RCNi drives attendance at job fair events for Nurses through an innovative approach and a test and learn email program

Brand

RCNi provides innovative and creative information solutions for the whole nursing team and associated health professionals.RCNi produce 11 journals, including Nursing Standard, to provide health professionals with the latest developments impacting nursing, including changes in policy, practice and research. Every year RCNi run job fairs around the UK for nurses, of which the Nursing Careers and Job Fair in London is the flagship event.

Objectives:

• Use insight from previous events to help inform this year’s message
• Find the optimum time to send emails that drive the best registrations
• Improve design on mobile devices to increase engagement
• Increase the conversion rate of attendees from registrations

The Challenge

Each year, RCNi run a UK-wide event series where Healthcare organisations exhibit to recruit nurses, some even doing interviews and making offers on the day. Therefore, attracting large volumes of nurses to stand-paying exhibitors is crucial for a successful event. Because it’s a free event, converting registrations to attendees proved challenging, particularly when the audience are time-strapped Nurses. Conversion rates were dropping and with 3,000 – 4,000 registering, but just 36% attending, action was required.

The Solution

Previous post-event survey responses showed although registering, nurses often couldn’t attend because of changing shift patterns. This insight, coupled with some Adestra recommendations during a regular account review on using automated emails for events, led to some fundamental changes.

Instead of sending emails some time away from the event, RCNi’s event marketing team tested sending a greater frequency closer to the event date, when shift patterns were more likely to be known. Greater use of the MessageFocus Automation Program Builder meant that sending campaigns was less resource intensive and meant emails could be scheduled and triggered according to actions the audience took, thereby increasing click through and conversion rates.

As well as changing timing of sends, key messages were centred around benefits to nurses such as the seminars on writing CV’s and the significant CPD hours they could acquire and put towards renewing their NMC registration.
Finally, emails were designed for mobile with less text and a more balanced use of images and buttons.

Results

The event series has delivered on its objective for RCNi’s event marketing team of increasing attendees. It’s done this through increasing email open rates so more nurses were exposed to the message, increasing click through rates so more nurses registered and a greater percentage of registrations attending – an increase of 39% YoY.

What’s next?

RCNi are planning for the next Fair, taking learnings form what has worked in previous ones and are about to embark on a data transformation project to integrate data into MessageFocus. This will enable greater opportunities on RCNi’s quest for First-Person Marketing.

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