Many event companies are just waking up to the fact that online communities could become a huge part of their event marketing strategy, so let’s start by clarifying exactly what we mean.

An online community, put simply, is a virtual community where members or users primarily use the internet to share information and interact with one another. In the event industry, an online community is formed around a single event, or if the topics are related, a group of events. The information shared would relate to the topic of the event(s), and participants in these interactions would have an interest in the sector. In its purest form, an online community is inbound marketing in action: the process of attracting leads to your organisation, rather than using outdated, interruptive methods to gain new business.

Sometimes it’s easy for the marketing team to become an island, and as a marketer your job can feel like a constant battle to prove yourself, and the value of the work you do, to the business. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Some simple cooperation can encourage other teams to view yours as an equal, and can demonstrate to your boss just how much of an asset you are.

Every one is talking about it. This is our time, the golden age of marketing is almost here, and sooner than you think if you decide to step up and take it. There is huge opportunity for marketers to engage with broader areas of their businesses, and be THE change benefiting their function and the company as a whole, but on a much larger scale than normal. The focus is finally back on the customer, which is surely where we come in, but unfortunately there are still some significant hurdles to overcome.

Picture this: Your business launched an event last year and it was a resounding success, receiving 150 attendees. This year, your target is 200 delegates (about 30% increase), and senior management believe that if you "do some clever marketing" and "throwing some additional money at it" your could easily reach 300. That’s right; the boss has just raised the bar by forecasting a 100% increase in event attendees. Simply because there is a good feeling about it.

Salesforce recently published their 2015 report on the current state of marketing, and naturally it has given me plenty of food for thought. The report is a thorough and comprehensive overview of what marketers say about their budgets, priorities, channels, strategies and metrics for 2015. Yes, it goes into great detail, but there are definitely a lot of valuable insights in there for curious marketers. With a focus on the UK, and B2B marketing primarily, I’ve summarised what I believe to be the salient points.

Event marketers like to think they’re pretty savvy when it comes to all things email-related. However, from my experience, most of them seem to forget to leverage one fundamental (and free) marketing channel that could be put to use in growing awareness of their brand, their blog and ultimately their own profile. What is it, you ask? The personal auto signatures, of course!

Email is the holy grail of event marketing, and that doesn’t look set to change just yet. Chances are you’ve got a healthy and reasonably responsive email database, but event companies can’t afford to rest on their laurels – growth is key, and sustaining a consistently increasing number of sign ups is a must. There are a number of ways to go about this, but if you try even one of these tips in the next couple of weeks we’re certain you’ll see the kind of results which will undoubtedly aid your event email marketing strategy for 2015. 

These are 17 of the best examples of B2B online communities launched by event organisations, or companies with a strong event presence. Most of them center approach on simplicity. We hope this ebook serves as some inspiration, or a means to show your teams that it doesn't have to be complicated. 

B2B events marketing can be stressful, but when things go right, it is a rewarding, sociable and incredibly diverse profession. It may not be one of the jobs people dream of doing while at school, but it still has huge appeal and is a career that requires a specific skillset within a field that not everyone could excel in. Hiring someone with the right attributes is crucial, so here is our list of just what you need to look out for when recruiting - or if you're an aspiring events marketer, the skills you need to demonstrate.