Marketers often struggle to stand out from competitors, because markets in any industry have become increasingly crowded. However, event marketing strategies can help organizations attract attention and set themselves apart from industry peers.
To determine if event marketing is the right approach, marketers should understand how events can enhance their overall strategies.
What is event marketing?
Event marketing is the use of in-person or virtual events to promote a brand, product or service. Organizations can host their own events, but they might also sponsor or participate in third-party events.
Common event types include the following:
Conferences. Often large, multiday events that a single organization hosts with a handful of sponsors.
Trade shows and exhibitions. Large events that bring together people and organizations within an area of focus, such as an industry or technology.
Product launches. Events that focus on a new product or service.
Networking events. Gatherings to help professionals interact and make connections.
Seminars and webinars. Educational events that offer detailed discussions on a topic.
Gala dinners. Formal dinner events that often include speeches and awards ceremonies.
Key event marketing benefits
Events offer brands a broad range of benefits, including brand awareness, lead generation and brand authority.
1. Increased brand awareness
Organizations that host their own events can increase brand awareness — the level of familiarity people have with a company — because it gives marketers full control over branding. For instance, marketers can align an event’s overall theme and keynote presentations with the brand’s message. They might create branded services and materials, such as event apps, photo booths and badges, for the event to help attendees recognize and remember their company.
However, brands don’t need to organize a conference themselves to generate brand recognition. They can also sponsor events to have their logos appear in prime locations, such as on stage at a conference or on presentation slides for a webinar. Brands can also purchase booths at relevant conferences and trade shows to engage with their target audience and generate brand visibility.
2. Improved lead generation
Events let organizations interact with their audiences in person and in real time, which can offer marketers higher quality leads than more surface-level interactions, such as email blasts. For example, brands can host Q&A sessions at conferences or interactive webinars to engage people, answer their questions and build trust.
These interactive touchpoints can create meaningful and memorable connections and offer marketers a chance to find out leads’ interests and contact information. Marketers can then follow up with leads after the event with personalized outreach or transfer them to the sales team, depending upon where the lead is in the buyer journey.
3. More brand authority
Brands can host or participate in knowledge-sharing events, such as workshops, seminars and conferences, to increase brand authority and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industries. These types of events let brands showcase their expertise on a given topic which, in turn, builds trust with their audiences and increases sales.
For example, CRM vendor Salesforce hosts multiple CX conferences, such as Dreamforce and Connections, which bring together global industry experts and influencers to share ideas with users and other CX professionals. These conferences have grown over time and helped Salesforce position itself as a recognizable CX brand.
4. Enhanced networking opportunities
Events often include social components, such as meet-up sessions, VIP lounges and happy hour gatherings, to help attendees network with industry peers. Whether brands host a conference or purchase a booth at a trade show, they can send marketers to attend and share ideas with like-minded people.
Events generate a lot of content that marketers can use and repurpose for post-event campaigns. For instance, brands can record live conference sessions or webinars and clip them for social media posts and blog articles. Additionally, slides from presentation decks can offer engaging visual elements for email newsletters.
Brands can record live conference sessions or webinars and clip them for social media posts and blog articles.
Marketers can also interview attendees, conduct Q&As with presenters and create exclusive behind-the-scenes videos for YouTube subscribers. All these content opportunities can help marketers boost engagement and generate leads.
6. More customer data
Events generate a lot of customer data to enhance marketing strategies. For example, registration tools can identify attendee demographics, job titles and contact information, while event apps can track which sessions users attended and collect feedback about them from polls and surveys. This data helps marketers identify new audience segments, personalize outreach and improve sessions and other offerings.
Most organizations manage this data in event marketing platforms. These tools often include analytics dashboards to help marketers easily visualize event metrics, such as session attendance, app usage and networking activities. Additionally, brands can integrate these platforms with their CRM systems and marketing automation tools to streamline follow-up outreach and automate tailored messaging.
7. Improved competitor research
At conferences and trade shows, marketers can observe competitor booths to see which receive the most and least foot traffic. This activity can offer insights into which marketing and sales tactics engage audiences most effectively. For example, if the most popular booths include representatives dressed in attention-grabbing costumes or uniforms, marketers could adopt this strategy at their next event.
Marketers can also speak with attendees and listen in on conversations to learn which competitor’s products, services and features people like and dislike. This research can help brands understand their competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and fill gaps in their product and marketing strategies.
Which brands should embrace event marketing?
Event marketing can benefit B2B and B2C organizations in many industries, including technology, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, retail, entertainment and automotive. However, marketing leaders should first conduct surveys and analyze social media behavior to ensure their audience finds value in events.
Marketers can also conduct research to see if any competitors in their industry offer events. In most cases, events can improve a brand’s marketing strategy, because they offer such a broad range of benefits. However, brands must identify the right type of event for their business goals. For instance, a brand that wants to increase its authority might host an educational event, such as a webinar, as opposed to purchasing a booth at a trade show.
Additionally, brands must consider their budget, because event costs can vary massively. Large, multiday conferences often require a few million dollars to host, whereas webinars generally cost a few thousand.
Tim Murphy is associate site editor for TechTarget’s Customer Experience and Content Management sites.
