Virtual events have proved to be a potent, scalable, and flexible strategy that empowers businesses across various industries. Companies can reach beyond geographical boundaries, personalise experiences, and foster meaningful relationships amidst a digitally-dominated era.
Hosting and participating in virtual events has emerged as a powerful tool for generating and nurturing B2B sales leads for many businesses across various industries. Explore how this transformative B2B marketing approach can help refine your B2B lead generation strategy with the article below!
How Do B2B Events Help in Lead Generation?
As we delve deeper into the influence of virtual events, it’s crucial to understand their unique advantages. The following section discusses 5 critical ways virtual events enhance your B2B lead generation strategy to attract leads and boost conversions.
Reach a broader audience
When your event goes virtual, the world is your stage. Whether you’re hosting or participating, incorporating events for your B2B lead generation strategy allows you to reach a global audience and connect with potential B2B leads that might have been inaccessible before.
Lower costs
With venue rentals, catering, and travel expenses, organising a traditional event can heavily affect your marketing budget. Virtual events remove the need for these additional costs without sparing the quality and efficiency of your B2B lead generation efforts. Reduced costs also translate into lower entry fees, making your event more attractive to potential leads.
Efficient tracking and measuring
Digital platforms allow you to track attendees’ behaviours, preferences, and engagement levels during the event. You can measure which sessions were most attended, what content was most engaging, and more. Leveraging the collected data provides invaluable insights to help optimise your future events efforts and B2B lead generation strategies.
Increase engagements
Unlike in-person events, where interactions can be limited, virtual events offer numerous opportunities to foster meaningful conversations between you and your potential B2B leads. High levels of valuable interaction keep attendees interested in your brand and pave the way for better B2B lead generation qualifications.
Provide convenience for attendees
As the world becomes more connected and time becomes an ever more precious commodity, virtual events serve as an invaluable B2B platform to accommodate the needs and preferences of your target audience. With virtual events, attendees can join from anywhere, on any device, making it easier for them to attend—your event becomes more accessible to attract more leads.
5 Types of Virtual Events for B2B Lead Generation
Explore the different formats of virtual events and how each type helps enhance attendee engagement, brand visibility, and organic customer interactions to fuel your B2B lead generation with the section below.
1. Webinars
A webinar is a virtual seminar that typically focuses on offering deep insights or training about a specific topic. Use webinars to showcase your knowledge and establish your business’s credibility as an industry expert to capture high-quality B2B lead generation prospects interested in your business niche.
2. Live Streams
Live streaming is the real-time broadcasting of video content to an audience over the internet, such as behind-the-scenes glimpses, live Q&As, or product launches. Live streams are interactive and spontaneous to help the audience feel more connected to your brand’s story and make them more likely to convert into B2B sales leads.
3. Virtual Conferences
Virtual conferences often include highly engaging keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities to pull in thousands of attendees from around the globe. Offering high-value content to your attendees allows you to collect many leads in return while reinforcing your brand’s image as a thought leader.
4. Virtual Trade Shows
Like their in-person counterparts, virtual trade shows allow brands to showcase offerings with a virtual booth. Attendees visit different booths, engage with brands, and even collect digital coupons. These events offer rich opportunities for B2B lead generation as your business directly interacts with potential leads who are interested in your offerings.
5. Virtual Product Demos
A virtual product demo effectively introduces a new product or feature to your potential leads. Generate more interest and avoid miscommunication by demonstrating how your product works and its benefits directly to your customers. Doing so helps build customer trust, fuel your B2B lead generation efforts, and speed up buyer decision-making.
How to Plan and Prepare for Virtual Events
Hosting a virtual event can seem challenging, but with careful planning and preparation, you can pave the way for a successful experience for your attendees. The section below will guide you through the crucial steps you should consider to enhance your B2B lead generation strategies and accelerate the success of your business amidst dynamic B2B markets.
Define your events goals
Clearly outline what you intend to achieve with your event to serve as the foundation upon which your entire virtual event strategy rests. Is your primary goal to accelerate your B2B lead generation efforts? Or are you looking to nurture existing leads and push them further down the sales funnel? Having your objectives defined at the outset will allow you to measure the success of your event and guide your future efforts.
Choose the right B2B platform
Understand that your event’s platform shapes your attendee experience. With this, it is crucial to select a platform that fits the nature and scale of your event while also matching the expectations of your audience. You’ll want a platform that supports your event type, allows for smooth interactions, and is easy for your attendees to navigate.
Promote your events
No matter how unique your event is, it won’t generate B2B sales leads if people don’t know about it. Leverage the influence of all your marketing channels—email marketing, social media, blog posts, and even paid ads—to reach your target audience. If you have guest speakers, encourage them to promote the event to their audience.
Prepare engaging content
Content is the heart of your event—it’s what attracts attendees and keeps them engaged. Depending on your event type, this could include presentations, demos, panel discussions, or workshops. Ensure your content is relevant and valuable, with a solid call to action to help convert attendees and fuel your B2B lead generation efforts.
Test your event technology
Technical glitches can quickly derail your event and frustrate your B2B leads. Before going live, test every aspect of your technology at every aspect, from the video and audio quality to the chat functionality and attendee experience. Consider having a tech support team on standby during the event to resolve any issues that may arise quickly.
5 Best Practices for Nurturing Leads Generated From Virtual Events
The true success of your event and B2B lead generation efforts hinges on your post-event lead nurturing strategy. Let’s examine some best practices to turn those event attendees into potential customers.
1. Segment events leads
Not all leads are created equal. Segment the prospects from your B2B lead generation event based on their engagement levels during the event, the information they shared, and their overall fit with your business. Investing time and effort to segment B2B leads will help you tailor your follow-up strategy and ensure you’re offering the most relevant content to each segment.
2. Personalise your follow-up
Personalisation is crucial in establishing a deeper connection for your B2B lead generation strategy, as audiences appreciate and expect communications catering to their interests, experiences, and needs. Remember, personalisation goes beyond using the lead’s name in an email. Demonstrate that you understand their unique contexts and showcase your ability to deliver value that aligns with those specifics.
3. Follow up quickly
Time is of the essence when it comes to lead nurturing. Follow up quickly while the event is still fresh in attendees’ minds. A quick follow-up can keep the momentum of your B2B lead generation going and show your leads that you’re genuinely interested in helping them address and solve their unique pain points.
4. Offer additional events resources
Continue providing value to your B2B leads even after your virtual event has concluded by offering additional resources, such as whitepapers, eBooks, or event recording. Doing so gives your leads a reason to stay engaged with your brand while also positioning your business as a knowledgeable authority in your field.
5. Make it easy to take action
The final step in B2B lead generation and nurturing is to make it simple for them to move further down your sales funnel by simplifying the process and removing potential purchasing barriers. But to encourage this, your ‘next step’ should be clear, appealing, and, most importantly, easy to follow—may it be booking a consultation or even making a direct purchase.
Integrate Virtual Events Into Your Lead Generation Strategy With the Ortus Club
The growing digital landscape has opened new opportunities for global companies, with virtual events at the forefront of these exciting advancements. These virtual events break down geographical boundaries, allowing companies to reach a broader audience than ever, and are revolutionising how we think about B2B lead generation.
While virtual events offer a wealth of benefits, they need to be expertly integrated into your overall B2B marketing strategy to unlock their full potential for lead generation. With a reliable events marketing partner like The Ortus Club, your business benefits from careful planning, strategic content creation, and effective lead nurturing to drive conversions and business growth.
The Ortus Club offers tailored events marketing solutions backed by a dedicated team of experts who understand the nuances of virtual events and lead generation. We’re committed to helping you host exceptional virtual events and leverage them as a powerful tool for your B2B lead generation strategy. Contact us today to learn more!
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