Event Purpose Chapter 1: Make Noise and Be Seen
Do you sometimes post on social media only for the sake of posting?
Welcome back to The Fun Times and a new chapter, which is dedicated to events and the methods of successful eventing. Our first article explained how to gain value from your event by defining its purpose and writing down clear event goals and KPIs.
This article examines your first possible event goal: generating noise and ensuring your event and brand stand out. Here are some key strategies and preparation steps to consider when planning your brand-recognition-driven event.
The Importance of Strategic Planning
It’s curious how often events go with the last-minute flow. The idea is generated within a discussion or as a consequence of a specific action, and teams are pressed to assemble an event at light speed. Event day comes and goes, and people wonder why they had such low impact, minimal turnaround, and a slight feeling of disappointment.
That is where the importance of strategic event planning comes in.
What do you want to achieve?
Do you want only to increase brand awareness, or do you want to generate leads and increase attendance?
Building a successful planning foundation would give you a clear vision to guide your promotional efforts.
Do you want to create, promote, and execute a successful event in two weeks' time? You are probably doomed.
Goals and KPIs
We mentioned the importance of KPIs in our leading event chapter and for god reason; setting KPIs is even more critical in event planning because you can’t have a good plan around a non-existing variable.
Is your goal to have massive marketing coverage and max out the attendee numbers?
Then two weeks is not your answer. Possibly, neither does one or even two months.
Communication, reflection, retrospection
How many times have you discussed a potential improvement of your event process?
And how many times did you write it down or go straight to improving it?
Communication and retrospection are critical characteristics of your event's success. It’s also critical for the relationships and efficiency of your team, partners, attendees, and everyone engaged in your activity.
The noise is good and productive when there is good communication around it. Andy loves saying:
Don’t post for the sake of posting.
Posting vague updates and boring event check-ins may bring worse results than doing nothing. Empty posts may fool the LinkedIn algorithm but not the audience. People’s response to event marketing is a constantly evolving, unpredictable machine. What you don’t want to happen is your target customers seeing the posts about your event four weeks after it's done and dusted only to sigh in relief, thinking, “It looks boring anyway.”
You want to fully utilize your communication channels while giving them enough time to do their job. And make it smart enough so people are tempted to react and engage with your content. For example, we really love showcasing our friend from Resolution, Björn, and his brilliant communication game. He goes beyond the usual “I arrived at event X” post by carefully crafting a digital event experience for his followers, who are often delighted to jump on the comment section.
Get your timing right, or get lost
As we already mentioned, timing is your best friend or worst enemy. By allowing your event to have the necessary planning and prep time, you prepare your team for success.
We’ve been part of Atlassian Team event horror stories with underestimated lead times, delayed swag deliveries, and canceled orders. Bad planning and timing reflect negatively on every team involved in your event preparation while being one of the most avoidable issues.
Do you have a brilliant last-minute idea? Save it for next time.
In conclusion, making impactful noise around your event requires careful planning, strategic use of communication channels, and a focus on engaging content. By following these guidelines, you can enhance your event's visibility and achieve your marketing goals.
Making noise is not just about being seen; it is about being remembered.
In our next event chapter, we are discussing the right approach to lead generation and the necessary steps for a successful customer-centric experience.
Making Noise in Anaheim
Are you going to Anaheim? Want to make significant noise, with epic results?
Check out our Team 25 Anaheim Rooftop (not a party) Party prospectus ➡️
And if you’re unsure that’s for you, and want to just talk with us about your eventing strategy overall, just go ahead and reach out through our Service Portal.
We’d happily give you an hour of our free time to help!