B2B Marketing Events: Worth the hype? Spilling the tea, takeaways and tactics
Hello and welcome to the sixth edition of Cedarwood Offshoots. It’s July! We’re well and truly into a British summer now and whilst the weather continues to disappoint, at least the England team is finally doing the opposite. If you’ve scrolled on LinkedIn at all in the past month, you may have reached the same conclusion as us - everyone and their mum is hosting, attending, and making a click-baity post out of B2B marketing events.
Now, I don’t know if it’s the cost of living crisis leaving us in dire need of the free pizza, or the fact Love Island has got slightly boring but B2B events are definitely on ‘trend’. The pandemic days in which we thought we might never return to in-person events seem a distant memory and instead, B2B events are back, and back with a vengeance. With our chronic onlineness, it’s no wonder that we’re craving in person interactions, and networking in LinkedIn comments just isn’t quite the same.
When you look at the stats, it’s no wonder! A recent study by Bizzabo found that 80.4% of organisers say in-person events are the most impactful marketing channel. Done right, they’re an invaluable way to build relationships with potential clients and network with peers in the industry, all whilst showing off the expertise of your team. In fact, Markletic puts the ROI of B2B events at a huge 5-1. So, if you want to jump on the bandwagon (which you should) how can you make sure your event stands out?
Lucky for you, we’ve spent the last few months both attending events, and launching our own. As a result, we’ve learnt a lot, and this edition will run you through the good, bad and the ugly of running a successful B2B marketing event. Here’s our lessons learned and actionable tips, from the initial planning stages through to the post-event strategy.
1. Begin with your why?
We’re opening with a hefty cliche here but hear us out - we’ve been to our fair share of B2B events and you can tell which events are grounded in a strong, and unified purpose. This why should be foregrounded at the event, and in all surrounding content, and the more unique the better. Whether the aim is addressing a challenge in the sector, fostering a new community, or promoting your new service, the first step for a good B2B event is agreeing on why you’re doing it. If your event is fuelled purely by a want to jump on the hype and lacks a genuine purpose, the attendees will see straight through it!
As an example, with Manchester DM (and its sister event Sheffield DM ) the aim is to create a friendly, and laid-back atmosphere, where students and industry veterans alike can network and learn. As a result, this was factored into everything from the venue choice and promotional content, to the chosen speakers.
2. Fail to plan…
Plan to fail. And when we’re talking planning, it’s got to be painstakingly meticulous. Winging it doesn’t quite work with B2B events - every second and every possibility must be accounted for. An event or conference should be well-organised and smooth-running to make it enjoyable for the attendees.
We’re not going to bore you with a dummy’s guide to events planning, I’m sure you’re aware of the steps involved, all marketers are the same people who planned their year group’s Prom right? However, we’ve decided to set aside our ego and tell you about a lesson we learned in our planning process.
Think carefully when choosing a date. A particular Thursday night may be deceptively clear in your team’s Google calendar but are other events happening that day or even that fortnight? What’s going on nationwide that weekend, how is the weather looking, how are people’s budgets? Choosing the final week of June for our event made it slightly harder to market, what with an influx of B2B events happening, along with Glastonbury, the Euros, Pride events, you name it. Whilst it is by all means possible to still fill seats when confronted with these challenges (as we did!), it does mean your promotion needs to shout a bit louder to be heard over all this noise.
3. Your venue is more than just a roof over your head
One thing we’ve learnt from attending and running B2B events is that the venue truly sets the tone. You’ve already decided on a purpose and target audience for the event, and the venue should align with this. Not to be overly gen-z but the vibe needs to be right. Corporate, or more laid-back? Big and open-plan or more of a cosy nook? Targeting a wider audience will require you to have good transport links. If the social aspect of your event is key, how is the drinks menu and bar looking? It’s worth going to peruse a few venues in person to get a feel. Think of it like wedding venue shopping - ask the right questions, and picture your target attendee, would they like this venue?
4. Don’t be afraid to phone a friend
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These idiomatic headings are getting vaguer by the second but here we’re talking about...sponsors! Securing sponsorships offers far more than just financial backing, the right choices can be a great help in enhancing your event’s credibility and reach. We’ve seen this used successfully in lots of events to attract a wider audience because the sponsors will be using their own marketing channels to promote your event. This makes it really important to think carefully about who you’re choosing for a sponsor. It needs to complement your target audience and event goals, to create a win-win where both parties benefit.
Likewise, attendees will see a sponsorship as an endorsement, which is particularly helpful if you’re a smaller company or it’s your first event. That line of brand names at the bottom of an event poster just does make it look a bit more legit doesn’t it.
5. Get a solid marketing strategy down
It goes without saying that a successful B2B event is all in the promotion; aside from anything else you need seats filled to avoid an awful lot of cold pizza. A structured social media strategy is crucial, with high-quality assets (professionalism is key and Canva’s stock images might not cut it). Consider a bit of email nurturing if you’ve already got a mailing list, and a pre-event press release is always a good idea - outreached to local outlets. We’ve also found paid social media ads useful to help you reach a wider audience, targeting particular audiences, e.g. ‘marketing students’.
6. Consider going hybrid
Something we’re seeing more and more of is “hybrid” events catering to both online and in-person audiences. This can increase your reach and attendee engagement but will require additional planning and resources. Choose a hybrid event platform allowing for live streaming, and invest in good equipment to make sure every word is picked up.
To keep the online audiences engaged, polls and Q&A sessions in the chat can be helpful, and how about a breakout room for the braver networkers among us.
7. Make it count on the day
So you’ve put in all the hard work, now’s the time to make it count. Here’s a handful of things to keep in mind when the day of the event dawns:
8. Your work isn’t done just yet….
Your event is over, you take a big sigh of relief...but don’t relax quite yet! It’s important to now keep the momentum going. Social posts after the event will extend the reach of your event, and nurture leads and connections that were made. Share photos, videos, and a blog post summarising the event and key takeaways from topics discussed.
It’s time for your social media manager to put in the hours, replying and interacting with attendee posts in true Monzo style - this will help to increase engagement further. It’s also an ideal opportunity to promote any upcoming events; capitalise on the interest sparked by letting attendees know a date for their diary.
And on that note…. I hope you’ll allow us a cheeky plug.
If you’re in, or hoping to break into, the digital marketing scene in Manchester, we’re hosting the second Manchester DM on the 5th September! Join us for more talks, Q&As, laid-back networking (and strawberry margaritas).
Cedarwood Digital is an award-winning digital marketing agency based in Manchester. If you need a hand with your online strategy, or fancy speaking at one of our events, grab us for a chat.