When planning your participation in summer and fall events, it's the perfect time to think about how to get the most out of your upcoming events.
In-person conferences are back as a vital hub for networking and knowledge sharing as well as showcasing the company's latest innovations. As a marketer, properly navigating and promoting your presence at these events will help you establish yourself within your industry and, perhaps more importantly, help drive leads for your sales team. .
In the cloud and IT services industry, conferences are especially important because they are typically hosted by large companies in the industry that you and your competitors are likely to work with. While other industries often feature non-branded events at the center of conference schedules, the cloud and IT space works differently, with hyperscalers like Micorosft, AWS, Google, and Oracle making up the largest industry list this year. We are hosting a gathering.
Upcoming IT and Cloud Services Event Calendar
- Dell Tech World – May 20-23
- IBM Think – May 20-23
- Snowflake Data Cloud Summit June 3-6
- Oracle Ascend 2024 – June 17-20
- Salesforce Dreamforce – September 17th – September 19th
- Oracle Cloud World 2024 – September/October
- Microsoft Ignite – Fall 2024
- AWS re:Invent – November 27th – December 1st
So how do you stand out from the hustle and bustle of these big events? Naturally, it helps if you have money, and there are many sponsorship and exhibition options available. However, you can also leverage existing marketing partnerships to maximize the value of every conference.
As major conferences approach, there are several key points we frequently discuss to help cloud and IT clients optimize their event strategies.
Paid/demand generation considerations for conferences:
- Don't be afraid to try new strategies – Consider tactics such as geofencing to deliver ads to consumers within a specific conference location.
- Have timely content at your fingertips – Highlighting content relevant to conference attendees in targeted digital marketing campaigns before and after the conference
- Plan ahead and budget your conference campaign – Having a consistent budget for your evergreen “always on” campaigns is important, but you also need to plan ahead and set aside budget for larger conferences that are important to your target audience.
Media Relations Considerations for the Conference:
- Start Outreach Early – Having trouble getting a media list for your event? Find out who attended last year and see what they have planned for this year. You can also reach out to existing media contacts and use this as an opportunity to connect directly. However, start your outreach a month or two before the event, as this is when people finalize schedules and plans. And in meetings with journalists, be sure to have something to say. A tough news release, a controversial perspective on an industry trend, or an original take on a new technology challenge can all make for a conversation worth a reporter's time.
- Identify reporters of interest – Announcing new cloud products during a conference is a hit for some journalists, but not all stories are created equal. At events like AWS re:Invent, you'll meet journalists from the Wall Street Journal to CNET, each with different priorities and topics of interest. We have a large pool of technology journalists, so be selective about who you share specific news with before, during, and after your event. Check out what journalists from the publications you're interested in are talking about on her Twitter, or take a look at some past articles from news organizations to see what they think is newsworthy. Let's. However, don't overlook industry bloggers and social media followers. These audiences have their own value.
- Prepare event attendees with an elevator pitch about your business – Conferences are all about networking. Expect to have pre-scheduled meetings leading up to the event, but be ready to connect right away. You never know who will come to your presentation or who you will pass in the hall. Also, you only have a limited amount of time to make your business stand out. An elevator pitch focuses on what is important, who is important, and why.
- Stay up to date with event news and feel free to comment in real time. You're on the floor, so you have direct access to the conference's hottest news. Journalists want to hear how the industry will react to the big news from the event and how the announcements will impact different businesses. From CRN to SiliconANGLE to IT Pro Today, many technology news publications closely monitor hot topics from Microsoft Ignite to events like Google Cloud Next, so we're bold and bold in our take on this week's discussions. Express yourself transparently.
- Announcement of time partnership before and after the event – In my experience, if a company is working on collaborations with cloud partners like AWS, Google, or SAP, it is beneficial to share news around the same time as major cloud conferences. Because journalists closely monitor what is happening in the world. Your industry, your news. Please note that events may be buried under larger news items. However, you can make your announcement more relevant by tying it into a larger conversation.
Social considerations regarding conferences:
- Consider how your conference social posts (before, during, and after) add audience value to both virtual and in-person attendees. This often results in fewer promotional posts on brand channels and more effort through advocates and executive platforms.
- Utilize event hashtags and set up social listening – Make sure your brand monitors conversations surrounding the event and brings thought leaders into the conversation as needed.
- Live post if needed – Live posts are a great way to engage a virtual audience and summarise your thought leadership, but be careful not to fatigue your followers with the posting frequency (i.e. less engagement per post). Using the event hashtag, tagging thought leaders and leveraging vivid event imagery will boost the success of these posts.
- Strengthen PR activities on social – Thought leadership perspectives, prioritized industry news topics, and event coverage can be shared on social channels after the event, increasing credibility and repurposing existing content created.
Looking for additional support for your upcoming Cloud + IT Services event? Reach out to our industry experts to learn how Walker Sands' PR, social and demand generation teams can help with in-person or remote support. Please check.
