Subtleties of event marketing

There are business problems that are best addressed through event marketing. Tatyana Kalashnyuk, head of the marketing department of the law firm Antika, ex-head of the PR Committee of the European Business Association, tells how to prepare and conduct a successful event.

Sometimes, in order to launch a new product on the market or present a service, increase the client portfolio or expand the circle of business partners, it is best to hold an event. Before you take on the organization, you need to answer 5 important questions.

Important questions

What business problems will be solved with the help of the event?

Every step should work on the business. For example, if you are launching a new product on the market, then the business objectives of the presentation event will not be “tell about a new product”, but, for example, “get 50 pre-orders”, “sell 200 units of products within a month” and others. It is measurable results, in cash or in kind, that will allow to evaluate the effectiveness of the event.

Who is the target audience?

You have to think it over to the smallest detail: gender, age, income, where he lives and what he enjoys, what pains and needs she has and so on. The better you feel your target audience, the more likely it is that it will come to your event, where you can achieve your business goals by closing its gestals.

What will be the format of the event?

It depends on the goals you would like to achieve. I recommend to pay attention to non-traditional formats: presentation in TED format, pech-heap, outdoor activities, meetup, quests and the like.

What is the event plan?

Write step by step what and how should happen, how long each stage will be, who will be responsible for each work area.

What is the budget?

The format of the event and its scope will depend on it. Although a low budget is not always a deterrent. Attract partners, think creatively, and everything will be at its best.

Not small things

The better you think it over and prepare the event, the more successful it will be. I offer some tips that will simplify your work.

• Prepare a check list with a list of main tasks and the most detailed steps that need to be done, and timing.
• Assign responsibilities to the team. Everyone must clearly know their area of responsibility. There should also be a principal who knows the smallest details of the whole event and will be able to promptly correct the situation at critical moments.
• Team identification. This is important in cases where the event is large-scale and you need to give participants the opportunity to quickly recognize the organizers. For members of the organizing committee, you can make branded T-shirts or wear clothes of the same color and the like.
•  Chat for organizers. Agree that during the preparatory period and the event everyone is in touch. Messages should be short and to the point. This helps to resolve operational issues and force majeure situations as quickly as possible.
• Attracting volunteers. If you do not have a team, attract volunteers to organize and conduct the event. And remember that they should get something useful from helping you. For example, the opportunity to listen to speakers for free, get samples of your products and the like.
• Location for the event. Discuss with the landlord all the details: the time when you call for the preparation of the event and leave the location, the presence of air conditioning, the number of bathrooms responsible for cleaning and the like. Come on the eve with the organizing team and walk in detail at all points and according to the program of the event, check whether everything works and so on. On the day of the event itself, arrive 1.5-2 hours earlier.
• Promotion of the event. The best platform for this is social networks, in particular Facebook. There you can create an event and accurately target your target audience. In the description of the event, write specifically and to the point, without any special lyrics. Also take care of high-quality pictures for posts and covers of events. They can be downloaded, for example, from the site of free images of crello.com. There you can also design the desired design. If you are doing an event with partners or opinion leaders support it, ask them to share the announcement on their pages on social networks. This will help attract more participants.
• WOW effect. Try to pleasantly surprise the participants of your event.
• Plan B. Consider what you will do in the event of a force majeure — for example, if it rains during the outdoor event or the lights go out.
• Coffee break. It is appropriate if the event lasts more than three hours.
• Professional photography. This is a good reason to be told about you again and again, distributing photos from the event in social networks.
• Feedback. Ask the participants about their impressions of the event: what you liked, what was useful, what you should work on. Keep this in mind during the following events. Send photos and videos from the event. Write separate posts of gratitude to partners.

Let every event you hold be successful and help you solve your business problems better.