Event marketing is one of the top four spending areas for B2B marketers, ahead of social media, customer intelligence and email marketing, according to a Gartner CMO report.
While nearly 67 percent of B2B marketers cite event marketing as their most effective strategy, organizations continue to struggle to leverage that spend beyond the event. Stacey Danheiser, founder of SHAKE Marketing Group, offers these tips for getting the most from your event marketing spend.
Create a consistent and compelling message. Whether you are sponsoring your own event or participating in a tradeshow, realize that prospects didn’t sign up to hear a sales pitch. With help from sales, create a consistent story about your organization that explains why they should choose to engage with your company.
Put an after-event communication plan in place. The days after the even are the best time to keep the conversation flowing. Provide content that:
- Summarizes key takeaways of the event
- Provides additional education for buyers
- An invite to a follow-up webinar or event
- A special offer or promotion
Go digital before and after an event. While 88 percent of marketers use social media to promote awareness of their events, only 54 percent use social media to engage participants after an event. Keep the discussion going by posting quotes from featured speakers or sending links to download white papers.
Get feedback. Dive into whether the speakers were effective, whether attendees found the event a good use of their time, and whether the message was on target. Collecting candid feedback will help you identify loopholes and provide a stronger foundation for building your next event.
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