Let’s Get Ready! Live Events Are Coming Back

With the distribution of the vaccine, live and in-person events are starting to come back after over a year of lockdown. Many of these events will take on a hybrid model where it is a blend of the in-person events of the past and the virtual events of the past year. During this transition period, it’s important to know what to expect and make a plan. With the return of events, we can get back to expanding our brand presence, engaging with new customers, and selling.

Prepare For New Opportunities

Many marketers have mastered a lot of new digital marketing skills over the last year out of necessity. They’ve kept their businesses afloat with content management, email marketing, and social media outreach. Having these new skills gives you the opportunity to do even more once we return to in-person conferences. You’ll have multiple streams to generate leads and will be able to bolster your in-person activities with your digital marketing skills. Incorporate these new skills into your trade show repertoire. Email contacts before and after attending, live-tweet the event and provide plenty of information about the show on your website.

Schedule More Meetings

People’s comfort levels are going to vary based on their experiences the last year. Many will still not be comfortable with attending large trade shows yet. However, they may be very comfortable setting one-on-one or small team meetings. If your contact is not planning to attend an upcoming conference, they may still be open to connecting in person. Further, many of those attending trade shows may still only attend virtually. The best way to reach those members of your audience is by setting meetings. It’s also a good idea to get a calendaring app to help manage all of your meeting times.

Come Out With A Bang!

With the return of trade shows, this is your chance to pull out all the stops. You want to let your customers know that you are still here for them. Now is the time to really start upping your game. Invest in your coming out with upgraded marketing materials, a new booth, and new strategies. Start by planning now. Identify what opportunities that you could not capture digitally this year. Then make a game plan for how you will capitalize on their opportunities. Then get to work! Returning to in person trade shows will be a very exciting time and will bring a lot of chances to grow your brand. Make sure you make the most of this chance by planning your strategy now.

This last year has been a tough one for B2B marketers, but together we made it through. We are very excited for the slow return of trade shows and we’re here to help you make a big splash. Contact us any time. We’ll help you refine your strategy and get you the materials you need to capitalize on all the coming opportunities. Until then check out our blog, we’ve put together a large collection of digital marketing and virtual event tips to help get us through the final stretch.