Maximizing Your Event
Optimize Your Content For Search
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not the sole domain of your web site or blog – it applies to virtual events as well. How can this be? Well, most virtual event platforms provide basic and advance search capabilities – they index all content in the event (e.g. documents, links, Webcasts, etc.) and some platforms even index the contents of uploaded documents.
As a result, keep SEO in mind for selecting documents to include in your booth, along with the labels, titles and abstracts that you use to catalog your booth content. Taking a step back, be sure to write an SEO-optimized description for your company and booth – if attendees search for a key term and your booth is at the top of the search results, then all is good in the world.
Subject Matter Experts as Booth Staffers
While you’ll certainly want sales reps and sales engineers as booth staffers, it’s critical to work subject matter experts into the staffing schedule. A visitor who asks specific product or service questions is a hot prospect – and telling that prospect “let me get back to you with an answer to your question” becomes a lost opportunity. Even worse, that opportunity could fall into the lap of your competitor, whose booth is only one click away.
If you’re a technology vendor, try to have your product manager, chief engineer or event your CTO available within the booth. While some technology folks may not be comfortable face-to-face with a customer, most feel quite at home in a text chat session.
Optimizing For: Demand Generation
If you’re looking to generate sales leads, cobble up all your best lead gen content – the latest White Papers, Case Studies, product sheets, videos, podcasts, customer testimonials, etc. Be liberal and selective at the same time – that is, ensure there is a good mix of content choices, but be religious in making sure the content you select aligns with your goals – and relates to the theme of the virtual event. The beauty of a virtual event is that registration occurs once – but all activity with your content is tracked. So you’ll have rich activity profiles at your disposal to help you separate the cream of the crop leads from the visitors who came simply to enter your prize drawing.
Optimizing For: Thought Leadership
Are some of your co-workers experts or luminaries within your industry? If yes, then have them be staffers within your booth! Visitors will have a natural inclination to engage with them – and they’ll be able to funnel the ripest opportunities to sales reps within your booth. If your employees have not achieved rock star status within your industry, leverage some of the luminaries to produce content on your behalf.
Perhaps it’s a research report authored by an industry expert – or, a video interview (hosted by the expert) with your CEO. Better yet, a Webcast within the virtual event that features the expert(s) who provide a presentation prior to your own speakers. If the experts are available to attend the virtual event, invite them to provide Q&A within your booth, as they’ll serve to draw interest and engagement from visitors.
Conclusion
While much of the logistics occur “online”, building a virtual booth will take longer than you think (if done right). Be sure to clearly define your goals first – then, make sure your booth achieves those goals. Take planned breaks from the virtual build to assess whether your booth aligns with the stated goals. Finally, be sure to study activity data from the live event so you can make improvements for your next event!
