How We Use Digital To Support Events

Whereas in the past our remit was predominantly based around arranging the logistics and content of the event itself, and our focus was on hosting journalists and achieving press coverage, this is now just a small part of our role, as clients aim to extract as much value as possible from the investment they have made.

Whether it’s an exhibition, sponsoring a seminar or conference, holding a roundtable, a customer or press event – each provides an opportunity to generate content that can be utilised beyond the event itself.

At the most basic level, Twitter now provides a vehicle to share content and opinion not just with those that are attending the event but also with a wider audience. Event hashtags are now the norm and are a great way of finding new followers and generating engagement. However, a personal bugbear of mine is a steady stream of random ‘quotes’ from an event with no added value.

Wherever possible I always try to include links to actual content. If a speaker mentions a report, for example, I try to find the source and post the link, something of use to my followers. I think this is particularly important if you Storify an event such as this one we did for AIS, so that the content can live on in its own right as a useful reference tool.

From blog posts that summarise an interesting roundtable discussion to videos or podcasts of the discussions themselves, there is now huge scope to make the most of event content. For large-scale investments such as exhibitions, generating additional content can help to justify the spend. Back in 2012 we produced over 60 videos at Light + Building for GE Lighting that formed the basis of an EMEA wide campaign for in-house, press and customer consumption and at this year’s Ecobuild, ACO on Air took ACO’s presence to a whole new level. From a technical point of view, if you have invested in product displays and are holding live demonstrations it makes sense to film those, too.

Over the last few years I have seen a definite shift towards more events as clients look to achieve more face time with customers and prospects. With the digital platforms now available there is also a better return on investment, with the event the initial catalyst for wider engagement.