Conference companies love to brag that they’re “a purely online organisation now” or that they “only do digital”; but has the digital revolution taken the event world a step too far? In the case of traditional event brochures, we think it has. There are several benefits to printing your agenda that simply cannot be overlooked, despite your decreased collateral costs and greater green credentials. Here’s a list of our top reasons why you shouldn’t stop printing:

As an experienced marketer, you’re no doubt aware of the power of LinkedIn as a B2B marketing tool. But are you making the most of it for your events? If used correctly, social media (and LinkedIn specifically) can aid your event marketing strategy enormously, building the credibility of your conference portfolio, and you as an individual event industry leader.

Here are our top ten LinkedIn to-do's to help you raise your profile, engage with your community and ultimately generate leads for your B2B event.

The term "event producer" is old, tired and needs to be retired. Aside from being outdated, it has so many meanings now that it’s not really a position you can effectively recruit for. What one company deems an event producer is another event organisation’s content officer, project manager, planner... the list goes on and on!

You need to seek the kind of individual that lives and breathes the industry your event is based around, and is very active within it. These are the people who will truly know what our prospects want, and how to package and deliver it. To get these high quality experts on board you’ll need to discover them at work. The best way to source an industry expert is to think like one – so these are the places you’ll find them:

It's great to see that events specifically talking about "events and conference marketing" are on the up and the newly launched Event Marketing Summit by the Global Conference Network took place just recently. Over 150 people attended - from event marketers to senior management, old friends as well as new faces.

I was recently interviewed by Events Uncovered TV, to share my observations on the ever changing shape that B2B event marketing is taking. The premise of my argument is that while some traditional marketing techniques may have worked superbly in their heyday, the industry is undeniably evolving (and some event marketers are struggling to keep up). Enjoy the interview and please comment away if you have views of your own.

A clear trend is emerging: B2B publishers are becoming increasingly aware that events are a profitable opportunity not to be passed up. Simultaneously, event companies are realising that the industry needs to change. They must think more as publishers do in the battle to fight declining revenues and add value to both sponsors and attendees on a 365 basis.

The current sentiment on both sides is "yes we know we need to behave/think/act more like them", but nobody seems to know where event and publisher paths converge. Neither side knows how exactly how to get to this sweet spot, where to start, or who internally is best placed to drive the change.

Largely, the challenge lies in finding the employee who can be bothered to propel this internal shift in attitudes with different stakeholders, and get their buy in.

The actions publishers and events need to take are clear and they don't have to be complicated! Here's my rundown of where the covergence lies, and what kind of results each side can expect to achieve:

Content marketing is often viewed as a passing fad by B2B event marketers - or ignored completely - but unlike some marketing trends this one is set to stick around. As an experienced marketer, chances are you’re familiar with the fundamentals – but how can you translate the returns of this approach to your event marketing? 

It's all about changing your mindset, and applying the key elements of the content philosophy to your outlook. Ultimately, treating your event as a content offer, rather than a standalone occurrence, will help you to adapt your strategy, generate relevant leads, and increase registrations. 

There are various different terms associated with marketing partnerships which all mean exactly the same thing. Whether you refer to them as contra deals, bartering agreements, media partnerships, or anything else – essentially these are non-financial, mutually beneficial agreements. If you’re able to demonstrate how you can increase a prospective partner’s members, visitors, subscribers, or revenue, you can get them to help market your conference for free.

As appealing as they are, marketing partners can be tricky to pin down (or so some marketing team members might say). We’ve previously detailed how to identify key marketing and media partners and this is the next stage towards actually securing them.

B2B events marketing can be stressful, but when things go right, it is a rewarding, sociable and incredibly diverse profession. It may not be one of the jobs people dream of doing while at school, but it still has huge appeal and is a career that requires a specific skillset within a field that not everyone could excel in. Hiring someone with the right attributes is crucial, so here is our list of just what you need to look out for when recruiting - or if you're an aspiring events marketer, the skills you need to demonstrate.