What You Need to Know Before Promoting Your Next Meeting
5 Strategies for Building Anticipation and Attendance for your Events
The power of a great meeting can’t be overlooked. Meetings provide the networking, educational and morale-boosting tools that people need to be successful. Of course the more people who attend, the greater the impact, and the higher your return on investment. Once you’ve chosen the right speaker(s) to accomplish your learning objectives, maximizing attendance is critical. Here are some tips on how to build excitement and registration numbers for your next event.
Create Attention-grabbing Titles
“You’re marketing a product and that product is your meeting content,” says Erika. “I recommend starting with short, clever titles that either tie-in with the theme of the meeting, are relevant to the issues being addressed, or reflect your overall brand. Then, follow this title with a sub-title that briefly alludes to the substance of the session.”
Take cues from top-selling magazines. The articles featured on the cover must sound compelling enough to make us buy the issue when breezing by the magazine rack. How do they do this? By using buzz words that capture our attention and immediately by answering the question “what’s in it for me?” Quantifying the information by adding a number in the title is also effective. Phrases such as “Top 10 ways to…” and “Today’s best tips for …” imply that you’re getting the inside scoop while making the information sound easy to implement.
And it works. Erika recalls, “I recently saw a magazine cover that included the title, ‘What you should know before you eat another tomato’ Seriously. I had 3 tomatoes in my basket and I was almost afraid not to buy that magazine. Next time you’re in the supermarket check-out line, take a look at how this is done…its smart marketing. “
Once you’ve got your titles, again, aim to make your meeting content as marketable as possible. Promotional materials should make it clear about how participants can expect to benefit. What are the take-aways?
Make the Most of Your Technology Resources
Your organization’s website is a great tool for generating buzz. Post a detailed description of the event and the roster of speakers on your site. Be sure to provide photos of your speakers and links from your site to the speakers’ websites so that prospective attendees can get familiar with who they’ll be hearing from.
After the event, National Speaker Association member Jeff Blackman, JD, CSP suggests posting audio or video excerpts from the session to reinforce the program's key points and educate members who were unable to attend.
E-mail is another easy and inexpensive way to promote your event and your speakers. Use it to remind your members to register. Send them links to information and online registration forms. Generate a pre-program intrigue by sending an e-mail questionnaire to your members. Your speaker can reveal the findings during the presentation and incorporate relevant speaking points. Add a personal touch and establish rapport by asking your presenter to send a "welcome" message to each of your attendees.
Put it in Writing
Company newsletter editors often need additional material for their publication, so look into submitting an article about (or written by) your presenter. You could look into having your speaker craft a customized article, or have a member of your staff conduct an interview with him or her. Not only do these articles make a great addition to your organization's publication; they might also be a good fit for the publications of other industry-related associations you’re building relationships with. Provide links to the articles on your website as well. This builds the speaker's credibility and offers value-added information for your attendees.
If your speaker has published books or DVDs, it may benefits you to promote (or provide) copies prior to your event, as those who have read or heard the speakers’ material will be excited to see them “live and in-person,” and their word-of-moth will build excitement for the event. Alternatively, you can give attendees a copy of the book when they register. For added panache, have a book waiting to greet members in their hotel room along with a welcome letter from your president or CEO. Your speaker can do a signing at the event or, depending on the size of the group books can even be personalized in advance.
The Media …Ready, Aim, Fire
Ready: If you want the media to cover your event, you’ll need to take a proactive approach. Gather everything you need to promote your speaker in advance: photos, a short biography and a brief write-up on the program including key points. A few weeks or more prior to the event, send a short press release to the calendar editors at local daily newspapers and industry-related publications. Invite key editors to attend the event and make sure they get a copy of the program and other promotional materials. Consider contacting local print and broadcast media to arrange interviews with your speaker and your key leaders. And be sure to help them prepare by providing some short key speaking points about your organization and your event.
Aim: A few days prior to your event, determine the news angle and pitch it hard. Think about tie-ins to recent local, regional or national events. What aspects of your program would generate good photos or visuals for the television camera? Make follow-up calls to make sure the journalists have the information you sent them. Find out if your speakers have publicists or PR firms and if so, partner with them on generating publicity.
Fire: On the day of the event, send a media alert telling them who, what, when, where and, most importantly, why their audience needs to know about your event and your speaker. Messenger packages to key media that include items such as the speaker's book, a video, an event program and your organization's press kit.
Finally, be prepared for the media when they arrive on site. Have a good place in mind to conduct the interviews and take photos, ideally with your organization’s name or logo in the background. Have a staff member of trusted volunteer available to greet them, introduce them to the subjects they need for interviews and escort them to where they need to be.
The Final Act
Professional speakers know that a program is not an isolated event but an opportunity for long-term benefit. Talk with your presenters about follow-up emails or newsletter articles. Look for anecdotes from your attendees about how they were touched or motivated by the event or how they plan to implement what they learned. Then select the best photos and combine them with after-the-event news releases for ongoing exposure.
When planned and executed properly, a strong promotional campaign will allow attendees to benefit long after the event is over, and will gain exposure for your organization that will lay the groundwork for your next successful event.
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