Supporting B2B events with social media

November 14, 2011

I recently ran a B2B webinar for The Marketer, the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s monthly magazine, on using social media to promote B2B events. With over 650 delegates listening in, the webinar was well received with lots of great feedback coming in on Twitter and LinkedIn. As a tech PR and social media agency, Media Safari is well used to executing such practice, so here are a few points to consider when using social media for your B2B events.

1/ Plan ahead – Plan your event schedule well in advance – this will give you time to think about the target segments you want to get closer to in social media circles. Last minute events will not allow you sufficient time to connect and engage with target prospects in advance therefore improving stand footfall or webinar attendance.

2/ Define the purpose – Each event should have an angle, a news hook, a reason for being.  Simply attending is not enough in today’s competitive environment for mind share. Think about how your organisation can appeal to prospective visitors, what it can launch, what it can announce, what it can share. You can then narrowcast this to your chosen segments to build awareness.

3/ Build the hype – Start your media outreach and social media activity as early as possible. Invite your target media to the stand; issue an online news release; add the content and invitation to your email newsletter; ask for a copy of the pre-registered media and delegate lists; research relevant hashtags [#] on Twitter; use list builders to find new prospects; post relevant content and links on business social network groups…

4/ Collect the content – Use the opportunity at the event to build your library of digital content to help you promote your next event. Take pictures to tell your story on photo sites; conduct on-stand surveys to turn findings into event news; interview on camera brand ambassadors and enthusiastic customers for video sites; post regular Tweets with your hashtags to embrace the viral effect of social media. There’s loads of ways to collect the content, don’t waste it.

5/ Metrics – If you plan ahead you are able to put in place at the outset the necessary means to capture relevant data. Decide what’s important to know and then review the many free and paid for social media tools. The aim is to use each event to help you create a more meaningful experience the next time around, helping to build awareness, attendance and improving your overall event ROI.

For help and advice with supporting your B2B events with social media, contact Media Safari’s business team on whitenosugar@mediasafari.co.uk or @media_safari

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