Creating an Effective Content Strategy for B2B Events

Are you coordinating a B2B industry event and working hard to ensure the attendees have a fantastic experience?  

Whether you’re planning a trade show, conference, software user’s group or member meeting, nothing’s more frustrating than creating a stellar event experience that doesn’t meet registration quotas. 

That’s why developing a comprehensive content marketing strategy months before the event is vital. It should be a year-round process to capture prospective attendees’ interests and capitalize on attendee input during the event. 

Time your event promotion content before, during and after the event to ensure you’re: 

• Generating interest in the event 
• Outlining the value of attending 
• Providing registrants with helpful information and tools  
• Providing takeaways for attendees to share with colleagues 
• Sharing what’s happening during the event on social channels 
• Getting feedback from attendees to measure success and share with others 
• Sharing post-show information, encouraging networking and promoting referrals 

This blog is the first of a three-part series that covers how to use content to market your event at every stage.  

Content Strategy for Events 

A great content strategy starts months ahead with event promotion, focusing on attendee engagement and event experience. Before you decide what types of content to generate, determine what the message will be.  

Since your event will compete with numerous other events, including online experiences, for limited budgets and time, you must make it clear to prospective attendees what makes your event worth someone’s time and money.   

The event content strategy should focus on the value of attending – both for the attendees and the companies sending them.  

Check out our B2B Content Strategy Questionnaire that can be adapted for your event.  

Create an engaging event landing page  

1. Start with a heading that encapsulates the event experience. For example, the recent Industrial Supply Association 2024 conference described its event as “Networking Excellence. Industry Trends. Unity in Action.” Right away, you know there will be many networking opportunities, information about industry trends and leadership insights.   

The Applied AI for Distributors 2024 event leads with a clear catchphrase: “The biggest event in distribution is back. Learn how AI can help you activate new business and outrun your competitors.”  

2. State what people will gain by attending the event. What are the takeaways? List the guest speakers and their bios. Include an agenda of the sessions and who is leading them. List any specific takeaways you may be providing, such as online or physical handouts summarizing sessions that attendees can share “back at the office.” 

3. Provide a clear link to the registration form. Include all the needed information: date(s), location, pricing, what’s included with registration, hotels and transportation, plus a list of sponsors and exhibitors. 

4. Include bright and eye-catching graphics, including banners that feature specific sessions. Don’t fall on old tropes; you’ll want to engage a prospective attendee’s attention immediately. 

5. Share your social channels for this event. Create an event hashtag and share it everywhere. 

Promote your event through various channels 

Even though word of mouth is certainly an excellent way to advertise an event, it shouldn’t be the only thing you rely on to get the word out. Large-scale events should start the promotion process 6-8 months beforehand to get a good turnout. Smaller events can lower the time frame to 3-4 months. The larger the event, the more resources you can devote to promoting it. There are also many tools you can use that are low-cost options. 

What content should I generate leading up to an event? 

• Email campaigns: The best place to start is sending a series of emails to your target audience (especially those who have attended previously). Outline the value of attending and provide information on speakers and exhibitors. Consider creating a referral program for those who recommend your event to a newbie. 
• Blogs: Post a blog about the event before the registration deadline. You can also post guest articles by your event’s speakers.  
• Publication articles: Submit a guest article to one or more of your industry’s trade publications. Work with a content marketing agency with a history of getting articles submitted to trade publications. 
• Press releases: A content agency can also help you prepare a press release and advise on the best publishing channels. 
• Webinars/Podcasts: Invite event speakers to chat with your team about their presentations and what attendees can gain from attending the event. It’s a win-win for both parties. Webinars are also an effective way to provide FAQs about the event.  
• Testimonials: Obtain testimonials from previous attendees on your event’s value through video or written content to include in emails, blogs and more. 
• Videos: Do you have video footage from past events? Put together a highlight reel to share on social media. If you don’t have video and you have the budget, hire a videographer to get testimonials and highlight speakers, exhibitors and more. You can always ask a few tech-savvy staff members to shoot videos with their phones. Videos can be repurposed in many ways, so they’re an excellent long-term investment. 
• Infographics: Create eye-catching graphics with data, statistics and key takeaways from past events. 
• Social channels: Promote your event on your social channels, especially LinkedIn, which is still the best platform for B2B interaction. 
• Surveys: Are you still deciding which sessions to include? Send out a survey to get feedback from your members or prospective attendees on what they’d like to see. 

Invest in an event and conference app 

A good event and conference app puts information at attendees’ fingertips and helps customize their experience around personal preferences. Once someone is registered, this app can help them plan their transportation, book the hotel and set their agenda. The sooner you get the app live and uploaded with conference information, the better their experience will be. 

Plan your B2B Event Marketing Strategy Now 

If you’re planning an upcoming event, it’s never too early to develop your marketing strategy. Putting together all the content needed for a comprehensive marketing strategy takes time and resources. Need help? The team at 3 Aspens Media has experience in planning and marketing B2B conferences and events. Let us take a chunk of work off your plate and let you do what you do best – planning a stellar event. 

We’ll discuss marketing during the event in part two of this series. That’s the perfect time to shoot video, obtain commentary and leverage the excitement of networking.