Event planners have had their world turned upside down with COVID-19. Their entire 2020 plans and profits have evaporated in the blink of an eye, leaving many to wonder: what do we do next? Although the answer to that question may not be clear yet, it's unquestionable that the solution is not to do nothing. Event planners have a unique opportunity to transition their momentum into something scalable, sustainable and resilient. To migrate energy from the physical to digital and focus on content production, virtual events, and community growth and engagement. With over a decade in event planning and helping tech brands amplify their digital footprint through content creation, B2B influencer marketing, and channel growth, Chelsea Larson-Andrews shares her expert tips in this presentation.

1. 1
#MWC20
Thought Leadership &
Influencer Activation
Rewriting The Playbook:
Digital Strategies for Event Planners
Chelsea Larson-Andrews
@Chels_LA Chelsea@Techmode.io

2. EVENT PLANNING
What my friends think I do What my mom thinks I do What my clients think I do
What society thinks I do What I think I do What I actually do

3. Event Planners in One Word
If anyone can find their way through
this crisis, we can 💪
RESOURCEFUL

4. It’s time to create a new playbook.
74% of brands think the coronavirus pandemic will have a larger impact
on their advertising spend than the 2008 financial crisis 😧
SOURCE: Marketers Think COVID-19 Will Be Worse For Advertising Than The 2008 Financial Crisis, Forbes
👎Most events are cancelled for the foreseeable future
👎Sponsored posts and digital advertising is in decline
Two things we know for sure…

5. Evan Kirstel Leading Tech Social Influencer
SOURCE: "The Future Has Arrived Early" : Evan Kirstel On The New Normal For Marketers, Chelsea Andrews, LinkedIn
The future has arrived much faster
than any of us were prepared for.
Teleworking is now work. Telehealth
is now health. Digital marketing is
now just marketing.
@EvanKirstel
283.6K
@EvanKirstel
54K

6. What marketing strategies do companies
invest in?
SOURCE: Taking Your In-Person Events Digital, ON24
All of these
things are
already done
online
Virtual Events
Digital
Content

7. Why do attendees go to events in the
first place?
•Lead Generation
•Connect and make new human connections
•Interactivity / Engagement
•Captive Audience / Sustained Attention Span
•Experiences / Perks for top performing employees
•Customer Acquisition & Retention
Virtual events and digital content can be leveraged to satisfy
most of these for a fraction of the cost and at scale.

8. VIRTUAL EVENTS

9. Any content you were going to feature at your event can
now be produced online for mass digital consumption.
Keynote Presentations
Executive Interviews
Panel Discussions
Live Demos
Workshops
Training Sessions
Focus Groups

10. Virtual Event Format Examples
• Livestreams (Go-lives on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc)
• Webinars (ex ON24 along with dozens of one-way presentation tools)
• Interactive Video Conferencing (ex Zoom, WebEx, Google Hangout, etc.)
• Live and On-Demand Filmed Broadcasts
SOURCE: Using Influencers to Pivot Your Marketing & Comms Strategy, Onalytica
Benefits:
You can reach a significantly larger audience and amplify lead generation opportunities for
yourself and/or your clients, while growing your online exposure and digital footprint.

11. When is the best time to host a virtual event?
ON24 Webinar Benchmark Report*, ON24
*35,477 Webinars measured in the analyst
Wednesday and Thursday are the best
days of the week to host virtual events
39% of ON24 webinars are broadcast
between 10am and 12pm PDT.
The best time to run a virtual event is
11am PDT (2pm EDT)

12. Here’s some data on virtual event marketing…
ON24 Webinar Benchmark Report*, ON24
*35,477 Webinars measured in the analyst
Best days to send promotional emails 👆
Marketing lead time data👆
Longer promotional campaigns
translate to more registrants.
Use all channels at your disposal to market:
• Social media
• Partner / Sponsor Promotion
• Guest Host Promotion
• Etc.

13. Don’t forget about swag distribution, content
sharing, sponsorship opportunities and more!
ON24 Webinar Benchmark Report*, ON24
*35,477 Webinars measured in the analyst
Sample of ON24 white labeled webinar page Sample of ON24 sponsor page

14. DIGITAL CONTENT

15. Digital Content Format Examples
• Video Interviews
• Produced Segments & Explainer Videos
• On-Demand Virtual Event Recordings
• Blog Posts
• Podcasts
• Infographics
• Whitepapers, eBooks, Research Reports
• Social Amplification & Tweet Chats
SOURCE: Using Influencers to Pivot Your Marketing & Comms Strategy, Onalytica

16. Pro Tip: Work with industry through leaders, trendsetters
and influencers to produce compelling content.
SOURCE: The State of Influencer Marketing 2020: Benchmark Report, Influencer Marketing Hub
Brands are increasing content production to meet
customer demand.
Opportunity: Leverage your resources to build
content packages for your customers.
Leverage industry influencers to generate
meaningful content.
Opportunity: Offer customers custom content
created by influencers (ex keynote speakers).

17. More data to show the value of the
influencer approach…
SOURCE: You Guys, Influencer Marketing Works, Chelsea Andrews, LinkedIn
Companies are continuing to invest more and
more into this approach…
…because it works!

18. Influencer Demo Day

19. Influencer Produced Video Segment
Example

20. Thought Leader Produced Podcasts
Example

21. Thought Leader Produced Blog Posts
Example

22. Expand your digital footprint.
I can’t stress enough the importance of using
this time to expand your digital footprint.
Focus on building your social profiles, creating
meaningful content, leveraging industry friends
and partners to test digital formats and
marketing strategies.
You can do this either on your personal
channels or company channels, the bottom line
is work on building a community that will
make you stronger on the other end of this.
Me and my business partner Beverley Eve at Capitol
Records, Los Angeles. Building our own personal
brands is a cornerstone of our company ethos.

23. So, what next?
Create a plan for your digital-first strategy.
1. Identify the core reasons you host events. What are your goals?
• Example, to make a living - you rely on companies to pay you to produce events.
2. Identify the core reasons people attend your events. What value do you provide?
• Example, attendees come to your events to hear industry executive keynotes.
3. Identify opportunities. What digital strategies will achieve the above goals and values?
• Example, the above cross-over might be achieved through a webinar, video interview, a live
broadcast, a podcast, a blog post, or a combination of these.
Now that you’ve determined your goals, objectives, and potential opportunities, you can
package up new services, create sales target lists, and get to work on creating digital content.
NOTE: While testing content formats it’s important to be agile. You’ll need to experiment and
test to determine what works best and how you can optimize efficiency and value.

24. RESOURCES
Marketers Think COVID-19 Will Be Worse For Advertising Than The 2008 Financial Crisis, Forbes
Taking Your In-Person Events Digital, ON24
ON24 Webinar Benchmark Report, ON24
Using Influencers to Pivot Your Marketing & Comms Strategy, Onalytica
The State of Influencer Marketing 2020: Benchmark Report, Influencer Marketing Hub
"The Future Has Arrived Early" : Evan Kirstel On The New Normal For Marketers, Chelsea Andrews
You Guys, Influencer Marketing Works, Chelsea Andrews
Marketers, Do This Instead of Events, Chelsea Andrews