to create a winning event plan: A seven-step framework

Virtual events can be a great tool to reach out to your customers and prospects. However, getting the right people in attendance is often difficult.

In today’s digital age, events are more accessible than ever before. There are many channels and platforms to attract and promote attendees. To ensure your virtual event’s success, you need to develop a strategy for engaging and attracting qualified attendees.

Events provide an opportunity to interact with potential leads. Each type of event requires a unique approach to lead generation and follow-up.

Podcasts and webinars are excellent for establishing authority and thought leadership in your industry. Metaverse and web events may offer greater interactive engagement, but they require a strategic approach to lead generation.

Understanding the differences between each type of event is essential to making the most out of them. You can then tailor your lead generation activities and follow-up strategy to maximize their efficiency and achieve better results for your business.

It takes time, effort and money to plan any event, but it is especially difficult when you are trying to attract the right audience. This seven-layer strategy will help you to develop your marketing plan.

1. Clarify the goals and purpose of your business

Be sure to clearly define your goals and objectives before you begin planning. What are you hoping to achieve through your event? What do you hope to achieve with your event?

A clear goal can help you decide the types of attendees that you are trying to attract, and what messaging is needed to reach them.

2. Engage your sales team from the start

Sales teams can be involved early in the planning process to bring many benefits to your business. Salespeople are the main representatives of the customer, so they have a deep understanding of their needs, preferences, and behaviors.

They can also provide valuable insight into the target audience, and tailor the event so that it meets their expectations. They can help develop the event’s positioning and messaging, making sure that they resonate with the target audience.

The sales team should be involved in this early stage to create a feeling of ownership and commitment. This will translate into an increased motivation and dedication towards achieving the goals. On a related note, ask your sales team for ideas on marketing activities to promote lead generation and networking.

3. Focus on the audience and attendee profiles

After you’ve clarified your goals, purpose and audience profile, it’s now time to concentrate on the attendees. Who is your audience? What are the job titles, industries, and interests of your target audience?

Mixing attendees of different levels and backgrounds is important. Mixing a developer and an executive, for example, would not be a good fit.

You can then start sending them personalized messages once you’ve identified the ideal profile of attendees.

When it comes to planning an event, knowing your audience is crucial. What are their concerns, challenges and pain points? What are their companies and industries? What are their interests and topics?

Understanding your audience can help you develop a program for them that is valuable and relevant. It will also help you to create a targeted message that resonates.

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4. Double up with media outlets and partners

Expand your reach by collaborating with media outlets and partners in your industry. Invest in high-profile speakers for the event to increase its credibility.

You can attract the right audience by negotiating partnerships, sponsorships and bartering with them.

5. All channels should be leveraged

From CRM to Social Media, make sure that all customer and prospect lists have accurate and current information about attendees from the last three years.

Use email signatures to make it more visible. The tools are essential, but they also help to amplify the message and streamline registration.

6. Consider key metrics

Work with your sales team to align pipeline opportunities to your key metrics. This will help you calculate your ROI. Look at how many touchpoints you had and the post-event activities that took place, such as the number of attendees who engaged with your online presence before the event or visited your website following the event.

These metrics can help you improve the strategy of the next event by evaluating the success of the previous one.

7. Follow up

It is important to keep the funnel flowing. Your program will be more dynamic if you use your data to keep attendees engaged and move the process forward.

Sending a post-event email thank you to your attendees, providing them with extra resources or asking them for feedback gives you the chance to invite them to attend future events.

You can take the lead by defining your goals, engaging sales early, focusing the event on the attendees, working with partners and leveraging channels.

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The post How do you craft a winning event plan: A 7-step Framework first appeared on MarTech.