SOS Digital Events: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Organizing an Event
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 8:13 am
B2B Marketing
by Sara Capone - October 6, 2023
What is a marketing plan without events? For all marketers, events have always been a must-have in their strategic plan . The added value that these bring, both in terms of awareness and lead generation, is unmatched.
Following the pandemic, the number of digital events has increased considerably : thanks to lower costs and organizational effort, as well as the possibility of gathering more people and encouraging greater interaction even among the most timid users, digital events remain the preferred format to the detriment of in-person ones.
What to ask yourself before organizing a digital event
However, organizing a digital event is often a real headache: there are so many types that you risk getting lost along the way. Among the most famous:
webinars , free online events aimed at educating their audience on a specific topic ;
round tables , virtual debates with highly selected participants;
webtalks , interactive digital events on a specific topic.
It is clear, therefore, that organizing a digital event is not as simple as it seems: but what are the questions that marketers should ask themselves before proceeding?
1. What is my ultimate goal?
As with any strategy, it is essential to define the objective : awareness or lead generation ? To respond effectively, it is important that the marketing team is clear about the business objectives of their company. You may think it is obvious, but it is not: it has certainly happened to you, on some occasion, to not have visibility on the long-term objectives and that this has negatively impacted your strategy.
Let me give you a significant example: I was promoting an event on a very popular topic in the IT field, but totally new for the company, which was still developing its solution in the field. Despite this, it wanted to push conversions as the main objective of the event.
Since it was a hot topic, there were many registrants, but the participants were poorly engaged because the sales force was not ready to handle their requests. In this case, it would have been better to opt for an awareness event , to start positioning the company in the sector and then, with different levers, push for conversion.
It is therefore crucial that marketing has full vision and understanding of the business objectives and works closely with sales to achieve them.
2. What do I want to talk about and to whom?
The second step is of course to define the topic of the event and consequently, who the buyer persona is and what pain they need to solve.
Especially in the IT sector, it is clear that the topics covered in webinars are often recurring: from cybersecurity to the cloud, from hybrid working to business intelligence. Why, then, should the user sign up for your webinar? What are the pains that you solve for your buyer persona? After all, “content is king” and this also applies to events.
At this stage, drawing up a matrix can help you , where you clearly indicate:
the critical issues that your buyer wants to solve;
the needs to be met;
your 'wow effect': why you consider the event unmissable.
This little outline will help you in developing an engaging content.
Along with the creation of the content, the choice of speakers should be calibrated : based on the chosen topic, select experts in the field within the company. If you have the possibility, also hire an authoritative expert in the sector: in addition to making the promotion more effective, his presence will help you better outline the overview of the topic discussed.
For product-centric events, also consider involving a use case : a loyal customer of yours who shares his or her experience, to provide a concrete answer to the buyer's problems.
3. What type of event do I want to organize?
Once you have defined the objective, and consequently the target and topic, are you ready to evaluate what type of event you want to organize: webinar, round table or webtalk ?
If your goal is to generate awareness on a specific topic and reach as finland whatsapp number data 5 million many users as possible, the best options are webinars or, even better, webtalks , a more interactive format that has been in high demand lately: imagine a real-time podcast, with a panel of experts discussing hot topics with the involvement of participants. This fresh and innovative approach 'rejuvenates' the classic webinars, which have been decidedly overused in recent times.
If your goal is to generate conversions , the best option is definitely the round table . This type of event is also very effective in digital format: the important thing is to know how to create a productive comparison between participants.
How to do it best behind the coldness of a screen? through curation . It is necessary to hire a moderator who is an expert in the sector, who personally contacts the members before the discussion, to collect their feedback. It is important to encourage them to express their opinion and bring interesting points of view to the debate . In my opinion, the most successful round tables have been with a few but well-selected guests: 5 or 6 companies well briefed on the agenda with interesting points of view, which bring value to the debate.
So, quantity does not always rhyme with quality : the format of the event makes the difference in building the relationship with the selected audienc
by Sara Capone - October 6, 2023
What is a marketing plan without events? For all marketers, events have always been a must-have in their strategic plan . The added value that these bring, both in terms of awareness and lead generation, is unmatched.
Following the pandemic, the number of digital events has increased considerably : thanks to lower costs and organizational effort, as well as the possibility of gathering more people and encouraging greater interaction even among the most timid users, digital events remain the preferred format to the detriment of in-person ones.
What to ask yourself before organizing a digital event
However, organizing a digital event is often a real headache: there are so many types that you risk getting lost along the way. Among the most famous:
webinars , free online events aimed at educating their audience on a specific topic ;
round tables , virtual debates with highly selected participants;
webtalks , interactive digital events on a specific topic.
It is clear, therefore, that organizing a digital event is not as simple as it seems: but what are the questions that marketers should ask themselves before proceeding?
1. What is my ultimate goal?
As with any strategy, it is essential to define the objective : awareness or lead generation ? To respond effectively, it is important that the marketing team is clear about the business objectives of their company. You may think it is obvious, but it is not: it has certainly happened to you, on some occasion, to not have visibility on the long-term objectives and that this has negatively impacted your strategy.
Let me give you a significant example: I was promoting an event on a very popular topic in the IT field, but totally new for the company, which was still developing its solution in the field. Despite this, it wanted to push conversions as the main objective of the event.
Since it was a hot topic, there were many registrants, but the participants were poorly engaged because the sales force was not ready to handle their requests. In this case, it would have been better to opt for an awareness event , to start positioning the company in the sector and then, with different levers, push for conversion.
It is therefore crucial that marketing has full vision and understanding of the business objectives and works closely with sales to achieve them.
2. What do I want to talk about and to whom?
The second step is of course to define the topic of the event and consequently, who the buyer persona is and what pain they need to solve.
Especially in the IT sector, it is clear that the topics covered in webinars are often recurring: from cybersecurity to the cloud, from hybrid working to business intelligence. Why, then, should the user sign up for your webinar? What are the pains that you solve for your buyer persona? After all, “content is king” and this also applies to events.
At this stage, drawing up a matrix can help you , where you clearly indicate:
the critical issues that your buyer wants to solve;
the needs to be met;
your 'wow effect': why you consider the event unmissable.
This little outline will help you in developing an engaging content.
Along with the creation of the content, the choice of speakers should be calibrated : based on the chosen topic, select experts in the field within the company. If you have the possibility, also hire an authoritative expert in the sector: in addition to making the promotion more effective, his presence will help you better outline the overview of the topic discussed.
For product-centric events, also consider involving a use case : a loyal customer of yours who shares his or her experience, to provide a concrete answer to the buyer's problems.
3. What type of event do I want to organize?
Once you have defined the objective, and consequently the target and topic, are you ready to evaluate what type of event you want to organize: webinar, round table or webtalk ?
If your goal is to generate awareness on a specific topic and reach as finland whatsapp number data 5 million many users as possible, the best options are webinars or, even better, webtalks , a more interactive format that has been in high demand lately: imagine a real-time podcast, with a panel of experts discussing hot topics with the involvement of participants. This fresh and innovative approach 'rejuvenates' the classic webinars, which have been decidedly overused in recent times.
If your goal is to generate conversions , the best option is definitely the round table . This type of event is also very effective in digital format: the important thing is to know how to create a productive comparison between participants.
How to do it best behind the coldness of a screen? through curation . It is necessary to hire a moderator who is an expert in the sector, who personally contacts the members before the discussion, to collect their feedback. It is important to encourage them to express their opinion and bring interesting points of view to the debate . In my opinion, the most successful round tables have been with a few but well-selected guests: 5 or 6 companies well briefed on the agenda with interesting points of view, which bring value to the debate.
So, quantity does not always rhyme with quality : the format of the event makes the difference in building the relationship with the selected audienc