It’s been about a week since we completed a successful event for ColorMetrix. The thing is we are not done creating and deriving value from the event yet; not by a long shot. So, it was with great interest that I read “Beyond Your Event” over on the M-Bossed blog. If there is event planning in your future, Ryan’s post and what follows are well worth your time to read and study.
Before the event
This is the obvious part of event value maximization. I say obvious because you have to promote the event. In our case this included: direct mail, email, blog posts, custom-built landing pages and social media interaction on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Properly executed, each time you are promoting the event you are also promoting yourself and your company. In our case, we also promoted our sponsors as much as possible. When you are a smaller company, the credibility big-name sponsors bring can’t be understated.
We treated registered attendees differently as the event approached. A separate email list was created and event details that the whole world didn’t need to know went only to the attendee list. In particular, we hosted a pretty special after party that we only wanted attendees and invited guests to know the details of before it occurred.
During the event
Attendees always come first. Again, we used our attendee email list to provide specifics about the after party that even we didn’t know until the day of the event. Also, while we shared much of the event via social media (including streaming video of two presentations), we kept our focus in the room on those who had paid to attend.
Dedicated social media responsibilities. When I attend an event, it’s easy to share what is resonating with me through social media. If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that to be true. When I am hosting an event, however, my focus has to be on those who have made the decision to spend time with me face-to-face. So, I asked Shelby Sapusek of Panoramic Interactive, our meeting planner, to keep the social media world informed throughout the day.
I shared with my social media friends when I could, but knew that the ColorMetrix accounts were in capable hands and giving the world a flavor for what we had going on all day.
After the event
Gather all the pictures. Sort the pictures. Edit the pictures as needed. Post the pictures slowly over the course of a week (This was Shelby’s idea. It’s why you hire professionals to help with events.). We also created a thank-you email for the attendees letting them know where to find the pictures. We are going to put them all on our Facebook page for two reasons. First, Facebook does a pretty good job with photos. Second, we are trying to increase our number of friends on Facebook.
Share the success. We also sent an email to all our subscribers letting them know how well the event turned out. Since we are planning a similar event this fall, we wanted those who didn’t attend to know what they missed. Again, we pointed the readers to Facebook where all the photos will be. We are also creating some video of the event which will be posted shortly on our company site.
I’m sure there is more we will be doing, but you get the picture. While the event occupies a moment in time, the marketing opportunity that surrounds the event spans several months. As I discussed in “The help others manifesto,” events like these have business implications that can span over years.