We’ve already published a post on how to use Uberflip for your upcoming event – but what about an event that you’re attending as opposed to holding? How do you make sure those  dollars you put toward an event or booth fee (not to mention the time invested) turn into more customers? Make the event into a content experience for your audience.

An event-centric content marketing strategy allows you to build hype about your company  before, during and after the event. Follow these tips to turn “just another conference” into a golden marketing opportunity.

Before: Get a buzz going

In order to maximize your presence at the event, you’ve got to let people know you’re going to be there – and why they should care! Build awareness about the event, what you’ll be doing there and what you’re excited about to get your audience excited too.

Are there going to be interesting speakers or really cool panel discussions? Write a blog post about the speakers and topics they’ll be covering. Will members of your company be at a booth answering questions or holding product demos? Let people know via social media and invite them to sign up for a dedicated appointment time. And if you’re planning on giving away any prizes or swag while you’re there, be sure to mention that too (because who doesn’t love free stuff?)!

Each piece of content that you share will lead people back to your Hub, increasing the opportunity for engagement and ultimately, lead generation. That sign-up form to set up a demo, mentioned earlier? Create a CTA for it next to any event-related blogs posts that, with Uberflip’s MailChimp integration, will automatically turn into an email list you can use to follow up with. Ta da! You’ve just turned an attendee into a potential customer, before the event even started.

During: Engage in real time

This is the time for interaction – and lots of it!

While it’s a given that you’ll be chatting people up in person, social media allows you to expand your reach far beyond the people in front of you. Have employees that are attending, or your social media person, live-tweet the event to bring your followers in on the action. There will likely be an event hashtag you can use to keep track of what’s happening and join in on.

(Pro Tip: This will allow you to see who else is at and tweeting about the event – and let others see you’re there too).

It doesn’t just have to be Twitter – you can use all kinds of social media channels to interact with your audience in real time. If you have a company Instagram, for example, share photos like an interesting speaker up on stage or your employees hard at work (or having fun) at your display, to drive engagement. Every time you share an update is another way to draw people to your Hub.

Remember those prizes and swag we mentioned earlier? Use them to get even more buzz going! Get your followers to tweet at you to win a free prize, a discount on your product or maybe even a ticket to next year’s event. You can also combine offline and online promotion by giving away, for example, stickers with your Hub URL on them.

After: Follow up

Your content marketing strategy doesn’t have to end when the event does. Extend it with a blog post wrapping up the event highlights, what you learned or key takeaways from your time there. Reach out to fellow attendees through the event hashtag on Twitter asking them what they thought or what their favorite part was. Or flex your creative muscles and do something fun, like this Rolling Content Flipbook we made for Content Marketing World featuring each speaker on a mock magazine cover – which was a big hit!

At this point, you’ll also have a ton of email addresses from your CTAs, in-person conversations, etc.. Segment your lists and follow up accordingly, depending on how you got their information and what you think is most relevant to them. If one of your employees was chatting someone up at the event, have them follow up directly. Perhaps email those who signed up for a demo with an invite to a free trial of your product, or tutorial on how to use it. You can even continue your prize giveaway to keep people interested. No matter how you got peoples’ contact information, don’t let it go to waste. After all, email remains one of the most powerful ways to connect with existing and potential customers.

Here’s a checklist you can use for your next event’s content marketing strategy: