketing