ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cheryl Vargas is CEO of WikiBuzz Events, event planners and buzz generators for the hospitality industry.
Why should potential customers leave their cozy keyboards to attend your live event when the proverbial ‘world is at their fingertips’ via the Internet? Well, it’s got to be something they don’t want to miss, something everybody’s talking about, the latest industry event buzz! How do you generate that buzz? It’s easy, (but it takes time and effort). Involve your audience in the process of creating interest, using a standard arsenal of today’s tools.
Before the event - Invite attendees to “save the date”, use podcasts, blog interviews with featured guests and create social buzz via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other community sites. Talk about what’s hot about your event, the food, the presenters, the entertainment, the sheer anticipated number of attendees, etc. Be sure not to neglect traditional means via appropriately placed ads, articles and press releases. Offer early bird specials, incentives for early RSVPs and offer exhibitors and sponsors the opportunity to share information, specials and discounts without being obviously sales-driven. A well executed plan should include tracking mechanisms (Google Analytics, BudUrl) to monitor your efforts.
During the event - You can broaden your reach beyond those in attendance through the use of community forums and webcasts. Having a screen showing live Tweets encourages attendees to comment live from the event. Additionally, you might create a space for guests to post photos on your site or on public forums. This is also a great opportunity for bloggers, videocasters, and podcasters to interview speakers and attendees. Track actual attendance, solicit feedback and interaction, so that you can further tailor your company message to your customer needs after the event. Have future event dates in place so you can share the information on-site with incentives.
After the event – Don’t drop the ball. Stay connected to attendees with ‘thank you’ offers, event wrap-ups, links to photos, evaluation feedback and products and future events. Make sure you encourage them to share your information with others who might be interested. Offer opportunities to engage attendees through invitations to opinion forums, product trials, samples, reviews and user case studies.
To be sure, pulling off a stellar affair requires advance planning and should be based on an activity or theme that relates to your business and, most importantly, your target customer. Though it should still come off as a soft sell opportunity to appreciate, educate and treat your guests well.
