Marketing your business through events can be a worthwhile experience by building leads that turn into conversions. We choose to attend specific events to market our business – from business happy hours to two-hour breakfast events to four-day conferences. Attending events is expensive and time consuming so it is important that you capitalize on these events and make this investment work for your business. Read further to gain insights on how to utilize attending events to your best advantage beyond just your attendance. This advantage will translate into building awareness for your business and into converted leads for your business.
Here are the three top things for you to do when attending an event and making sure it provides a good return on your invested dollars.
1. Know who will attend the event!
If you are able to obtain a list of speakers and attendees prior to the event then capitalize on this opportunity to build your network. With this list you can find the people you want to meet at the event and seek them out in a subtle way, of course. This list may be the most crucial part of your strategy and planning for the event.
2. Post quotes and key messages of the event on your website!
When the event has finished sift through your notes and find memorable quotes from key people. Post these quotes on your website. This provides you with updated content for your website which can improve your search rankings and it shows your target market that you are accessible at the same conferences and events that they are attending. An example of this is from the Colorado Chapter of the US Green Build Council five year celebration in Denver, Colorado where Carolyn Dooling, LEED AP enthusiastically stated that “attending the five-year anniversary event for the Colorado Chapter of the USGBC was a great way to meet new people involved in the green building industry as well as catching up with current colleagues.” – This is a memorable quote to post on your website from a prominent leader in the Green community.
3. Post links to materials that impact your knowledge base on your website!
In addition to posting quotes from prominent leaders at the event, it is a wise decision to post materials from the event. Usually the materials are posted on the organization’s website after the event and thus, you can take the opportunity to download materials that you found useful and relevant to you and post them on your website referencing the event. This is a great way to place new and fresh content on your website which can improve your search rankings, provide a link to the event on your website to be seen when people search for the event on search engines, and again appeal to your market that also attended the event.
Some events that impact Keos Marketing are:
Colorado Chapter of the US Green Build Council
The Urban Land Institute Place Making Conference
Other ULI Events and Meetings in the US
Center Yourself and Live Downtown Denver Housing Event
Housing Colorado Now! Conference
Lastly, here are two articles that provide insight on how to utilize internet marketing conferences. Although these articles are directly related to internet marketing, the concept of utilizing events by networking to get leads, learning from the content to assist your business, and transferring the knowledge to your website to continue to capitalize on the information and generate leads applies to any business. ENJOY!
http://www.toprankblog.com/2008/08/getting-the-most-out-of-internet-marketing-conferences/
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/20162.asp