Meeting planners know that the closing speaker is not the end of the experience. With great content delivered strategically, you can extend the reach of your event for weeks, months or even to the following year’s meeting.
It can also strengthen your connection with your audience. A report looking what millennials want in meetings found that quality web content connected to the event is an effective way to increase engagement and build brand recognition.
Jazmyn Strickland, 27, founder of Gold Wave Events, was interviewed for the report, a collaboration between Meetings Mean Business and Skift. She said web content adds value to the event, which is important to her as a small business owner with a limited budget.
“People don’t want the transaction just to start and stop at the event,” Strickland said.
Before an event, you can supply potential attendees with information about the speakers or special opportunities. CVBs and DMOs make it especially easy to provide information about your destination city.
After the event, you can share the highlights and rich content that were delivered. The challenge will be choosing which content and delivery method will work best for your audience and your budget:
- Photographs: Candid shots of speakers, presenters or attendees at popular events inside or outside the venue. You can also capture memorable displays or sponsor exhibits.
- Videos: Speaker presentations for those who missed it or for webinars. Create sizzle reels with different areas of focus, such as the education sessions, entertainment activities, VIPs of the organization or a simple compilation of the whole event.
- Blogs: Try a blog on each presentation or interview speakers afterward to capture their content and get their takeaway. Interview your organization's VIPs or sponsors. You could also highlight some of the events you especially want attendees to remember.
- PowerPoint presentations: Ask each presenter to submit their content in a sharable-style that will live past the event, or create your own summary presentations for each session.
Now that you have your content, you need to decide how best to deploy it. It can live on your meeting app, your event website or your organization’s website. Whatever you choose, all methods of delivery can point back there to strengthen that relationship.
Share photos and videos on social media and drive fans back to your source for more information. Publishing during the event or soon after will hit attendees and other participants while they are in the moment or still excited about the experience, making them more likely to share it on their channels.
Launch an email campaign with a series of blogs published on your website.
Schedule a webinar highlighting event content. It’s a great way for participants to share what they learned with colleagues who did not attend.
Create a virtual library on your site for all speaker content – presentations, handouts and videos. For associations it can be members only, creating an incentive to join. (That's another tip from the Meetings Mean Business/Skift Report)
Finally, you can use it to help promote next year’s event through invitation emails or on the website and app. Make sure you track the performance of your content throughout the year and adjust next year’s event content plan accordingly.
