The value of reporting at a live event
Once you establish that you're going to take off your marketing hat and begin covering the event from an editorial viewpoint, here are all the benefits your business will experience.
Co-opt the editorial and publicity of the event - No need to do your own publicity or gather an audience. Take advantage of all the work the event producers have done to drive attention to their event.
High interest in your content - Since you're reporting will be in line with the editorial of the event, the audience has already been pre-qualified to be interested in your reporting.
Very easy to meet influencers - It's a lot easier to meet industry influencers and hold their attention if you first ask for their opinion. How do you think influencers become influencers? They say yes to interviews. This ego boosting exercise is a far more comfortable way to begin a relationship than trying to get them to pay attention to your product pitch.
Get access to bloggers' audience - Give away your content to anyone who wants it. And if you happen to actually interview a blogger or write about them, let them know. In most cases they'll repurpose the content on their own site. Also, if the event's show page or blog is pulling in RSS feeds of related content, your articles will also appear there.
Implied endorsement of your company - By reporting at the event and interviewing key bloggers and influencers, you're aligning your brand and reputation with theirs. Even if nothing is actually said, by physically placing the stories on each other's sites, the relationship is implied.
Crank up your search visibility - By using the name of the event, the companies, and the people attending in your reporting, your blog entries will inevitably appear in search results as others look for content related to the event.
Lower cost to production - A live event places all the people you want to interview within an arm's reach. That translates into enormous time and cost savings. No need to go through a series of phone calls, emails, and barriers of media relations people to get an interview. Instead, just walk up to the person at the conference and ask a question. The reason they're there is to meet people and talk.
Extend your reach beyond the room and the event - Many of the people interested in the content of the event won't be there, or they may want to look at the information after the event. You can't connect with everyone during the event. But if you publish content about the event, you'll be able to connect with them afterwards.
The event producers will love you - Any coverage of the event brings more attention to the event.
Focus group surveys and business development - Get some free consulting and advice by interviewing event attendees about issues your company is wrestling with.
Greater bang for the buck - It costs the same or less than an event sponsorship and you get lots more value.
