There is a new job in the event industry: the Event Content Manager. Here is why content is revolutionising events and how to make the most of content marketing for your events.
‘If you are struggling to find a job in the event industry or want to re-invent your career, if you have a passion for great content and social media, we have a job for you’. This may well be a job advertising you will see very soon on a computer screen near you.
The Event Content Manager will be soon enough a job in high demand in our industry. She is a cross between a social media manager, a content curator and a content producer. .
If content is part of your strategy and you are directly responsible for it, this post will be extremely helpful to you.
I have searched around for the most significant infographic to inspire your content marketing practice, whether you are a noob or a pro.
Content Marketing: The New, Old Thing
Content marketing is nothing new. It’s been around for decades, probably we called it differently but the techniques are the usual suspects.
In fact why don’t I share with you the history of content marketing with the 1st infographic of this collection to help you become a content marketing ninja:
By Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute and Business2Community | Click to Enlarge
Therefore content has been used by companies since long time to influence customers.
Social Media Changed Everything
While the distribution of content has been inaccessible for long, social media made all of a sudden sharing and publishing content was possible for most companies.
No longer big budgets or media planning were required.
This was and is an incredible opportunity for events. Events are gold mines of content. Content is one of the top reasons why we attend events.
Content at events is even more special than traditional content:
– It is exclusive. It is a unique version as it is created live, therefore hard to duplicate.
– It is media rich. It comes in text, audio, picture or video.
– It is co-created. It offers incredible sharing opportunities as the attendees feel part of the process of creating it, thus more inclined to share it.
Here is a great overview of the landscape of content marketing for events.
The Big Bang Theory of Event Content Marketing by Kevin Miller, Frost Miller Group| Click to Enlarge
Gearing Up Numbers and Convincing Your Boss
The first step if you are thinking about using content strategically for your event is to understand some numbers about the significance of content for business. These numbers will help you to convince your boss (and yourself) of the value of content for events.
Stats to Convince Your Boss to Invest in Content Marketing by FatJoe
Once You’ve Decided: Strategy
Approaching content and distribution channels without a strategy is pretty much similar to committing brand suicide.
Why you are using content and to achieve what should be crystal clear in your mind.
This first infographic about content marketing strategy will help you to clarify the overall approach you should have and key team stakeholders to involve.
Understanding Content Strategy by Gage | Click to Enlarge
The second infographic will help you to reconcile strategy with overall business objectives and to influence customers to take action. In this case I suggest to read the write up linked below as it is packed with useful information.
Real Marketing Sh*t: An SEO’s Guide to Content Marketing by 97th Floor | Click to Enlarge
Coming Up With Ideas
As a blogger, I can certify that coming up with original ideas that capture the attention and interest your audience can be very difficult. Originality is undermined by several companies and media outlets to achieve the same goals as yours, making competition very tough.
This infographic about creating content ideas is of incredible help to systematise the process. While the focus of this infographic is creating ideas for clients, it can easily be referred to the event marketing process.
How to Create Content Ideas for a New Client by Copypress | Click to Enlarge
Storytelling
Storytelling is by all means one of the strongest weapons of event content managers. Telling a story helps to convey the message in a more powerful way. We are used to listen to stories since we are babies. There is something archetypal that moves us to listen with more attention.
This infographic about the use of storytelling for content marketing will give you background on how storytelling impacts behaviour.
Storytelling is not just for Campfires by Fathom Events | Click to Enlarge
Writing for Different Social Media
Now that you’ve decided why and how, it is time to start pushing the content out via social media, email, website and in general all the marketing communications online and offline offers.
Keeping a message integrated and consistent is the secret sauce of successful content marketing campaigns, yet each medium has its lingo and requires a custom adaptation of your message.
The following infographic about copy writing for social vs web vs email is an invaluable companion for your event content distribution.
Copywriting Cheat Sheet: How to Write for Email, Social and the Web by VerticalResponse | Click to Enlarge
Tools
Once you’ve sorted your strategy and crafted content that stimulates action in the correct format for different media, it is time to propagate it.
This is where you will start needing oils to speed up things, generate even more ideas and measure the impact of your actions.
This following infographic with 25 tools for event content marketers will give you tons of hacks to optimise your program. The infographic comes from the blog of an event, a great example of using content strategically to get searched and noticed.
25 Outstanding Content Marketing Tools For Your Brand by Social Media Strategies Summit Blog | Click to Enlarge
Timing
One of the most recurring questions I get when I speak around the world about social media for events is when one should be posting content on different social networks.
The thing is that there is no absolute answer. It pretty much depends on the habits of your target market. Yet there are universal statistics that can help you narrow down the spectrum.
This infographic shows you the best times to post on several social networks.
The Social Media Clock and Calendar: Best and Worst Times and Days to Post Your Social Media Updates by Social Media Writing | Click to Enlarge
In Conclusion
While these info graphics may seem just the start they actually cover almost all of the requirements of the modern event content manager.
Content marketing requires dedication, knowledge and taste. Reading, reading and reading are necessary prerequisites of the ideal candidate for this new in-demand job.
Time to roll up your sleeves and get to know this fascinating environment that will expand the reach of your event to new audiences.