The End of In-Person Conferences (As We Know It): A #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Vishal Khanna

The global pandemic has caused a major disruption to our industry. Marketers have had to adapt. We’ve audited our content. We’ve reexamined our metrics. And sadly, we’ve had to pivot our in-person events. For example, CMI shifted and transformed Content Marketing World and ContentTECH Summit into virtual conferences.

Is this the end of in-person events as we know it? Can we – as attendees, speakers, and vendors – survive this major blow? We invited HealthPrize Technologies Vice President Vishal Khanna to a recent CMWorld Twitter chat to discuss. We had a great conversation about how marketers can reduce the impact and make our work more effective.

The chat taught us you can still fill your pipeline with promising prospects and show off your expertise. Here’s a brief look at what our community is doing. If you’re looking for more insights, check out all the tweets our Twitter Moment.

2020 has brought about the end of in-person conferences as we know them. What are some major changes you see in 2021 and beyond?

A1 Cont: From a B2B marketer’s perspective, we need to plan ahead now (in partnership with our conference partners). Traditional engagement just isn’t going to provide the same pipeline as before. #CMWorld

— Vishal Khanna (@bediscontent) July 21, 2020

A1. From what I understand, in-person conferences won’t be the major highlight of the conference world. They’ll be more virtual events along with other creative ways of hosting conferences. #CMWorld

— Masooma | Content Writer (@inkandcopy) July 21, 2020

a1: hybrid events.

i don’t think we’ll ever see events return to the exact way we knew them before.

for good reason.

adding digital virtual components to in-person events will reach an audience beyond just attendees in a physical space.#CMWorld

— Lauren (@laurfarrell) July 21, 2020

A1: Several events have gone virtual, obviously. But I think prices are starting to drop too. People are not going to want to pay the same amount for virtual experiences. #cmworld https://t.co/Qufr7TCh0I

— Buddy Scalera (@BuddyScalera) July 21, 2020

A1. From a conference perspective, more
virtual learning sessions and networking receptions along with real-time crowd-sourced content are the new expectations to keep attendees at virtual events happy and interested. #CMWorld

— Lisa Baer (@lbaer_lisa) July 21, 2020

A1 Temperature checks are the new metal detectors, and masks are the new phone cases #cmworld

— Dan Goldberg (@Jonas419) July 21, 2020

A1: Not a popular opinion, but I think in-person events will make a comeback. Virtual events are just not the same. The benefit of virtual is that they can be cheaper and more people can attend. Perhaps we will see a hybrid virtual/in-person option. #CMWorld https://t.co/KvP6AvPgiY

— Andi Robinson (@hijinxmarketing) July 21, 2020

The pandemic has led to the cancellation of many conferences. If in-person events are a cornerstone touchpoint for a brand, how should marketers pivot? What can they do now to drive pipeline activity?

A2: Your prospects are looking for ways to replace the conference experience. How can you speak to them within that context? Find out how the conferences communicating with these folks and get into that content stream through eBlasts, sponsorships, etc. #CMWorld

— Vishal Khanna (@bediscontent) July 21, 2020

A2: here’s another great tactic. Find Twitter chats that are relevant to your offering and get in the feed. Great job @ironhorseio pic.twitter.com/9n6lj1zBbY

— Vishal Khanna (@bediscontent) July 21, 2020

A2: Try out new strategies! This opens up a big part of the budget that you can now put toward experimenting with tactics you maybe haven’t tried before #CMWorld

— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) July 21, 2020

A2. How brands should pivot with the cancellation of live conferences is a tough question.

I’d start asking:

🗸 What were our goals for IRL conferences?
🗸 Did we achieve them?
🗸 Do we double down on our existing digital channels, or explore new channels?
#CMWorld

— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) July 21, 2020

A2. I’d say marketers need to focus on virtual community building now more than ever. Why? Because the more meaningful connections you make online, the more your attendees’ list will grow. #CMWorld

— Masooma | Content Writer (@inkandcopy) July 21, 2020

If you’re diverting resources away from conferences, where can you put them now to garner that same level of lead-gen value and audience engagement?

A5: I wish I knew. We’re trying what we can with the established conference and trade magazine channels that have worked previously. #CMWorld

— Vishal Khanna (@bediscontent) July 21, 2020

If in-person events and conferences were a critical part of your bread and butter, look into ramping up your webinar strategy. This can be an easy alternative if you’re not sure you want to do the full dive into the world of virtual events. #CMWorld

— Iron Horse (@ironhorseio) July 21, 2020

A5: based on personal experiences these days… write a book. Interview people for your book and build a network and community around it. Advertise/market it and build up your credibility in your industry. 📚 #cmworld

— Rhiannon Payne 🌙 (@rhiannon_io) July 21, 2020

A5 —

You can put them on other platforms and content format like podcasts as @inkandcopy said.

Particularly you can use webinars, live sessions, anything that resonates with the audience and provides value will work well.#CMWorld

— SEO Charge 🦄 (@seocharge_) July 21, 2020

A5. I hate to sound like a broken record, but take some of those conference resources and do something to get your message into your customers’ hands and to get people talking about you.

🗸 #DirectMail
🗸 #influencermarketing kits
🗸 Send swag
#CMWorld

— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) July 21, 2020

A5: Put those resources into your online tech
Get software for a better customer experience in online events, invest more into lead-gens for your company#cmworld https://t.co/aJ7M8ULej5

— Charlie Appel Agency (@ColfaxInsurance) July 21, 2020

Vishal says he misses in-person conferences. He goes on to say it’s a real change for those of us who had in-person events ingrained in our models. We agree! Vishal, we miss you and the CMWorld community too. We can’t wait for the day when we can meet up again.

Do you lead a small staff? Or a team of one? Learn how you can succeed in content marketing when you attend Vishal’s ContentTECH Summit session. There’s still time to register!