Planning a successful event can be tricky. There’s time, resources and more than a little stess involved if it’s done well. But what happens afterward is even more important for your business.
Before your doors open, put a strategy in place for making the most of every opportunity. That starts with collecting attendee information. Make sure your guests have either pre-registered or sign-in at the door so you can collect names and contact information. Depending on your event, a fun giveaway can be a great incentive for collecting names, email addresses, phone numbers and more.
Once the event is over, you’ll have a database of leads ready to go. Here are 10 easy ways to use it.
#1 Send an email blast
Grab that list of emails and develop an email blast within a week of your event. You’ll keep the momentum from your event going and instill goodwill for your brand. Don’t forget to link back to your social media pages and website.
#2 Post photos to social media pages
If you don’t have a social media presence before your event, you’ll be missing out on key benefits before, during and after. Posting photos of attendees (flattering images please) shows how much you cared about them visiting. If you can, tag them in photos, so their friends and family see. Want to learn more about making Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat work for your business? We can help.
#3 Share a video
The stats continue to prove that video performs well on social media platforms, and users especially love watching videos of themselves and people they know. So capture some action during your event and share it on social or your website.
#4 Host a contest
Depending on your event turnout and audience, host a contest requesting photos or favorite memories. You can either choose the winner at random or choose the best entry.
#5 Connect on LinkedIn
If you made personal connections with visitors, grow your network on LinkedIn. When sending a request to connect, skip the template message and devise your own. Make a call back to your original conversation by briefly acknowledging the visitor’s expertise.
#6 Ask for feedback
Use email or your social media page to send out a survey. Avoid making the survey too much work or you’ll have trouble finding people to complete it. Use the responses to develop future outreach and plan your next event.
#8 Send direct mail
Make your event truly memorable by sending a VIP offer directly to attendees. Was your event celebrating the opening of a new storefront or a new product? Send direct mail to visitors with a coupon. Or just send a simple thank you note to show their attendance mattered.
#9 Pick up the phone
Some potential clients respond better to more traditional forms of contact. No matter how personal the email you send, it may get lost in the clutter of emails they receive every day. For your strongest leads, call in addition to following up digitally.
#10 Offer resources
Custom advice, exclusive digital content or a no-obligation seven-day trial for your services could be the inbound ticket you need to convince those last holdouts to convert.
For the most effective approach to generating leads after an event, mix and match these suggestions. Marketing is never a one-size-fits-all approach, so take risks. With the right strategy, your event follow-up techniques will yield far more ROI.
The key is strategy. Make sure you have the right one:
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