TechTalk Tuesday Edition - The Key Components to a Virtual Event Strategy with Mariya Finkelshteyn of Orchid Agency

During this episode of Tech Qualified, Tristan Pelligrino launches the first ever TechTalk Tuesday edition of the podcast. These episodes are designed to take a deep dive into a specific area and provide listeners with a clear path to implementation. In this episode, Tristan welcomes back Mariya Finkelshteyn, the owner of Orchid Agency, and the two discuss the strategies for virtual events. Virtual events are a new medium given the current state of affairs with the pandemic. As a result, many tech companies are struggling to get virtual events in motion and engage with their own customers. Mariya talks about the four key components to a virtual event strategy. Episode Highlights: Many technology companies are pivoting to digital or virtual events given the situation created by the pandemic Before diving into the components of virtual event strategy, Mariya provides some background on her 13 years of work experience in B2B technology After working and leading marketing teams internally at several companies, Mariya launched her own marketing agency - Orchid Mariya now works with early to late-stage technology companies and helps them build, optimize or scale a repeatable B2B marketing engine Mariya introduces the audience to the four key components to a virtual event strategy: 1) Operationalizing events, 2) Identifying a format, 3) Engaging the audience and 4) Measuring the results With the uncertainty of B2B buyers, Mariya has seen many B2B tech companies engage their existing install base of customers; aiming to help their customers and enrich these relationships When identifying the right technology for a virtual event, one of the first things a company can do is to look at their existing technology - most have solutions already in place and tools like Zoom or other web conferencing technologies can be used G2 is an effective way to research different tools for a virtual event Webinars are becoming more commonplace now, so it’s important to be creative and go beyond this medium (we’re going to see an inflection point where B2B buyers will get webinar fatigue) Beyond webinars, there are a variety of formats available - using podcasts, panel discussions and “virtual talks” to engage audiences When looking at engagement, it’s important to bring together your entire ecosystem and ask questions like “what are you learning?” or “how are you dealing with this?” Now is the time to offer education to your entire ecosystem of partners, customers and prospects Building rapport now allows you to to create trust and set your organization up for success (and conversion) down the road Engagement can be created through an ABM approach - even running ads to a virtual event beforehand After a virtual event, it’s important to have a follow-up sequence and a plan orThis episode is produced by New North.  New North is a strategic B2B marketing agency specializing in working with tech companies. Going beyond conventional tactics, we craft a personalized marketing strategy, conduct research, lay a solid foundation, execute dynamic campaigns, and continuously refine our approach through analysis. With New North, your small, scrappy marketing team transforms into a powerful growth engine, achieving your goals with less pressure and more precision.