For some people the happiest place on earth is Disneyland, for me, it’s the annual MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum in Boston.
Last week, I ran a poll on Twitter to see what people were looking forward to most at the B2B Marketing Forum, and while many are interested in learning new B2B tactics and meeting other smart marketers (smarketers?), the vast majority are excited to see what Ann Handley has in store for this year’s conference.
There are two things that make this conference one of my favorites:
- The content is amazing.
- The people are amazing.
This is my third year attending MPB2B and my first year speaking, so I’d like to think that I’ve gotten the lay of the land by now. So, to help you out, I’ve compiled a list of must-see sessions (so you’re not scrambling for the next three days) and some top tips for finding your squad at this great event.
Must-See Sessions at MPB2B
Ardath Albee
CEO & B2B Marketing Strategist, Marketing Interactions
How to Create Binge-Worthy Content Experiences that Move Buyers to Buy
We all know that more content is being created than ever and many of us struggle to keep our increase our content engagement. Ardath Albee’s session promises to deliver on the secret of getting yours buyers to binge on your content, by connecting the dots and showing them the value of swift immersion.
Jon Miller
CEO & Co-Founder, Engagio
The Secret Sauce for Account Based Marketing
If you’re wondering how industry leaders are practicing ABM, what works and what doesn’t, this is the session for you. Jon Miller’s session will give you the inside scoop of how ABM works at Engagio and how you can orchestrate programs that get results.
Lee Odden
CEO, TopRank Marketing
From Why to ROI: B2B Influencer Marketing Case Studies for Success
How can B2B brands put influence to work in their marketing? Through three case studies, Lee Odden will demonstrate influencer strategy best practices and how to measure performance to satisfy both the why and the ROI of working with B2B influencers.
What You Know About Content Marketing—FoGetAboutIT—This Is ABM
On this panel, Lee Odden, Joe Chernov, Meagan French and Justin Gray will discuss the role of content through the lens of ABM. The conversation will also explore how hyper-personalized, value-driven content and sales offers completely reframe your outbound strategies and tactics.
Chris Moody
Content Marketing Leader, GE Digital
Content Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
You must show the value of your content marketing, in order to gain more budget and grow the success of your program
If you can spare 45 minutes and $1,000 to spend on content marketing, walk away from Chris Moody’s session with documented content strategy and an action plan for content success that you can start today.
Alex Rynne
Content Marketing Manager, LinkedIn
Your LinkedIn Marketing Tactical Plan
If you are looking for an actionable plan for driving brand awareness and revenue on Linkedin, then don’t miss Alex Rynne’s Thursday session. Based on the results of dozens of A/B tests, find out what type of content performs best across LinkedIn Company Pages, Sponsored Content and InMail and how to run your own A/B tests to ensure your content is as relevant as possible to your target audience.
And walk away with a one-page plan to outline key metrics and determine the success of your LinkedIn plan.
Dayna Rothman
VP Marketing & Sales Development, BrightFunnel
Connecting Your Customer Journey to See More Success
In her session, Dayna Rothman will explain how to use measurement to optimize each stage of the buyer’s journey, make informed marketing decisions, and better understand what’s working—and what’s not. You’ll learn how your marketing team can utilize existing campaign data to dig deeper into performance and make intelligent decisions that will positively impact future pipeline and revenue.
Tim Washer
Creative Director, Cisco
Stop Boring Content with Comedy Writing Secrets
Join Tim Washer Friday morning for a lively session to help you hack the secrets of comedy writers to create content which is never boring. You will learn how to identify the common causes of dull content and tap into tactics for generating tons of creative ideas quickly.
Avoid corporate creativity deathtraps and use this session to spark creativity within your corporate team.
Ashley Zeckman
Director of Agency Marketing, TopRank Marketing
Scrappy B2B Creativity Hacks
What kind of marketer would I be if I didn’t encourage you to attend my own session? I will be taking the stage with Nick Westergaard and Andy Hunt to engage in an eye-opening discussion that will show you how you can leverage the latest content marketing tools to build your brand and grow your business without breaking the bank. In short, you’ll learn how to be scrappy.
Top Tips for Finding Your Squad
MarketingProfs has done an amazing job of connecting attendees to each other. And how could they not with an amazing Chief Content Officer like Ann Handley at the helm?
Getting the most out of a conference isn’t always about the content (although that’s important), it’s about meeting other like-minded marketers that you can connect with and learn from.
Below are three of my tips for finding your squad at an event like MPB2B:
#1 – Attend Social Events
I will be the first to tell you that being super social isn’t always easy. So while it may be tempting to sit in your room and fire of emails, peel yourself away from the comfy bed and make your way to one of the many social events surrounding the conference. These events offer a great opportunity to make new friends in a relaxed setting and learn a little bit more about what they do and why they are here. To help you out, here are a couple ice breakers:
- What are you looking forward to most at this conference?
- Have you attended before or is this your first time? (the marketer’s equivalent of “do you come here often?”)
#2 – Make New Friends in Session & at Lunch
While it can be tempting to sit with people you already know during sessions and lunch, don’t.
Instead, sit in a random row or at a random table and start a conversation with someone you don’t know. I have met some great people by plopping myself down at a table where I didn’t know a soul.
#3 – See Who’s Interacting Online
It’s amazing to think about the number of people you meet virtually, but have not met in real life. Events like MPB2B are a great opportunity to take those online conversations offline. See who is interacting on platforms like Twitter (or the event app) and set a designated time and place to meet.
What Are You Looking Forward to Most at MPB2B?
So now that you have some insights into what I’m looking forward to most, I’d like to know: what do you consider must-see sessions at MPB2B?
