The document outlines essential steps for effective event planning, emphasizing goal setting, audience targeting, and strategy evaluation. It stresses the importance of integrating communication channels, tracking performance, and engaging attendees through various formats and social media. Additionally, it highlights common motivations for attendance and the value of both traditional and digital marketing strategies.

1. We Gotta Stop
Meeting Like This!
2016

2. Event Planning:
Where to Start

3. • Attack your meeting or event like any other planning
process.
• Set your goals and objectives (Are you raising money?
Selling widgets? Raising awareness? Boosting morale?)
• Define your target audience (as detailed as you can
get)
• Set your strategy (What communications tools will you
use? What unique outreach can you employ?)
• Evaluate after the fact (Did your strategies work? Did
you have the right people there? Did they do what you
wanted them to do? What needs to change for next
year?)

4. crowdsourcing
live streaming
tweets
hashtags
periscoping
responsive design
google url builder
registration sites
tracking links
fast wifi email marketingdirect mail
video
podcasting
facebook
linkedin events
square
engagement
remarketing
online surveys
microlocation
optimizing campaigns
partnerships
influencer marketing
incentives

5. Reality Check No. 1:
Integrate your channels,
think SYNERGY

6. • Ensure your brand/creative look is the same across all
portals
• Plan content that works across all outlets, and then
promote, promote, promote
• Your CTA (call to action) should be used (via a link) in
every form of communication
• Infuse your social footprint into every other strategy
(social links in all emails, on print pieces, on web
landing pages, etc.)

7. Reality Check No. 2:
If you don’t track, you
won’t improve

8. • Create tracking URLs for every form of
communication (emails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
direct mail, blog posts, partner marketing, etc.)
• Use the info gathered to determine where your
resources should go and which vehicles perform best
• Use Google URL builder or tracking link features in
software platforms such as EventBrite (UTM
parameters: URL + Tags)
• Monitor these daily (check click-through rates, open
rates, number of sales, etc.)
• If email open rates are high and click-through rates are
low, it’s time to test your call-to-action, email copy and
images

9. Reality Check No. 3:
If you don’t have the
right audience, your
event will fail

10. • Spend time creating a profile of your perfect attendee
(What do they like to do? What do they read? Where do
they hang out? What websites do they visit? What
memberships do they have?)
• Use past attendee data to set targets for your current
event
• Use Facebook and Twitter paid features to match
similar demographics with past attendee emails
(“lookalike audiences”)
• Invite at least double, often triple, the amount of
people that you want at your event. People are fickle
and don’t show.
• Offer incentives to VIPs to encourage them to attend
• Enlist partners that can tap into similar target
audiences and help spread the word about the event

11. Reality Check No. 4:
You have to entertain
your attendees. Engage
them at all levels!

13. • Create communities BEFORE the event so attendees
can start networking early (Facebook groups, LinkedIn
groups, hashtags)
• Be a facilitator at your event and help connect guests
before, during and after your event
• Provide exclusive content before and after the event
(speaker white papers or short videos, etc.)
• Door prizes and freebies work; people like stuff

15. Reality Check No. 5:
People attend events
for reasons they’ll
never tell you

16. 1. I feel alone.
2. I don’t want to be at work.
3. I want to drink, eat and
party for free and in
abundance.
4. I am broke.
5. My boss told me to go.
6. I want to stay away from
my family.
7. I don’t know anything
about your event subject.
8. I am in for the goody bag.
9. I want to visit somewhere
new.
10. I don’t want to spend a
single penny.
– Julius Solaris, editor of EventManagementBlog.com
10 Secret Reasons Why We
Attend Events

17. Reality Check No. 6:
You can’t have a
meeting or event
without using social

18. • Hashtags are important. Don’t go without one and use
it in every marketing piece and blog post! Monitor real
time via HootSuite and TweetDeck
• Create Facebook and LinkedIn events
• Use blogs, and encourage your speakers to write guest
posts for you
• Leverage paid social media options; they are cost
effective and super targeted.
• Consider Facebook ads to remarket to prospects
(Facebook custom audiences allow you to show ads to
people who have already visited your website but
haven’t purchased)
• Gamify your event – use contests and games via social
portals to boost ticket sales and generate excitement
for attendees (the person who tweets the most using
the event hashtag wins free tickets to next year’s
event!)

19. • Use videos and graphics to better excite prospective
attendees (testimonials, speaker profiles, quotes and
more)
• Empower others with easy-to-share content (provide
email copy with trackable links, images, video, etc.).
Also, use ClickToTweet to allow purchasers to share
their excitment.
• Use Facebook’s Call-to-Action button to encourage
people to register for your event.
• Welcome new Instagram followers with a direct
message 15-second video thanking them for following
and inviting them to your event. Use the event host or
a speaker as the spokesperson.
• Add your event graphic to your email signature line so
it’s always being advertised even in your daily
communications.

21. Reality Check No. 7:
Don’t be wooed by
shiny and new; keep
using the tried-and-true

22. • Print is NOT dead. Direct mail campaigns can be
highly effective. (especially if it has a subtle off-white
coloring and watermark!)
• Email marketing is alive and well with tons of great
platforms (EventBrite, LeadPages, GetResponse,
MyEmma, Constant Contact)
• Pitching stories to the media can help quickly spread
the word.
• Internal incentives – hold contests among staff to help
generate ticket sales.
• Good ‘ole advertising; just don’t forget your digital and
social options.

23. Resources

24. EventMB
http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/

25. EventBrite Blog
https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/

26. Free E-book: Social Media for Events
http://socialmediaforeventsebook.com/

27. Using UTM Parameters in Google Analytics How-to
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om-on74pv-o

28. Facebook Lookalike Audience Help
https://www.facebook.com/business/a/lookalike-audiences

29. TweetBeam
http://www.tweetbeam.com/

30. Questions? Comments?
Your Tips?

31. Thank you!