There are obvious benefits to attending an event or conference, among them learning, sales and lead generation, however many companies miss the fantastic opportunity to create content and also for amplification. Akin to breaking news, events are up to date, are mentioned online and in many articles, and can also stand to create popular search trends.
Content that is created to centre on the lead up time to the event, the actual event day, and also the wind-down period can help with increasing brand recognition, online shares, and many other desired benefits.
Here are some ideas to assist with taking your next event in to a recognised, content creating and marketing landmark.
1. YouTube channels
YouTube has grown in popularity over recent years due to its ability to reach wide audiences and offer free content to a mass market. Studies have shown that conversion rates are higher and lead costs are lower for video users, as opposed to non-video users.
Events like trade shows can help you increase your YouTube followers because they let you target easily an audience that you have something in common with.
Create a short series of videos that focus on your team’s event involvement, or of steps in the process of an event you may be running. Don’t stress, it does not need to be professionally shot and edited! YouTube viewers are way more inclined to engage with content that looks authentic and doesn’t come across like a polished PR video. Use your camera on your smartphone, be the narrator and show the attendees at the event – no actors or extras. Just start filming
Video content can capture or focus on:
- Introducing conference/event attendees and others to your brand before the event
- Show your team being actively engaged in your industry or sphere
- Lead users to your YouTube channel, there they can learn more about your company and view your more sales-oriented videos
- Focus on each of your team members by highlighting their roles, personalities and experience
So before your yearly event schedule begins, get your team together and work out a cool video strategy. Do be creative. Focus on your objectives and goals and structure a plan for filming and your schedule.
2. Social media hype
Gain more followers who attend the types of events you host. To make this happen, you’ll need to learn to optimize on the social media efforts put together by other conference and event organisers. See who they follow, follow them too, tweet at them and engage them on pertinent questions.
Consider:
- What are your goals and objectives?
- Who will manage your social media efforts?
- Will your team members have time to post or will they send content to someone at the office to manage?
- Create interesting, yet easy to use hashtags, and make sure that everyone knows them
- Make sure you are monitoring conference mentions and retweeting and responding in real time
Make sure your social media manager is fully briefed on is all of the speakers with their bio’s, their topics, and more about exhibitors, so they are ready to engage in conversations and tweet on pertinent points and comments and give catchy captions to photographs.
Encourage others to follow you by talking directly to them, share their content, and tag them in your posts. As long as you don’t come across as desperate or silly, your following will grow in no time.
Use the hashtags to search for others posts, to increase your reach.
3. Be a blogger of note
Make sure you make space in your content creation calendar to write event-related blog posts. Many people will be searching on related topics to your events, and you can gain a share of the clicks and impressions.
Schedule a few brief posts before the event, one or two during, and a short series after each event. You will have full coverage and increase targeted content with important keywords that attract visitors to your site during the period when event hype is at its peak, and often the time that you least likely have to actually sit and write the post.
Here are some topic suggestions during each period of the conference conversation:
Before:
- Highlight your company’s involvement
- Have a high level expert from your company write an article that introduces the content being presented.
- Highlight a few speakers that you are excited to see, and exhibitors you can’t wait to interact with
During:
- Do a daily short recap
- Interview event attendees about their experience at the event
- Showcase some things that stand out about the host venue, or city if it’s one that you don’t live in.
After:
- Share takeaways from attendees about the event as a whole and more specifically about your learnings as the organizer.
- Do some predictions for the next year based on what you learned and the way forward
Use the above to create a structure for your own ideas as a starting point to develop your own tailor made posts and watch the ROI increase steadily on your events. Most importantly have fun – that’s what it’s all about.
