Marketo recently launched their "definitive guide to event marketing" - a 122 page document covering pretty much everything you need to know about event marketing.

For the savvy events marketer you'll find it pretty basic in the beginning, but it has some interesting insights the deeper you delve. 

We've attempted to highlight the main pearls of wisdom from the guide - but you might still want to download it for yourself for a lunch-time read!  

What we really like:

• The statistics - reassuring for those thinking about extending their offering to include events
• The expert opinions from key service providers
• The quick top 10s
• The key providers for technology in events
• The abundance of checklists and templates for various processes
• The whole section on using social media for events
• The lead nurturing, lead scoring and ROI on events section 

What we didn’t like:

• Doesn't cover any specifics on mobile technology for events or technology that now enables and encourages interaction
• They didn’t cover enough about partner promotions or media partners - which we think is crucial to event marketing success
• The lead nurturing section gets a bit heavy if you're new to the concept

The Best Bits (in our opinion of course):

Event Technology

Technology now plays an important part in ensuring your activities are successful, measured, efficient and hassle free for both attendees and organisers. So if you're looking to pimp up your event marketing tactics, here is a list of event technologies to precisely help you with that. It's not exhaustive, but we have added our own suggestions too:

Webinar platforms: Citrix/gotowebinar, ReadyTalk, Adobe Connect, Webex.
We’d like to add another two that we know which are On24, Anymeeting

Virtual Event Platforms: On24, INXPO, Unisfair/Intercall.
We'd also like to include UBM Studios, 6connex, Expos2

Live event and registration platforms: CEvent, Event Brite, Certain, Marketo.
We’d like to add Event elephant, Amiando and Eventbee,

Guided Voicemail Service -  Boxpilot.
WE REALLY LIKE THIS! This is something talked about in the corridors of B2B and event marketing, but it's still early stages. We think this is a really interesting way to reach out to specific targeted lists, follow up existing opportunities and to be used in guesting campaigns.

Conference marketers put it on your test list please! ... and watch this space as we'll be reviewing this service more closely.

Promoting your event

• Read the whole social media section as it is has a lot of information, tips and templates to use. Don't skip it!
• Check out Boxpilot or any other similar voicemail outreach service
• Be very cautious and meticulous when paying for email newsletters and banner ad placements. Make sure you request media packs and certified circulation numbers. If they don’t supply those, it's likely the numbers have been inflated by 20% or 30%
• Ensure you have as many quality media partners as possible. It's a shame they didn’t cover this in more detail as we've seen time and time again the added value strong and relevant media partnerships can create. For me, these can be the most effective activities in your campaign. Media partners often have databases/contacts that are inaccessible on the market - so definitely capitalise on this
• Invest time in your PR. Ensure you reach out to industry bloggers, thought leaders and analysts who can give you some love back in the shape of blogs, comments and influencing conversations. 
• Add an element of visual promotion (beyond the bog standard brochure) in your mix. Bit more on that below... 
• Consider live blogging for the duration of your event. 1 or 2 blogs a day will be just fine

Please DON’T:

• Jump the gun and invest money on TV, radio, billboards to promote your event. From experience, I feel there's a time, place and marketing channel for everything. Take West Africa or Latin America as examples - direct marketing can be tough, so in fact radio and outdoor advertising can be really effective. With untested, emerging markets keep an open mind. Remember - you need to keep the "event marketing formula" fluid sometimes.
• Send an email three weeks before the event saying “Only 5 places left” or “Limited spaces available”. There are much more creative ways to tackle lagging delegate numbers. The social promotions section will give some pointers. 

Using Visual Content

We really like using infographics and visual note taking

..so long as they add value and are not just a bunch of words and images bunched together! We know it's not exactly rocket science but the event industry is lagging behind on this. Events companies are always talking about "how can we stand out from the rest" - so this could be one of the easiest, most cost effective, low-risk ways to liven up your marketing material into something more visually exciting and engaging. Every event campaign should try it. 

Here's a great example of visual notetaking:

 Visual notes by Allison Crow

Lead scoring, Lead nurturing and ROI

This is where the guide gets nice and interesting. Best to take a read through - it can get a bit heavy when Marketo starts drilling into how they score and measure their own leads - but some good info there if you're already on your lead scoring/nurturing journey.

One thing Marketo and I definitely insist on is defining your event objectives and metrics from the outset. Gone are the days where the number of delegates generated at an event (or indeed overall revenue) is the only metric used to determine the success/ROI of an event marketing campaign. The only exception to that of course is the conference company, where events are their main revenue stream.

How about - the brand awareness generated? You now have 3,000 new twitter followers, 500 new download leads and 150 completed surveys from the event with powerful information to better your event for next time. Some valuable quantitative and qualitative assets don't you think??

If you get around to reading the whole Marketo guide, it would be great to hear about your best bits.  

Finally, find out what's coming down the track in the conference and events industry

Whilst we're on the topic of bettering your events, you might also want to check out our very popular ebook on the future of the industry. Download your free copy now.