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Promoting an Event – Nobody Does it Better than Kim Kardashian

November 5, 2011 By Comments

Photo courtesy of Damian Morys Foto on flickr

You’re probably wondering if I’m out of my mind…read on.

Promoting an event can be one of the most important parts of event planning. Whether it’s for a fundraiser, a product launch or even a social event, promotion is the name of the game. Once all those planning ducks are in a row, it is imperative to concentrate on the promotional end of things.

Just turn on the TV or radio, or go on line to Twitter or Facebook (or any social media outlet) and you will see some great examples of event promotion. Whether you were one of the millions that watched their “wedding” or not, we all have to admit, Kim Kardashian is a master at promoting an event. Yes, her product is herself but she has proven time and again that, above all, her self-promotion skills are beyond extraordinary.

Promoting an Event – Part One

It’s a fact that from start to finish, the high speed “Kardashian” promotion train blasted out of the station and never looked back. Not only do they publicize and promote everything in their lives from soup to nuts, they make what seems like every second of Kim’s romantic relationships public.

They took a new, brief and possibly even passing relationship and exposed and broadcasted it to the masses. They promoted, prompted and publicized all the gory details until millions of viewers took the bait and became involved. It was like a car accident; you didn’t want to look but just couldn’t help yourself. Then they sold those same viewers on a “wedding” and got millions to watch yet again. If that’s where the story ended, we would all agree that it was a successful case in promoting an event.

However…

Promoting an Event – Part Two

Seventy two days later the marriage is off and there are rumors, speculation and accusations that every component of their relationship was, and is, a hoax. So the question remains, was this successful promotion or not?

Honestly, I’m not sure if there even is a correct answer. But what I do know for sure is they got exactly the results they desired. So some would term this exercise, regardless of the consequences, a success.

Promoting An Event – Lessons Learned by US!

By giving promotion some advance thought, you will be able to go the distance and get the most out of your efforts. Here are a few tips to get you started on the right road to event promotion.

Audience – I can’t say this enough,  one of the most important pieces of event promotion is to know your audience. Once you pinpoint who is your audience is, it will help you narrow down the various advertising outlets you can utilize.

Approach – Once you determine your audience, you can then decide which media channels are applicable. Typically when blue printing your approach, several media areas are engaged. Whether its social media like Twitter and Facebook, TV, radio, newspaper, websites, billboards or word of mouth. And remember, don’t just advertise in the area of your event, be sure to include the location of your audience in all your advertising.

Time-line – Once audience and approach are established, it is key to set up a promotional timeline. By scheduling accurate promotion lead time you will be that much closer to ensuring success. The reason for promoting an event is to drive traffic and get your audience to your event. By not allowing enough time to promote, you are putting yourself way behind the eight ball. And that can be a tough place to get out of.

We all think it and therefore we all know it, when it comes to event planning and promoting an event, we get out of it what we put in to it. So before diving in, think things through and be sure to consider your audience, approach and timeline before you get started.

 

 

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Social Event Planning Can Be Profitable

November 3, 2011 By Comments

We’ve all seen the newsletters or announcements. You know, the ones where we get invited to the social event of the week at one of the hottest locations in town. Social event planning, if done properly, can be very rewarding. However, if you’re just getting started in social event planning, don’t expect things to happen overnight.

There Are Steps That You Will Need to Take to Do Social Event Planning Properly

There are a couple ways to approach social event planning. If you’re already in the event planning industry chances are your contact list is geared to the meetings and events industry. If that’s the case and if you’re switching to the social aspect of event planning then you’ll want to take a methodical approach about announcing that to your contact list. The goal here is not to confuse your followers about what it is you’re doing. You may want to approach a few of the local venues that you have worked with in the past about cohosting a function where the venue itself will be featured. And if you’ve got the contacts chances are that venue will be more than willing to cooperate.

If, on the other hand, you’re new to event planning in general then you’re going to need to budget for the time it’ll take you to establish yourself as a player in the industry. Consider joining industry associations and then go to as many networking events as possible. In addition to the educational experience that you’ll receive at these networking events you’re also starting to build your contact list.

Social Media Plays a Vital Role in Social Event Planning

Whether you are new to social event planning or you are just re-focusing on social events you will want to make sure that your social media accounts are geared to promoting social event planning. Social media sites that you should have are:

  • a blog – you can easily establish a blog by using WordPress. WordPress has several templates to choose from to help create your look.
  • Twitter – make sure you attract followers that are interested in social events. Also your tweets should stay focused on social events. Do not bore people with where you went for coffee this morning etc.
  • Facebook – you should create a page on Facebook that deals only with your social event planning. Next your goal is to get as many people to “like” that page so that you can get exposure in the Facebook community.
  • LinkedIn – in addition to your LinkedIn profile where you will promote your blog, your twitter account, and Facebook, you should also either join a social event planning group or create one of your own.

Establishing a regular newsletter will also help get your name out. Your goal in the newsletter is not to necessarily promote yourself (although you’ll be doing this indirectly). Rather it’s to provide information on your social event as well as other related news and/or events. Remember was newsletters that opt in subscribers is your goal. Otherwise you could be flagged as a spammer and I can create a whole other set of nightmares for you. To get help with your opt in lists approach to various venues where you plan to host your events. Most venues will cooperate or at least promote you to their contacts. Eventually your newsletter will become a source of revenue for your social event planning business.

The goal with social event planning is to provide an opportunity where people can come and experience something that they generally would not have received by going to that venue on their own. In my event planning days that was always my goal when promoting a venue to a potential client. I wanted that client’s delegates to be able to experience something in the city that they simply could not have done by going there alone. Creating something that is unique and fun for people to attend is always a sure way to build followers for future events.

There are a lot of people making a very good living in social event planning. If you feel this is an area that attracts you then make sure you are aware of what will be required before you will be a success. I’ve seen many people with very good ideas not succeed. It was because they didn’t budget for the amount of time it takes to establish yourself in the industry. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.

 

 

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Tips on How to Promote Your Event on Social Media

November 2, 2011 By Comments

The premise around social media is to basically get noticed by people that are following you. Or better yet, to promote your event and/or yourself so that people want to follow you on social media. Which begs the question – how do you go about promoting your event on social media to both get noticed and get attendees to your event? If you are using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. then no doubt you have seen ineffective ways that people use these mediums to promote their events. The number one turn off on any of these social media mediums is when people start promoting their company, themselves and their websites blatantly. That is not what social media is intended for. At least on the surface.

Using Social Media to Promote Your Event Correctly

Ultimately our goal with using social media in our businesses is to draw attention to what we are offering. But those of you who think that you can simply put links to your website or promote that you have simply the best product out there, etc. are setting yourselves up for failure. As I’ve mentioned before social media is a slow build. Things will not happen overnight. However when used effectively social media is a great way of letting people know you exist. But in today’s world you have to be better than simply letting people know you exist. Make sure you have something of value to offer any potential followers. The best way to use social media effectively is to offer advice or information about the industry you are in. Talk about latest trends, link to other relevant sites, and offering your opinion – all without making an obvious sales pitch – will eventually will build trust and people will want to start following you. But be very careful once you establish that trust. I wouldn’t recommend changing midstream just because you have a lot of followers and start putting links to products or services that you’re selling.

When you have an event to promote, using social media properly can be an effective tool. On LinkedIn, for example, in addition to letting your connections know about your event, it’s also recommended that you search for like-minded groups where you can post your information. On Facebook it’s very important that you don’t mix your personal and your professional “friends”. Your personal friends are probably not interested in your professional events so be careful that you’re not wasting time or more importantly wasting their time by promoting something that they’re not interested in. Find corporate pages that are similar to your industry, “like” those pages and then offer comments. On twitter, in addition to promoting your event to your followers, the use of hash tags (#) can be effective for finding groups that share similar interests. Start following like-minded lists and in turn get yourself listed.

Using social media to promote your event needs to be a calculated process. In addition to promoting the event itself it’s important that you have an area where people can sign up and register with the ease. EventBrite, as one example, is a free service that allows you to track, send reminders, and even collect payment. Using social media correctly can be a very effective way of getting the word out about your event. The take away advice from here is to make sure you do things right the first time – as the old saying goes – you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Don’t blow it.

 

 

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Facebook – Beyond Connecting With your Friends

September 20, 2011 By Comments

Photo courtesy of AJCI on flickr

Your fifteen year old is obsessed with it. Your former classmates haven’t stopped “poking” you and even your grandma has joined and is now posting regularly. People, businesses, heck, even the Queen of England is on Facebook. It seems like the whole world is on there.

So how can you use Facebook to help take your event to the next level?

Facebook – From Zero to 750…Just Like That

For those of you who have been living in a cave, Facebook was launched in 2004 in a dorm room. Currently with over 750 million active users, Facebook has changed the way we use the internet. No longer used just to connect, Facebook is the go-to site for many members before other search engines such as Google or Bing.

Although originally launched as a tool to connect with classmates (and meet girls), Facebook literally exploded on the scene and grew rapidly, fulfilling a need that wasn’t previously being met. And now, instead of just being a tool to reconnect with your old high school boyfriend or to see the video of your nephew graduating from kindergarten, it’s used by businesses and government as well.

And now Facebook is also a great way to promote your event at little or no cost to yourself.

Who’s Not on Facebook?

Facebook is so easy it`s almost embarrassing! Even if you’re one of the two or three dozen people on earth who have never been on Facebook (huh?) the site is so user friendly, it literally just walks you through it.

A Facebook page is the easiest way and best way to generate buzz and create awareness for your event.

Facebook – Why Bother?

Well, as I mentioned earlier, it`s free. The only cost is your time. And few, if any, marketing tools have that advantage.

Facebook can reach literally millions of users and be a tool to tease or create excitement about your event. You can post pictures, information about meetings, schedules, links and tips about the host city. It enables you to offer a sneak peek to your attendees about how your event is progressing and let them know about recent developments, speakers and seminars.
You can link your Facebook page to your web site and vica versa. You can state it on any materials being circulated to further create awareness and help promote your event. The possibilities are endless!

Facebook – Watching Your Step

After an embarrassing and upsetting situation (from which I thought I`d never recover) my absolute favorite high school teacher, “Mrs W ” gave me great advice that holds true today. She advised me to never to put anything on paper that I didn`t mind everyone, and anyone, else seeing. And while I still exercise caution today, there are a lot of people out there that don`t seem to understand this.

The biggest (and most obvious) difference between paper and the internet is you can rip up a piece of paper. Once something, written word or photograph, makes it online, it’s almost impossible to get rid of it (ask anyone with a sex tape). And whether professional or personal, it`s incredibly important to remember that once it’s on the internet, it`s there forever!

Although it seems pretty simple and straight forward, never put anything that can perceived as derogatory to a competitor, or yourself, online. And although it is possible for people to post negativity, you have the control to delete comments on your own page.

Facebook – After the Event

Facebook isn’t just used to create awareness, it’s also a great tool to follow up after your event. You can post pictures and videos, papers and presentations, even announcements and follow-ups about next year’s event.

A few years ago the term “social media” was relatively unknown, yet today people can`t seem to do without it! Social media continues to grow and while Facebook shouldn’t be the sole way you promote your event, it`s a great tool to help create awareness and community.

 

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Planning a Party? Why Not Consider a Party Planning Party.

August 28, 2011 By Comments

Does the idea of planning an upcoming party have you stressed out? Trying to figure out where to even begin? Well if so, perhaps you should consider having a party planning party. While I’m sure this sounds like a tongue twister or play on words, the idea of having a party for planning a party might just be a fun way of getting a daunting task done.

A Party Planning Party Can Be Both Fun and Productive

For help with your task of planning a party why not consider getting a few of your close friends together (particularly those that are also going to be invited) for a few drinks and some casual food to discuss the ins and outs of your upcoming party. Basically you can call upon the strengths of your colleagues to help fill in areas where you think you’re going to need the most help. For example one of your friends might be very good at Facebook and might welcome the task of putting together an invitation and sending it out to mutual friends and following up.

A Party for Planning a Party Can Be an Impromptu Get-Together

You might already be used to getting together with friends on a Wednesday or Thursday evening to unwind and chat. Why not turn that Impromptu get-together into a little brainstorming session (especially if the same people will be coming to your party). Most people, when asked, do not mind offering their advice in the least. As a matter of fact most people enjoy giving their advice. So why not take them up on that. Over a glass of wine and snacks why not throw out some of your ideas and get feedback from the group. A word of caution – be prepared for that feedback as you may hear things that you won’t like.

Often when friends call upon us to help out we’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. So if you have the task of organizing a party consider asking a few friends and colleagues to participate. And make it fun such as an evening out with drinks and snacks. The one thing that we know is that our friends do not mind offering advice when asked (and many times when there are not asked). So why not use the occasion of a party to ask your friends and colleagues for their ideas and input as to what they think would make the party fun. There will be tasks that you literally hate to do.  For those tasks I’m sure people within your circle would be more than happy to accommodate – so why not take advantage of that when planning your party.

 

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Promotional Events – When Marketing Meets Planning

August 24, 2011 By Comments

Photo courtesy J from UK on flickr

Whether launching an exciting new fragrance across the country, or a customer appreciation event at a local level,  a promotional event is a great way to gain exposure while building relationships with your clients, both existing and new.

It’s still a difficult financial climate out there and everyone is competing for the same consumer dollars, which there are now substantially less of. Things are pretty competitive and everyone is looking for a different way to get the buyers attention and  promotional events can be a great attention getter.

Promotional Events – Who’s Planning Them?

Pretty much anyone, company or individual, with something to sell, advertise or launch. It could be a major record label with a big name star launching a new album. But it can also be your local yoga studio holding a “Bend it for Breast Cancer” fund raiser. Either way the planning takes time, money and the flexibility of an Olympic gymnast!

Promotional Events – Why?

Generally promotional events create three different marketing opportunities … gain attention, increase awareness and maximize sales (or donations for a charity event). Occasionally, someone will sermonize and try to give a deeper or more altruistic reason. The truth is, business is business and everyone needs to make a living. So yes, they may “be driven, with a purpose of bringing…” art or literature or fabulous food to the masses. But they also want to make a buck doing it.

Promotional Events – How to Make it a Success

Regardless of size, a lot of planning goes into a success promotional event. It may be a little easier for a larger company due to an existing department or budget, allocated specifically for the event. But you can still accomplish everything the big guys are doing. You just need to be organized and creative to maximize the benefits.

You’re going to have to promote your event and there are a lot of effective, low cost ways of doing it. Utilize social media, but don’t depend 100% on it. Traditional media such as local TV stations and newspapers are a great way to reach your community. Remember, not everyone tweets! A well crafted press release can not only introduce you to the local media, but also be the first step in building a future relationship with them.

Last year a local bakery changed their format. And while they were doing okay, they were just squeaking by. They invited a local morning show, who shot several live segments. Throughout the morning the crowd in their shop continued to grow with repeat and first time visitors.

Now they got lucky. Most businesses or events don’t get that kind of free publicity. But they took their opportunity and really capitalized on it. They sent a press release to the community paper, which garnered them mentions prior to and following the event. They put up posters, sent out flyers and featured the upcoming shoot on both Facebook and their website.

That event is the gift that keeps on giving because their visibility, both locally and beyond, has increased and business has gone through the roof.

No matter the occasion, a promotional event is a great way to increase awareness while building goodwill within the community.

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Promote Your Event On Twitter Using TweetMyEvents

June 29, 2011 By Comments

As the company’s website says “right now someone in the world is searching for your event”. We all know the impact that social media sites have had on our day to day lives. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, we use these site to keep track of our friends, colleagues and general interest groups. And as these platforms are based in real time, we get our updates and alerts instantly.

Using social media platforms, TweetMyEvents offers a fast, convenient way to promote your event to a huge audience without blowing your budget. With TweetMyEvents you can promote your event on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Here’s a short YouTube clip that gives a great overview on how to set up and start using TweetMyEvents to promote your event.

 

So why not post your event now and tell the world about it.

 

 

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Tips On How To Promote An Event

June 17, 2011 By Comments

Photo courtesy of ShoutPut.com

We’ve all attended events and wondered how did they get so many people to attend?  During my educational years, I had the privilege of taking a hospitality course by Disney. I remember being impressed by a single phrase that Walt Disney had coined – “you don’t build it for yourself, you find out what the people want and you build it for them”. That single phrase can be applied to so many aspects of one’s career. How to promote an event would certainly fall into that rule.

Of course the easiest way to promote any event would be to have the right budget and just buy up ad space in related markets.  But for most of us, the luxury of this type of budget doesn’t exist and you have to come up with creative ways to get the word out.  Well, luckily you don’t have to be a marketing executive to know how to promote an event.  In today’s digital age, there are many low cost, and even free, ways to get people to come out.

Find Out What The People Want

When people ask me how to promote an event, one of the first things I ask them is “how do you know that people will want to come out”.  If I start getting answers like “oh because I have this great new product that I know people will love” I realize that this event could be on a collision course from the get go.  Just because you think your product is the greatest and newest there is, doesn’t mean that everyone in your industry will agree.  Actually they may even feel like they being targeted for a sales pitch and will avoid the event altogether.

Recently, my company ran a series of networking events for the meeting and events industry.  Before I even began to think of how to promote an event, I needed to find out what people in this industry wanted to do and when. So I began by asking a few colleagues what they thought were key decision factors on events they attended. From those initial meeting, I had about ten questions.  I then took those question and narrowed them down to about four key ones.  Be respectful of people’s time.  Many will answer a couple of quick and easy question.  But if you start taking up too much of their valued time, you won’t get many replies.  Also, if you can, provide an incentive for people that actually do take the time to answer your questions.  A free white paper or a token gift, if you have the budget, is a nice gesture and tells people that you appreciate the effort on their part to help you. For my needs, I needed to get answers to those key questions from a broader audience.  I turned to the web and found that there are several free survey software sites that you can use to set up your survey.  Just a quick Google of free survey sites will give you a great place to start.  Then I sent an email to my data base with a link to the survey as well as posted the information on all of my social media sites.  This relatively easy exercise gave me the insight for what I needed to set up my successful events.  I was quite surprised by some of the answers I was getting.  For example, over 50% of the replies said that they preferred to have an event over the noon hour.  This allowed them to network without the event taking up too much of their free time. I’ll explain the use of surveys in more depth in a later post.

Using Social Media to Promote

Pretty much everyone we know has some type of social media presence.  Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are all very effective way to get your message out. But make sure that you have a social media presence that matches your professional life.  For example, if you use Facebook for your family and friends, chances are they won’t be interested in attending one of your work events.

Check out this great post, by EventBrite, on how to promote your event using social media.

So, take a little time at the beginning to do your homework. It will make things easier and give you a clear picture of what it is that you need to do.  Soon you’ll be creating and hosting successful events and your social media followers will be waiting to hear about the next event.

 

 

 

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What Are The Best Ways To Promote Events?

June 15, 2011 By Comments

Photo courtesy of fuschia foot on flickr

At a lot of networking events that I attend, I’m often  asked “what are the best ways to promote events?”. Well I wish there was one simple answer to that question. There are a few ways that I have found to be very effective in today’s fast paced world.

Using Social Media to Promote Events

Using social media to promote events is one of the better ways to get the word out. Which type of social media account to use depends really on how you set them up for your use.

LinkedIn is generally for your professional connections. It’s today’s resume. Our LinkedIn connections are people that we network with professionally or people that share the same work interests. So the use of this account to promote events that your company is hosting would be ideal.  However if it was a family or purly social event, then LinkedIn may not be suitable.

Twitter would be another good way of communicating to your followers about your event . And because Twitter is a real time application, this account, in addition using it to promote events, is also best used to provide reminders and updates.

Facebook was originally considered as a way to connect with your friends. However, as we’ve seen lately, it’s now very common to find company pages on Facebook. It really depend on how you set up your Facebook page whether or not your “friends” are the ones that you should be promoting events to.

The main message about utilizing social media to promote events is to be sure you know what you want each of your accounts to do at set up.  Be sure to keep your professional life separate from your personal life. I’ve seen many accounts where the person is trying to be all things to all people. That will not work. Especially if you’re using these accounts to promote events that are part of your professional life.

Using Event Software to Promote Events

So now you have the event details ironed out and you know who it is you want to invite from your social media accounts. You now want to consider how you are going to manage the registration and payment (if part of your event) process. Depending on the size of your company, you may not have the budget to pay for event software. Well, that’s ok, there are many free sites that you can use to promote events. Sites like EventBrite (www.eventbrite.com), for example, also give you the ability to collect money and send tickets directly to the registrant.  It also can connect directly to your social media accounts for organizing.

Do your homework at the beginning. Make sure you know what you’ll need the event management software to do for you. Then go out and review each of them.  Even ask colleagues on your social media if they have a recommendation.

 

 

 

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Event Planners Need Good Communication Skills (Comedy Video) http://t.co/UDn1v2ceF2 #comedy #Communication #eventplanning3 days ago