Event Management & Data

The Mindset Behind a B2B Event Strategy for 2019 and 2020

Victoria Rudi
May 28, 2019

Table of Contents

Gary Vaynerchuk’s marketing trends are some of the most viewed content on the web. We’ve looked at some of his predicted trends for marketers in 2019 and analyzed how they can apply to B2B events.

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Can you believe we’re almost halfway through 2019? If you feel like time is flying by, you aren’t alone.

The event marketing industry is rapidly changing, thanks to the continuous advances in technology. Which means there is an opportunity for a complete mindset shift in the traditional way marketers plan events.

In the last few years, we’ve seen some innovative trends in the marketing industry and it’s safe to say there are many new discoveries to come.

Even though we are closer to the end of the year than we thought, we’re still excited about the 2019 marketing trends predicted by Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Gary Vee) and looking forward to what’s to come in 2020.

Let’s take a deep dive into four trends to watch out for in the coming months and the new year.

Leverage the power of social media to host-smaller scale intimate events

Vaynerchuk pointed out that it is vital that B2B brands use social media ads and video content to amplify the promotion of in-person events. He recommends using social media advertising and geo-targeting to decide on the location of your next event.

This will help lower promotional costs while broadening your chances of reaching our ideal target audience.

He also recommended starting with planning a smaller scale event like a roadshow or a town hall meeting where you can intimately interact with the right demographic.

Make a significant impact with a small video budget

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Vaynerchuk is known for his popular daily YouTube video series, where he published advice on how to market your business. One of the trends he highlighted that B2B companies should follow in the upcoming year is to maximize the video resources you already have at your fingertips.

When planning small scale events, he recommends keeping video content as low budget as possible and utilizing tools like smartphones or Go Pro cameras to produce video content.

Host a podcast series leading up your conference or trade show

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We are currently living in a golden age where there is a rising interest in podcasts. Apple recently reported that there are currently over 400,000 live podcasts and they receive 1000 new show submissions weekly.

And 7.3 million Americans are listening to podcasts monthly. One of the trends Vaynerchuk pointed out is that there is an untapped opportunity for marketers to use podcasts as an outlet to reach niche audiences.

“Even if you have 1500 people listening to your niche podcast, that could be enough to do millions of dollars a year in revenue! If you’re the host of a small podcast in a niche, and you’re reaching out to experts or thought leaders and asking them to be clients on your show, you’re essentially “inviting” them to your party,” said Gary Vaynerchuk, the chairman of VaynerX, CEO of Vayner Media.

Event marketers can develop a podcast series leading up to a big conference or trade show. Conference speakers and influencers can be featured as guests on each episode where you discuss hot topics that will be talked about at the event.

You can also record a live podcast on-site from the event during any of the sessions planned so attendees listen and share the content afterwards.

Develop customer focused experiences

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Vaynerchuk hits on a trend that we’ve been seeing for the past couple years which is to create audience driven content and experiences based on data and analytics.

As technology continues to shape the lifestyles of the people around the world, it’s really important that marketers tune into their target audiences wants and needs because they will leave you for a competitor in a quick instance.

As an event marketer you should continually analyze previous event attendance data and conduct market research to make sure you can deliver an experience that they’ll love.

Create pillar content to drive event registration

In addition to planning your main event, Vaynerchuk discusses the importance of including pillar content in your marketing strategy. He recommended including long-form and short-form content like e-books, blog posts, social media postings in your promotional plan.

This will ensure you’re reaching your target audience at multiple touch points and broadens your chances of driving traffic to your registration website.

Conclusion

The next few years are going to be filled with a ton of new opportunities for marketers in the event industry.

Thanks to new technology and the continuous use of digital media the marketing industry is more competitive and fast paced than before. These trends and others will continue to challenge the way we think when planning events.

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Victoria Rudi
Senior Content Specialist
With a Master’s degree in Event Management and a keen follower of SaaS technologies, Victoria is an event content master, producing insightful and valuable for Eventtia’s blog and beyond

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