By Amanda Bala
Now that you know how to plan a great event (It’s My Party and I’ll Plan How I Want to?), there are other issues you will face as event time draws closer. Once you have chosen the time, date, audience and venue for your company event, the next item on your list should be advertising and promotion. We have put together some advertising and promotion tips as well as ideas on how to make sure your event comes off professionally and runs as smoothly as possible.
Use many different forms of advertising to promote the event. There are the obvious channels that you can use to promote your event such a television, radio and print. However, these can be costly. Make sure that you determine if these forms of media will be beneficial in getting to your target audience. You can also list your event in the events section of your local newspapers, on local television stations’ events pages and on their websites. Most times, there is no charge to do this.
Don’t forget social media! You should have a landing page for your event, especially if it is a larger event and promote this landing page. If you promote the event online, provide a link directly to this landing page. Once you have a page created, make sure to list it on sites such as upcoming.yahoo.com and eventful.com. These specific sites showcase upcoming events. Also, you want to put an invitation out on LinkedIn to your fellow business friends. Lastly, be sure to use your company Twitter and FaceBook pages (if you don’t have these, you should create them!) to periodically promote the event. You want to start at least a month before the event and post one to two times a week about the event. Be sure to give tantalizing information that will make people want to attend!
Keep your event running smoothly. This seems so obvious, but you would be surprised how many opportunities for success people miss during their event. First, be sure to set aside enough time at the beginning so you can mingle and network with your audience. You do not want to separate yourself from your audience. You want to interact with them and be personable. Next, be sure that you are aware of everything that is going on throughout the event. Make sure that you are on the up and up about the venue, the staff, the food, beverages, etc. The last thing you want is for the audience to be focused on these things rather than what you are saying. If need be, hire someone to help you here since you might be presenting and unable to give this the proper attention. Lastly, be sure that everywhere people look, your company name and logo are featured prominently. You want people to leave thinking of you and your business!
Event time for a business should be all about who you are, what you stand for and how you benefit your audience. This is a time to allow your company to shine. Have fun, keep it exciting and people will have good time and come back for more!