Large-scale events take a lot of time and money to execute well. Having a clear communications strategy is crucial to getting the word out and preparing for the get-together.
Unlike smaller, more intimate events, announcements about massive happenings need to reach the most people for them to have a chance at success. Lack of publicity could cause the event to crash and burn.
The communication strategy a business employs in marketing the event is crucial to its overall success. To help businesses sharpen their strategies for planning and communicating about high-profile events, 13 members of Forbes Agency Council offer their best advice on how to ensure that the audience gets the message and the soiree ends as a success.
1. Schedule, Plan, Execute
For large events, there's a lot you know ahead of time, including elements such as featured speakers and sessions or vendor activations and demos. Plan and schedule as much content as you can, which will free up your team to create authentic, in-the-moment stories and content. Also, plan to leverage user-generated content by dedicating one or two team members to hashtag monitoring and reposting. - Melissa Kandel, little word studio
2. Have A Pre- And Post-Event Strategy
Hoping prospects stumble upon your booth and want your swag isn’t a great event strategy. Maximizing a trade show is all about preparation. Uncover who’s attending, prioritize ICP and in-market accounts, then understand their interests so you can engage them in meaningful experiences. But, don’t forget the post-event plan! You still have to surround the members that weren’t there. - Latane Conant, 6sense
3. Attract The Relevant Target Audience
The key to any big or small event success is to stay true to business objectives by attracting the relevant target audience. And to attract the right audience, especially to high-profile events, we need to prepare multiple reasons to make them believe why they absolutely need to be at that event. My chest of "hooks" include venue, content/speakers and entertainment. - Premanjali Gupta, Blis
4. Remember Where Your Audience Really Is
The funny part about high-profile events, no matter how large they are, is that the bulk of your audience won't be there! If you do a big announcement at an event, you should have a parallel strategy to take that directly to your audience, wherever they are. Plan for digital awareness, online press, lead generation and local events to reinforce the message that first came out at your main event! - Apurva Dave, Sysdig
5. Leverage Data To Personalize Attendee Experience
What is the one factor that brings attendees back to your events? It's the personalized experience they have with your content, speakers and peer networking. Leverage the attendee data you own or collect (e.g., via a pre-event survey) to deliver an experience relevant to them. Incorporating data and automation into your communications strategy is key to personalizing high-profile events. - Anna Luo, Jivox
6. Overcommunicate And Plan For All Situations
Events have a multiplier effect when you try to scale them and there are a hundred moving pieces. Good internal and external communication is key for success. Make sure you plan for good, bad and worst-case scenarios and take care of minute details. Create backups and run scenarios with your team before the event to resolve potential issues. Overcommunicate and let people know what to expect. - Preeti Adhikary, Fusemachines Inc.
7. Prioritize And Allocate Resources Accordingly
Prioritize your goals and desired outcomes, plan programs accordingly and communicate progress throughout the event cycle. As events evolve, multiple sub-goals/programs emerge and cause tension as programs compete for resources. Focus and allocate your resources strategically, because you won’t be able to do (or report on) everything. Most importantly, prioritizing goals clarifies your KPIs. - Jennifer Harvey, Frontify
8. Don't Forget The Simple Stuff
Often, the glamorous aspect of a big event gets overshadowed by the execution of simplicity. I have been invited and tried to attend events where the smallest of details were overlooked. For example, if you have one hotel hosting the event, then you probably should recommend others to your guests when it's full. Or how about listing the address of the event location? Simple goes a long way. - James Gilbert, CloudCherry
9. Humanize Your Brand
As humans, we crave personalization, opportunity to connect with others and learn about trends and tech. Having celebrities will draw an audience. But they have resources and budgets that most companies don't have. Organizers should think about creating an experience so people will come. Make each person feel special, cared for and heard. Don't just talk technology or about your company and product. - Parna Sarkar-Basu, Brand and Buzz Marketing, LLC.
10. Have A Strong Email Campaign
A strong and comprehensive email campaign is imperative for a high-profile event. As the event nears, be sure to share big announcements, such as key speakers, celebrities, new workshops, social events and updates to the agenda. Another idea is to scatter in information regarding fun activities to do in the vicinity of the event so attendees can enjoy the local scene. - Stephanie Chavez, The Trade Group
11. Promote On Social Media In The Weeks Leading Up To The Event
The communications strategy for a big event must include a social media plan that is activated few weeks prior to the event to attract new visitors and give them compelling reasons to attend. Have a daily sequence of posts that are engaging and informational -- tease an upcoming launch, show behind-the-scenes and provide link to registration and meeting scheduler along with featured sessions and giveaways. - Paramita Bhattacharya, Nokia Technologies
12. Create Elements For Online Amplification
We have a "social first" audience and we always amplify the event online once it’s over. Three suggestions on how to do this: 1) Curate the conversation with a hashtag. 2) Have a shareable setting to encourage people to generate content and share through social media. 3) Harness the power of influencer marketing by inviting key opinion leaders who are relevant to your brand. - Iris Voltaire, adoreme.com
13. Make The Event Personal
The best way to expand the reach of your event is to make it as personal as possible. We do this by creating opportunities such as fun photo booths and other very personal tactics that inspire attendees to push out the content on their social channels, thereby making the reach of the event much more impactful. People like to be seen and not be anonymous, so we try to make that happen for them. - Ken Nahigian, Nahigian Strategies
