A content marketing strategy for events is well supported by a strategic and tactical use of Social Media. Many event businesses are realising the importance of developing a content marketing strategy. This post is about how best to deliver that content marketing strategy.

How do we deliver a content marketing strategy for events?

The answer to that – to a very large degree – is social media. Social media shouldn’t be used as the exclusive delivery channel for your content marketing campaign, but it can certainly take the strain. Social media and events is a marriage made in heaven and no where is this more strongly demonstrated than in delivery of your content marketing strategy. An effective CMS has to take full advantage of Social Media allowing potential attendees to:

– Tailor their information feed

– Follow your feed with ease

– Engage with the content

– Instantly influence that content

– Ultimately direct them to your event (because don’t forget that’s what it’s all about)

Besides blogs what content can we use in our content marketing strategy?

Perhaps the best known and probably most used bit of content marketing is a blog. Blogs by speakers, delegates and even sponsors and exhibitors can form part of the content marketing for your event. But it shouldn’t stop there.

So here’s a list of 12 more parts of a content marketing strategy for events:

1. Pictures of your venue / food / drinks / entertainment.

Conference Food image as part of a Content Marketing Strategy for Events

2. Interviews, links, articles from your speakers.

3. YouTube clips from your exhibitors showing what they will have on show can easily be embedded in to your event website.

4. Session summaries from your speakers are a great way to prove that your content will be different.

5. An overview of the event from the boss of the company putting it together. Even better when this is an association event and you can have your DG or CEO talking about the importance of members attending the event.

6. Content created by delegates at last years events.

Content Marketing Strategy for Events

7. Content recorded from the previous event or one of your similar events. Linking to great quality recordings is evidenced to increase the physical attendance at your event.

8. Other people’s content related to your event – remember don’t reinvent the wheel.

9. Interviews with delegates who are attending this year.

10. Comments or reviews from past attendees.

11. Answers from questions posed through social media.

12. Results from a questionnaire covering the content at your event.

Does it work?

A content marketing strategy for events has to be multi layered. There will be at least a score or more things you can add as part of your content marketing strategy and the attempt was never to list everything; just an idea of the types of things that can be included. And do they work? I believe it was a major factor behind the success of our event Tech-Fest, and there are many event planners who would agree to its power.

If everyone starts to develop a content marketing strategy for events, then only the events that have true, valuable and unique content will survive. And wouldn’t it be great if we could help separate the wheat from the chaff. A content marketing strategy for your event is surely one of the best ways for you to do that.