Content marketing has become very relevant for event organizers. By offering entertaining, informative and/or useful content, event marketers can spread the word about their conferences or trade shows and, ultimately, sell more tickets. But with so much content out there, a good strategy is required to make the most of the content marketing efforts. My recent presentation at the IMEX 2015 Inspiration Hub was aimed at presenting current trends in content marketing, strategic advice, the psychology of sharing and some best practice examples from the events and exhibitions world.

1. Content Marketing for Conferences and Trade
Shows:
Selling Tickets with Entertainment and
Infotainment
19 May 2015
IMEX Frankfurt
Michael Heipel Concept & Consulting, Frankfurt
www.concept-consult.info

4. Clients

5. What is your story?

6. Overview
Content Marketing for Events
The Ingredients of a Content
Marketing Campaign
Some Cases
8 Hands-on Tips
Pic: www.flickr.com/photos/nostalgifabriken/6860462642/

7. What is Content Marketing?

8. „The overarching practice
of using information and
entertainment to promote
a brand or a product“
Source: Contently

9. Content Marketing ≠ Social Media Marketing

10. The Furrow / John Deere
Since 1895
Circulation of 1,5 Mn.
40 countries, 12 languages
Multimedia publication

12. What Are The Challenges Of Content
Marketing?

13. We now live in the information age
NYT: The psychology of sharing
We share
MORE
content
from
MORE
sources
with
MORE
people
MORE
often
MORE
quickly

14. Content
Explosion!
www.flickr.com/photos/markchadwick/14533358719

15. Just lucky punches or
good planning?
Pic: www.flickr.com/photos/sadjina/4099877085/

16. Objectives and KPIs: You want more...
• traffic on your website, views on your blog
• newsletter subscribers
• clicks on your registration page
• registrations, ultimately
• leads for your sales team (exhibition,
sponsorships)

17. Buyer Personas (prototype customers)
• Put yourselves in the shoes of
your target audience
• Demographic data, lifestyle,
needs, requirements, daily
challenges etc.
• Motivation to attend
• Obstacles to overcome

18. Let‘s try this!
• What are the daily challenges
of Mary and Peter, typical
IMEX visitors?
• What motivates them about
their job?
• What makes them attend
IMEX?
Pic: www.makemypersona.com

19. Why do people
share stuff?
The New York Times
Customer Insight
Group „The Psychology
of Sharing“

20. To bring valuable and entertaining content
to others
carefully consider how the information
they share will be useful to the recipient
94%

21. To define ourselves to others
share to give people a better sense of
who they are and what they care about
68%

22. To grow and nourish our relationships
share information because it
helps them connect
with others who share their interests
73%

23. Your customers want
to connect with each
other
It is not about you!
Pic: www.flickr.com/photos/kalexanderson/6667747963/"

24. Keep it simple... and
it will get shared…
and it won't get
muddled
Easy to read, easy to
share

25. No emotion =
no impact!
Fun, emotional, scary,
exciting, surprising,
anecdotal experiences
Pic: www.flickr.com/photos/light_seeker/6119578069/

26. Blog Event-Website
Newsletter
Personal emails
Classic PR work
Print-brochure
Print-Mailing
On-Site Design
Facebook
XING
LinkedIn
Twitter
Flickr
YoutubeInstagram
Google+

31. Useful Informative
Entertaining

32. Content types
Infographics Meme Animated
Videos
Guides Book reviews
Opinion Product
tests
How-to Lists Link
lists
Ebook Case studies Podcast Interviews Polls/
Research

33. Visual Content
Marketing

34. Images beat text

35. Video beats image
Vine, Youtube, Vimeo,
Instagram Video
Facebook Video

36. Golden formula (Content Marketing Institute)
• 4 – 1 – 1
• 4 = Curated content (opinion leaders, leading
blogs)
• 1 = Your own content marketing
• 1 = „Salesy“ content

37. Some cases

41. Melanie, 40, NEOCOM visitor
• Head of eCommerce
• Big Multichannel Retailer
• How to earn money
online? How to keep up
with the competition? How
to find skilled staff?

42. Core benefits of NEOCOM for Melanie
• Gets to know latest trends
and benchmarks
• Shows that she is part of a
community
• Interacts and presents
herself. Cool party!
• Job fair NEOCOM

45. Wrap-up: 8 hands-on tips to get your content
marketing rolling!

46. Fail early, fail often, fail
cheap!
www.flickr.com/photos/thomasletholsen/8373437317/

47. Copy with pride,
and give credit
Pic: www.flickr.com/photos/kioan/3518691708/

48. Create shareable images

51. Create a lot of video
content Screencasts
Browser-based movie creation
Adobe Voice
Mobile phone
video capture

52. Create interactive infographics

54. Find free photos that you can use to illustrate
your posts

56. Cross-publish as widely as possible

58. Re-purpose, re-package, re-use content
already created

61. What are your experiences
with Content Marketing?
michael@cocosocial.de
Twitter @michaelheipel
Blog: michaelheipel.wordpress.com