No matter what size of the company you are, if you have an event, you need to promote it.
Getting ticket sales or just plain “bums-on-seats” is essential to get your message across to your audience.
Traditional media still has its place in achieving this, most particularly email lists and local newspaper listings – yet its not all we rely on any more. Obviously more and more people are now using social media to make this possible.
Well Worth Investing In
What I have found out has been working really well over the last few years is having an excellent photographer AND / OR a separate videographer. They can create excellent soundbites to share either immediately or shortly after the event. These are vital for further events and play a significant role in bringing the event live to people who wanted to attend and couldn’t. Give them snippets of what they missed and it makes them want to get the Early Bird tickets for next year and sign up to the email list immediately.
It is vital that you have a pre-prepared list of the correct speaker, sponsor Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn and Facebook Handles prior to the event.
TIMELINE
Before the Event
Creating Engaging Content:
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Pictures that “Say” what the event is about and who it’s for
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Going Live on social media and meeting the Speakers
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Calls to Action asking for the sale or audience attendance
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Q and A’s with the Event Organiser, Sponsors and Speakers
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Email List to send out updates on Speakers
Now you have all the people you need, it’s worth letting them know everything about the event throughout the day. Especially if you have a very large event or are running coinciding talks and workshops.
During the Event
Making Media Work for the Buzz:
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Go Live on as many channels as you can on Social Media
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Meet the Speakers after their talk
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Meet the Attendees whilst they’re still keyed up and excited
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Meet the Sponsors and give them some decent air time
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Try and show the activity at the event, the volume of traffic, where the food is etc.
After the Event
It’s still very important to talk about the event straight afterwards too. Especially again if its a very large event as you could well have had press there. They can take up to two weeks or more sometimes to write up their experience, so keep your eyes peeled and ensure you have a Google Alert for your event afterwards as not everyone will ensure they have “tagged” the event correctly.
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Create a list of accurate statistics of attendance, social media buzz and articles and share these publicly. These are also ideal to keep for future events and sponsors)
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Get a short highlight reel of photos or videos and share on social media
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Mention Early Bird Tickets and Email Lists so that they can get these tickets first!
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Share soundbites of talks, audience feedback and photos of happy faces!
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Keep sharing other peoples articles about your event