Best of LinkedIn: Field Marketing CW 12/ 13

00:00:00: Brought to you by Thomas Allgeier and Frennus, this edition highlights key LinkedIn posts on field marketing in weeks twelve and thirteen.

00:00:07: Frenness supports clients with identifying target attendees for events crafting outreach that cuts through the noise And driving qualified registrations thru strategic LinkedIn engagement.

00:00:17: You can find more info.

00:00:19: All right, and we are back.

00:00:21: We are so for today's deep dive?

00:00:23: We're unpacking the top field marketing trends seen across LinkedIn recently.

00:00:28: Yeah

00:00:29: And there is a lot to unpack.

00:00:30: Oh

00:00:31: absolutely.

00:00:31: So if you listen right now You know whether your an event planner or A B-to-B Marketing leader.

00:00:36: this deep dive Is really about understanding why some events just like print money Right while others Are basically just highly orchestrated bonfires For Your marketing budget.

00:00:45: yeah

00:00:45: That's exactly what it feels Like.

00:00:46: sometimes I'm on fire

00:00:47: seriously.

00:00:48: i mean less.

00:00:48: Just jump right in, the fundamental shift dominating LinkedIn is this whole move away from just event presence.

00:00:56: Like simply showing up isn't a strategy anymore.

00:00:59: it's all about engineering actual revenue.

00:01:02: Completely

00:01:02: and you know Peter Sawyer shared his really terrifying case study of that.

00:01:06: Oh

00:01:06: right!

00:01:06: The two hundred eighty thousand euro one?

00:01:09: Yeah A team dropped two hundred ninety-thousand euros on six massive conferences got hundreds badge scans And then six months later their attributable pipeline was literally mathematically zero.

00:01:21: Mathematically zero?

00:01:23: That is just, I mean that sounds like a fireable offense honestly!

00:01:26: You'd

00:01:26: think so right.

00:01:28: but Peter points out that there events weren't necessarily the problem.

00:01:31: The problem was they completely lacked pre-event on site and post event infrastructure.

00:01:36: Right They had no system.

00:01:37: Exactly He calls it an Event Revenue System.

00:01:40: Without you know...they have no targeting list before flying out No qualification logic On the floor And basically Zero follow-up.

00:01:48: Which brings up a huge issue with how we measure success.

00:01:51: Shrita Ranganathan touched on this perfectly, he said counting badge scans is like measuring digital ads just by impressions?

00:01:57: Oh that's great analogy!

00:01:58: Right because the badge scan could be highly qualified buyer or it can.

00:02:02: simply as student hunting for free t-shirt

00:02:04: I am definitely guilty of the free T-shirt hunt

00:02:07: We all are.

00:02:08: So counting those scans is throwing a net in ocean and just counting seaweed.

00:02:13: Shrithar says... Leads to meeting or LTM.

00:02:18: Yeah,

00:02:19: measuring the percentage of interactions.

00:02:21: that actually results in a book definitive next step.

00:02:25: We need the fish not The seaweed

00:02:28: right but how do you actually catch those fish?

00:02:30: Hmm Zane Jafari made a really compelling point here.

00:02:33: He says events themselves Do not generate pipeline.

00:02:36: wait

00:02:36: Really yeah the execution generates the pipe.

00:02:39: ah okay That makes sense.

00:02:41: zane argues it.

00:02:42: You have to pre-book those meetings before the flight even takes off, and then your follow up has to happen within twenty four to forty eight hours.

00:02:49: Forty

00:02:49: Eight Hours?

00:02:50: Okay but how do we pass these leads to the sales team without them?

00:02:53: just you know dying on the

00:02:54: vine?!

00:02:55: Well

00:02:55: that is where Alex Adkins comes in!

00:02:57: He warns against sending sales a raw spreadsheet of contacts.

00:03:00: two weeks later...you'll have to send him contacts not just contact.

00:03:02: Contacts are like what the buyer actually cared about.

00:03:06: Exactly!!

00:03:06: What pain

00:03:07: point???

00:03:08: made them stop at the booth.

00:03:09: Because if you just send a generic spreadsheet, The Sales Rep sends a generic Great Meeting.

00:03:15: You email

00:03:15: which is basically just a cold outbound e-mail.

00:03:17: At that point yeah

00:03:18: and the prospect instantly knows you didn't listen to A word.

00:03:21: they said wow

00:03:22: And Sneeda Ayapa shared a stat.

00:03:24: That proves how bad this Is.

00:03:26: something like seventy.

00:03:27: seven percent of marketers say events are their most effective channel But only seven point six percent actually connect those event touchpoints To pipeline.

00:03:35: Seven

00:03:36: point six percent.

00:03:37: that is a massive operational gap.

00:03:39: It's

00:03:39: huge, but here's where it gets really interesting.

00:03:42: Cody K. Adams raised a point about this, we can't treat events like vending machines.

00:03:47: Vending Machines?

00:03:47: Yeah!

00:03:47: Like you put a sponsorship check-in and expect thirty day closed revenue to pop out.

00:03:52: Events sit right in the middle of the cycle.

00:03:54: they are trust accelerators Right.

00:03:56: They break The deadlock Of those in Luzun.

00:03:58: caller Exactly

00:03:59: You get face To Face You establish that energy And it accelerates the deal.

00:04:03: So We have to measure pipeline influence Not just instant net new Revenue.

00:04:07: I love That.

00:04:07: But you know, measuring that mid-funnel influence requires a really serious tech stack.

00:04:11: You can't just use sticky notes on the show floor?

00:04:13: Definitely not!

00:04:14: So how do we build that machine?

00:04:16: Our Perna Priyadarshini mapped out this blueprint.

00:04:19: she calls A Signal Driven Pipeline.

00:04:21: Okay

00:04:21: tell me about that.

00:04:22: It's basically moving from manual CSV exports to automated routing... ...you capture physical signal like someone attending breakout session and it instantly routes that context to CRM for sales owner

00:04:35: Instantly See.

00:04:36: what's fascinating here is how the whole event tech stack Is evolving.

00:04:41: to make that possible Adam Perry actually broke down.

00:04:43: What he calls The five layer twenty-twenty six Event Tech Stack

00:04:47: Five layers, That sounds intense.

00:04:49: it is.

00:04:50: It's way beyond just a registration page.

00:04:52: You've got Layer one for registration and identity capturing early intent.

00:04:56: Layer two was on site engagement you know like smart badges right.

00:04:59: Layer three his content.

00:05:01: Layer four is analytics to compute that pipeline influence, and layer five is integration with your CRM.

00:05:07: Okay but doesn't all this data collection just create massive friction?

00:05:12: I mean aren't we torturing attendees with mortgage application style forms?

00:05:17: You'd think so.

00:05:18: But Mitch Malinski in the event Data Lab actually studied this.

00:05:22: They analyzed over thirty six hundred live events.

00:05:25: What did they find?

00:05:26: Surprisingly form length doesn't kill registration.

00:05:29: Wait,

00:05:30: really?

00:05:30: So asking twenty questions is fine.

00:05:32: Yeah... If someone commits to attending typing their job title isn't the barrier?

00:05:37: The real drop-off happens because of decision complexity.

00:05:39: Oh like offering too many ticket choices.

00:05:41: Exactly!

00:05:42: When you give them a VIP pass A two day pass A digital pass They get overwhelmed.

00:05:46: they have to calculate ROI Asked their boss And

00:05:48: then just close the tab.

00:05:50: Yes

00:05:54: That is wild.

00:05:55: Yeah, but Kelly Birkhop also pointed out that even with optimized forms event tech still lacks consumer style usability.

00:06:02: Oh

00:06:02: hundred percent.

00:06:03: she compared it to like legacy design software versus Canva and Michael Ballyasny predicted that this Is actually a huge threat to Legacy Event Tech

00:06:12: because of the CRMs.

00:06:13: yeah major systems record like HubSpot armed With AI are gonna start building native event modules directly into The dashboards marketers already use

00:06:22: which makes perfect sense.

00:06:23: But that brings up a huge question.

00:06:26: Are we just going to let AI run the whole show, like automate The Human completely out of the room?

00:06:32: Yeah, That's the fear right

00:06:33: definitely but Chris Kearney strongly warns against it.

00:06:37: He pointed out that leveraging AI just to cut headcount is a huge mistake.

00:06:42: AI needs to support planners by handling the logistics, not replace them

00:06:46: Right because you still need someone to actually read The Room when chaos happens.

00:06:50: Exactly and German Anastrozanouna has backed this up.

00:06:53: he said That Because AI makes digital outreach so scalable buyers inboxes are flooded with synthetic noise

00:07:00: So human presence becomes even more valuable.

00:07:02: Yes

00:07:03: Verifiable human presence and trust is the ultimate differentiator.

00:07:07: AI can get people into the room, but it can't manufacture The Trust once they are there.

00:07:11: That Is such a good point.

00:07:13: so if the goal is high-intent Human Trust Where's the money actually going now?

00:07:20: because B to be marketers?

00:07:21: They're definitely moving away from those giant generic ten by Ten booths.

00:07:25: Oh that ten by ten is dead.

00:07:27: Adam Chirinas did some great research on this with mega events like hymns and vivas.

00:07:32: He says you need authentic experiential marketing, With a strong capture mechanism

00:07:37: right?

00:07:37: You can't just be a static billboard.

00:07:39: No, you have to engineer at destination.

00:07:41: he shared his brilliant example from him's.

00:07:44: A team realized attendees were just physically exhausted.

00:07:47: Right.

00:07:47: Oh

00:07:48: those massive shows.

00:07:49: your feet are always killing you

00:07:51: exactly.

00:07:51: so they literally built a fake conference aisle running through their booth Same carpet as the main hall, but they flanked it with couches and hydration stations.

00:07:59: Wait!

00:08:00: They built a fake aisle with couchees?

00:08:02: That is genius!

00:08:02: Wasn't it?

00:08:03: Attendees would walk down see a place to rest lower their guard and organically start talking to brand reps.

00:08:09: Wow so they captured that high intent just by solving of physical human problem.

00:08:13: Julia Solaris actually noted something similar.

00:08:15: He sees his shift toward microactivations.

00:08:18: Because attention spans are short you need multiple touch points in one small space Like a podcast corner, a coffee bar.

00:08:25: A demo station.

00:08:26: Yeah that modular approach is huge.

00:08:29: and we are also seeing budget shift towards smaller highly curated events overall like exclusive executive dinners.

00:08:37: Oh I love those but those get

00:08:39: expensive yeah.

00:08:40: And Ryan Lakestream issued a big warning about going smaller.

00:08:43: doesn't magically shrink your fixed costs.

00:08:46: You still need the premium venue, The

00:08:48: A.V.,

00:08:48: the food.

00:08:49: Right.

00:08:49: so if you only have fifty people instead of five hundred your per person cost just explodes.

00:08:53: Exactly It makes event finance a highly strategic function...you really have to know what you're doing And how

00:08:59: do even make sure that right-people show up those expensive curated events?

00:09:03: Kristin Thompson had great take on this.

00:09:05: She says free events remove accountability.

00:09:08: Oh for sure If it rains I'm not going into a free breakfast

00:09:11: Exactly!

00:09:11: If there's no sunk costs they abandon it.

00:09:14: She says charging a ticket price is the psychological signal of value.

00:09:18: If you need VIPs there, issue them a comp code so it feels exclusive but don't just leave front door open for free.

00:09:25: That's brilliant and all ties back to the ultimate ROI.

00:09:32: Darya Bhushak introduced this concept of emotional architecture.

00:09:36: Emotional architecture,

00:09:37: I like the sound of that!

00:09:38: It's powerful.

00:09:39: she reminds us That The true ROI Of an event isn't generated in the room.

00:09:44: it's the behavioral change and the emotional shift that happens after people leave the building.

00:09:48: oh wow

00:09:49: yeah.

00:09:49: Did a skeptic change their mind, did an account accelerate?

00:09:52: That is what you as the planner need to design for.

00:09:55: So every tactical thing we talked about today—the couches, the forty-eight hour follow up and CRM routing — it's all just infrastructure to capture that emotional shift

00:10:03: Exactly!

00:10:03: And this actually brings me into one final slightly provocative thought for everyone listening.

00:10:07: It's inspired by Sean Jay.

00:10:09: Okay

00:10:09: let's hear it.

00:10:10: We talk so much about text acts in data capture But Sean points out that most valuable part of a trade show Is usually the part nobody captures

00:10:19: the candid conversations.

00:10:20: The invisible signal, it's that unrecorded moment where a prospect drops their corporate guard and tells you what is actually broken in there company.

00:10:28: And that intelligence usually evaporates

00:10:32: because it just becomes a checkbox and sales force that says attended booth.

00:10:36: Exactly!

00:10:37: So the real question for your next event is how are you going to capture that invisible signal?

00:10:42: How do you build a system for the unrecorded human moments, That's a fantastic question to end on.

00:10:48: It

00:10:48: really makes me think

00:10:50: Well if you enjoyed this episode new episodes drop every two weeks.

00:10:53: Also, check out our other editions on account-based marketing.

00:10:56: Go to Market, channel marketing, MarTech, social selling and AI in BtoB Marketing.

00:11:01: Thanks

00:11:01: so much for joining us.

00:11:02: Have a great one!

00:11:03: And remember to subscribe.