We all know that B2B lead generation is not the easiest task. It takes multiple conversations via advertising, email and phone to finally meet with someone face to face.
If you’re looking to have more in-person conversations with sales leads at a quicker pace, throw an event! Lead generation events aren’t only a great way to prove that you’re an industry leader, but it also gives you the opportunity to develop relationships with key decision makers.
However, planning an event that produces quality results takes a well-thought-out strategy. Below are a few steps to remember when advertising your own lead generation event.
Timing
When planning an event, timing is everything.
Not only do you have to make sure you have your venue booked, but you also need to consider the timing of your advertising and promotional offers.
Each event is different and unique. Some events are planned in hopes of making personal connections in an intimate environment, such as at a round table discussion or small luncheon. On the other hand, larger events, such as summits and conferences are held to solely educate attendees and bring brand awareness.
Regardless of your end goal, you should have a blueprint of your game plan before any venue gets booked or any ads go live.
First, you’re going to want to have your venue, food/drink selection and entertainment figured out at least 3 months in advance. Then, you can start creating ads to promote any takeaways attendees will walk away with, speakers that people don’t want to miss or the venue that everyone is going to enjoy.
We recommend to start advertising 8-10 weeks in advance. This gives you plenty of time to test responsive audiences and ad creative. Don’t forget to organically post at least 1-2 times a week as well – take advantage of every avenue possible!
Multi-Channel
Every audience is going to respond better to different forms of communication. Don’t limit yourself to just email blasts or Facebook ads. Utilize your resources and try every form of contact possible.
After you’ve found where your audience is (Facebook, LinkedIn, email, answering calls, etc.), then continue to optimize and make that experience as polished as possible.
Landing Pages
From my experience with B2B event planning, having a highly optimized landing page is everything. The second someone clicks on one of your ads, you want them to clearly understand what the event is, how they’re going to benefit from attending and the details they need to know.
People also like to see what they’re signing up for. Do your best to add imagery or video that truly shows what your event is going to entail. If you have pictures to add from past events, great! Add those to show website visitors what they’re going to miss out on if they don’t sign up.
Forms
Event signups are a great way to gather information on leads, however, you don’t want to be invasive and ask for too much info. Asking for too many fields will detract people from signing up. Make the form as simple as possible – only ask for the info you need in order to invite them to the event. Ideally, first and last name, email and company name is plenty of information.
While you want to learn as much as possible from your audience, save the specific questions for when you meet in person. An event form isn’t the place to ask detailed questions to see if someone would be an ideal client of yours.
Utilize the info that you do collect from signups. Research the companies that the signups are from and determine their pain points. This will give you insight going into your event – once you meet people face to face, then you can ask them all the questions your heart desires!
LinkedIn is a must for promoting lead generation events. While it can be a bit pricier than Facebook, the results are typically qualified leads that have decision making power – the people that B2B business always want to talk to.
I recommend uploading targeted lists to LinkedIn and using them in multiple campaigns. Target them with InMail messages, Images and Video. This way, they’re getting exposed to your event at every touchpoint.
Give your campaigns time to generate interest. The great thing about InMail campaigns is that your audience can always go back to the message you sent out.
For instance, your audience could be shown a video ad that promotes your event, which then triggers their memory of receiving an InMail message talking about that same event. You’ve captured their attention at multiple touchpoints, and BOOM – they sign up.
Optimizing
I get it. As a marketer, you wear many hats and have tons of projects that need your attention. But don’t forget to consistently check on your campaign’s performance and number of signups coming in. Track which social media platforms and ads are bringing in the most activity, and optimize your ads and audiences.
I suggest throwing in a new ad every week or so; you want to keep your campaign as fresh as possible. Create ads based off the top performers and turn off the ads that aren’t getting enough engagement and are costing you too much money.
Also, if you find that an audience is under-performing, don’t just turn it off. Optimize it! There could be one job title, geographic location, interest or industry that is throwing everything off.
Once a week, set aside time to go into each campaign to make changes. You’ll be amazed how much better your campaigns will start to perform (not to mention, you’ll also learn a ton!).
Urgency Ads
Whether we like to admit it or not, we all can experience some serious FOMO. Take this into consideration when creating your ads and messaging.
Let your audience know when seats are almost filled or remind them that they only have a week left to sign up. Promote that you’re having a limited time discount on ticket sales for the next 24 hours.
Whatever route you choose, creating a sense of urgency helps heighten the importance of your event. Emphasize that this opportunity is something they can’t miss out on!
While event planning takes a lot of strategizing and time, the results pay off. Lead generation is no easy feat, so start trying new methods to bring leads further down your funnel, more quickly. Hosting in-person events are a fantastic way to not only promote your brand, but to also get in front of interested prospects and have quality conversations.
I promise that taking the time to optimize your efforts will pay off. Remember these steps, and you should be a lead generation event planner in no time!
Ready to follow up with your inbound leads and reach them at the right time?
Using our expertise in lead generation and sales, we’ve tested several strategies in our own business and on behalf of our clients. Across the board, we found that the ideal inbound lead follow-up strategy requires 2 things:
Urgency in response
Commitment to sales cadence if the prospect does not immediately answer
In this download, you’ll receive:
A successful sample sales cadence to get in touch with your leads
Details on WHY this works and how it helps your company drive more business.