7 Ways to Spice Up Your B2B Field Marketing Events

5 minute read

Upland Admin

B2B field marketing events are a great opportunity for companies looking to build awareness and increase sales, but how do you create an event that’s engaging and generates the ROI to make it worthwhile?

Better yet, how can field marketers use an event to find new clients and build long-term goodwill in an interesting way?

With social media tools readily available and more mainstream than ever, it’s possible to take a B2B field marketing event and make it more targeted, interactive, and appealing for potential clients and sponsors alike.

The most important element? Creating an event that’s a memorable and shareable experience.

“Events are inherently social, and allow brands to create share-worthy customer experiences. You can extend your reach exponentially if participants share their experiences on social networks with photos taken at events that feature your brand.” —Marketing Sherpa

Here are simple ideas that any B2B business can leverage to draw a crowd, bring like-minded people together under one roof and offer face-to-face networking to build a stronger local presence.

7 Ways to Make B2B Marketing Events More Awesome

1. Sponsor a Local Sports Team or Event (Garden Tour, Gallery Opening, Festival, Concert)

Before you settle on a public event, be sure you can align your brand’s aims with it.

Do your research; get clear on the type of attendees, level of potential exposure, and the timing and depth of promotional opportunities.

Are you going to get one-time exposure or a consistent presence at several events? Can you give away tickets, create joint branded swag and giveaways, or are you limited to a banner or name-tag marketing?

These details all determine the long-term reach of your investment dollars and whether or not people will remember your company once the event is over.

2. Sponsor a Live Twitter Chat

Sponsoring a live Twitter chat that includes insight from keynote speakers, company executives, and field sales representatives is a fantastic way to open up a relevant conversation, show expertise, and answer questions on the fly—all while your branded content is featured.

After the event, host a regularly scheduled Twitter chat on your company’s social media accounts to continue and enhance engagement.

3. Make Your Booth a Living, Breathing Demo

Action speaks volumes. Show potential customers how they can tailor a solution that speaks to their pain points in real time.

Having an opportunity for dedicated time with a field sales representative who can illustrate the true potential of a solution and answer specific questions takes away the guesswork for a client who may be wondering whether a tool will work for their business.

Is this booth set up at your own event or a third party event that you are renting the booth space at?

4. Feature Content Covered at a Conference or in a Video, Vlog, Blog, or Periscope Chat

Use social media tools that enable you to share a 360-degree experience of an event. Show people what they are missing and offer activities (chats, live Q&A, etc.) they can participate in.

Encourage them to pass along the information to like minds, illustrating why they need to be part of the conversation—right now.

Be sure to take highlights from the video footage after the event and repurpose them into content you can showcase on your website to spark interest or educate.

5. Interactive Webcasts

Live broadcasting an educational conversation featuring key executives or sales representatives gives current and potential customers access to the latest industry knowledge, and offers the opportunity to participate in or add value to a real-time conversation.

6. Host a Regular Regional Meeting

Building community connection can go a long way forming trust, exchanging mutually beneficial ideas and finding people who want to discuss topical issues or solve industry problems.

Think of this B2B marketing event like a mastermind meeting that allows you to build community awareness and connections while showcasing your business as a source of reliable, useful information.

7. Host a Bar Event

Hosting an event focused on building community that also supports a local business and encourages people to enjoy themselves can be very powerful. No one likes to always think about business, but they do like kicking back and being social with people who share common experiences.

Remember to make shareability a core element of every event strategy. It’s essential for maximizing the potential of B2B marketing events, so clearly communicate to attendees how you want them to share information, and encourage people to take photos and sprinkle their thoughts on social channels where you have real estate (or want to build more).

B2B marketing events can bring a lot to the table, including new business opportunities, increased brand recognition, local awareness, further credibility, and increased sales volume. How are you going to spice up your next one?

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