Events & Online Registration
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View this presentation as a free online webinar at: http://www.prescriptionsforonlinesuccess.com/portfolio-item/events-registration-webinar/ Have you ever considered holding an event to market your business? Many small businesses and organizations don’t realize the possibilities available to them to increase customer loyalty and build new prospect awareness through events. Whether you’re holding a special in-store tasting, an event with a charity, sharing your knowledge through a seminar, or holding a concert, events can help you gain visibility. When you run an event, you want to make sure you leave ample time for the promotional activities that will drive your registrations, and you want to create and provide an optimal online registration experience. This presentation shows: Different types of events you can run How to set goals for your events How to promote your events (including a sample promotional timeline and activities) How to set up an effective online registration process What to do after the event Note: This session will not address best practices for venue selection, planning event entertainment or dining options, running fundraising activities, etc. It is focused on helping audiences promote their events and streamline the online registration process. Learn how event marketing and online registration can provide a fun and unique way to engage your audience and help you stand apart from the competition.
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Events & Online Registration
- 1. Campaigns That Drive Action: Events and Online Registration © 2014 Prescriptions For Online Success Series
- 2. 2013 Constant Contact All Star Award Winner Kim Butler, The URL Dr. KimButler@TheURLdr.com facebook.com/theurldr @theurldr #theurldrwebinar
- 3. Grow with Constant Contact Get results fast, with affordable, easy-to-use engagement marketing tools and free coaching. Events & Registrations Offers & Promotions Newsletters & Announcements Feedback & Surveys
- 4. Agenda Types of events Why run an event? Event promotion Online registration – why bother? Post-event actions & follow-up (survey!) Next steps
- 5. Types of Events| Why run one? | Promotion | Registration | Post-event | Next Steps
- 6. marketing Types of events At its core, marketing is about eliciting a physical and measureable response
- 7. Pull response Types of events What are campaigns? Push content
- 8. Pull registrations Types of events What are campaigns? Push invitations
- 9. Types of events Seminars and lectures Workshops and classes Social and networking Conferences Fundraisers and galas
- 10. Types of Events| Why run one? | Promotion | Registration | Post-event | Next Steps
- 11. Why run one? What’s your goal? Raise money or drive purchases Create engagement Celebrate milestones Reward loyalty Grow your list Educate
- 12. Why run one? To charge or not… Don’t be afraid to charge for your event! 50.50% 29.00% 10.04% 0.01% Date/time conflict LocationOther Cost 200,000 RSVPs x .01% = 20
- 13. A note about engagement… ENTICE to stay in touch ENGAGE People Engagement drives SOCIAL VISIBILITY Provide a “Wow!” EXPERIENCE
- 14. Types of Events| Why run one? | Promotion | Registration | Post-event | Next Steps
- 15. Promotion Timing matters Create buzz (5-6 weeks out) Increase registration (3-4 weeks out) Maximize attendance (2 weeks out to event date) Save the date! Allow time for planning, booking travel, donations, etc…
- 16. Promotion Timing matters Create buzz (5-6 weeks out) Leverage your newsletter
- 17. Promotion Timing matters Create buzz (5-6 weeks out) Leverage your newsletter Feature event info on website
- 18. Promotion Timing matters Create buzz (5-6 weeks out) Leverage your newsletter Feature event info on website List your event publicly Event directories Events in America Local paper Local event calendars Co-marketing
- 19. Promotion Communication schedule Increase registration (3-4 weeks out) Social media posts & sharing Facebook events app Invitations: paper and email Registration form Event homepage
- 20. Promotion Communication schedule Maximize attendance (2 weeks out to event date) Provide tickets or confirmation Send email reminders Reminder on event website or homepage Updates and reminders on social media
- 21. Types of Events| Why run one? | Promotion | Registration | Post-event | Next Steps
- 23. Registration “Online” registration % Guest information Meal requests Event fees Communications
- 24. Registration Information all in one place Easier. Available 24/7RSVPs and declinesPaymentsSell items, track donations
- 25. 50% Percentage of invitees (who received paper invites) that want to register online 29 Registration The more it’s used…
- 26. Registration Keep it simple: invitation The subject line matters! Event details Logo or simple graphics Compelling message, why to attend
- 27. Registration No kitchen sinks (please!) 14 Separate pieces of information requested
- 28. 32 Registration Do they know it’s you?
- 29. 33 Registration Keep it simple: registration page Event details Logo or simple graphics Brief description of event Event name Simple form fields Presentation Design Workshop Wondering how to make your next presentation the best you've ever delivered? Attend this workshop and learn how to approach developing your content, the design process (including some PowerPoint power tips) and the delivery of your story. Laptops and questions are welcome!
- 30. Registration 1: What should you collect? Demographics Bringing guests? Time/session requested Event specific information Payment method Plan/adjust logistics, entertainment or auctionPlan/adjust seating or monitor capacityCommunicate about openings, adjust staffing, add/remove options Monitor meal options, clothing sizes/quantity, audience compositionPlan/adjust event finances
- 31. Registration 2: What should you collect? Demographics Bringing guests? Time/session requested Event specific information Payment method Meals, giveaways (size for clothing, etc) What school does your child attend? Food allergies or restrictions Emergency contact information Any special needs
- 32. Bad data outBad data in Open- ended questions
- 33. Good data out Good data in
- 34. Registration You are the first test subject 2 1 3 “It should only take you ___ minutes to complete your registration.”
- 35. Registration You have the information. Now what?
- 36. Registration You have the information. Now what? Social proof 2 1 3
- 37. Registration Extend the “proof” Presentation Design Workshop
- 38. Registration Think beyond the event Demographics Bringing guests? Time/session requested Event specific information Payment method Improve future event planning and marketing effortsBuild new customer/supporter relationshipsGrow your email list
- 39. Registration Payment & donation options matter Credit cardCheck Online payment solutions Cash Credit card processors Check
- 40. Registration Payment & donation options matters Online payment solutions Check Credit card Cash Check Credit card processors
- 41. Types of Events| Why run one? | Promotion | Registration | Post-event | Next Steps
- 42. The most important thing you have to do after the event Thank you.Say
- 43. Post-event Review statistics and data Identify shows & no-shows Review revenue or funds raised Segment follow-up lists based on registration questions, activities participated in or behaviors %
- 44. Post-event Collect pictures and videos
- 45. Post-event Review social media activity Tweets over time
- 46. Post-event Get feedback with a survey Satisfaction score Number “very satisfied” Number “somewhat satisfied” Total responses
- 47. Post-event Get feedback with a survey Key insights Event venue Time / time of year Food Entertainment Speaking program Interests Demographics Newsletter sign-up
- 48. Types of Events| Why run one? | Promotion | Registration | Post-event | Next Steps
- 49. Make sure the host organization is very obvious, not just the logo Place your logo left or center, use a text link Checklist Invitations & Registration Include date/time/location/topic Sign-up link should be most obvious, if not ONLY option, and be above the scroll line Don’t give details that distract from signup
- 50. Reconfirm their registration Checklist Reminder Email Note if there is a waitlist or the event is full Describe check-in process, where to park, what to bring, emergency contact information… This can be a long email…really! Provide as much information as your attendees will need to ensure they have an enjoyable experience.
- 51. Say “Thank you”!! Checklist Follow-up email Include at least one photo from the event! Ask to participate in your survey Ask attendees to post, tweet, comment about their experience Provide links to your social media channels Provide them with sample content – write out some tweets for them Re-emphasize the call to action of the event: donate, visit your store, volunteer to help, etc.
- 52. Easier. Next steps Online vs. offline 1 2 3 Easily process RSVPs and collect fees Registration is available 24/7 Collect all of your information in one place
- 53. Next steps Collect only what you need 2 43 Good data in = good data out Promote “social proof” Use data to inform future business decisions 2 SUBMIT 1 SURVEY Keep it simple, collect only what you need 1
- 54. Next steps Make it easy for them 1 2 3 Look like you! Brand your communications. Payment options matter. Provide more than one! Timing matters… give enough time to plan ahead.
- 55. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q © 2014 Next Steps Want help? www.TheURLdr.com The URL Dr. is your partner in online marketing & web design
- 56. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q © 2014 email survey promos events www.TheURLdr.com
- 59. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q Win the chance for your small business to be on the radio To Enter: Like The URL Dr.’s Facebook page
- 60. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q Win the chance for your small business to be on the radio To Enter: Like The URL Dr.’s Facebook page www.PrescriptionsForOnlineSuccess.com/ask-the-url-dr-question/
- 61. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q Get started today… www.TheURLdr.com Constant Contact Toolkit Want to learn more? PrescriptionsForOnlineSuccess.com Select Webinars and Radio Online webinars & Radio show Want help? 301-363-2710 KimButler@TheURLDr.com The URL Dr. is your partner… © 2014
Editor's Notes
- Hello, and welcome to Campaigns that Drive Action: Events and Online Registration…In this webinar we’re going to be talking about one of the core marketing campaign types, Events, and the effective use of Online registration. I want to say right off the top that this session will not be addressing best practices around event planning topics like venue selection, planning event entertainment or dining options, running fundraising activities like live or silent auctions, etc. It is solely focused on helping you learn more about effective event promotion and streamlining your online registration efforts. We certainly have a lot to talk about with those two topics, so let’s get going.
- I am Kim Butler, The URL Dr., and I am a Constant Contact Platinum Level Solution Provider, a Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert, and winner of the 2013 Constant Contact All Star Award. Our presentation today is provided by Constant Contact but the information provided here is based on best practices and can be utilized by any small business or nonprofit, regardless of whether or not you are using Constant Contact. If you have questions during or after the presentation, you can use the hashtag #theurldrwebinar on Twitter to ask your questions. I’ll be responding to questions from all the webinars this month at that hashtag.
- For those of you not familiar with Constant Contact’s new Toolkit product, it provides you with the ability to send email newsletters, online coupons, social promotions on Facebook, local deals, feedback and online surveys, and market events, all through one tool for one low price. I’ve been using Constant Contact in my own business and I recommend Toolkit to all my clients. I truly believe this is the best and most cost effective online marketing tool available to small businesses.
- Here’s what we’re going to do today… [click to build] we’ll quickly talk about different types of events…and how there may be an event type that would work for you if you only got a little creative [click to build] we’ll share some reasons for running an event, and how to approach the “free or paid” question [click to build] then we’re going to discuss the promotion of your event and a rough time-line you can try for different promotional activities [click to build] next we’ll talk about online registration tools…and why they make up an important part of your event management efforts [click to build] finally, we’ll recognize that just because the event is over your work isn’t done…we’ll talk about post-event actions. I also want to make a quick not about “for” and “non” profits, and industry verticals…I’m often asked how the things I’m talking about should be adjusted or changed for a retail operation, a nonprofit or a services/B2B firm or someone in a different industry vertical. The good news is that the principles that will be discussed today are largely universal…they can benefit a non-profit just as much as they can a for-profit, a B2B business can follow these just as readily as a B2C, that a restaurant can succeed with these ideas just as readily as a yoga studio, a church or a book store. Yes, you may have different considerations to make for your select audiences or your organization, but in large part what we’re teaching are best practices, and they’re best practices across the board.
- First let’s discuss Types of Events
- I want to give you a simple definition, or a framework, for what marketing really is. You already know, generally, what it is – but when I say the word marketing, I mean something very specific and it’s important that we are on the same page. My definition of marketing has three simple parts – you define an audience: a group of people that you want to target. You reach out to them with a message that is specific to that audience. And you seek to elicit a physical and measurable response. A click, a reply, a call, a purchase, a referral – these are all actions that represent a decision made by a human to react to your message. Keep this in mind as we discuss marketing and marketing campaigns and the ways to deliver the most effective campaigns. You’re doing these things because you want people – your customers, your clients, your donors or supporters – to DO SOMETHING. Our topic for today, the campaign type “Events,” is absolutely about getting a response. [click to next slide]
- First, let’s talk about “campaigns” - -what does that word really mean? Very simply there are two parts to a campaign First, you [click to build] push out some sort of to your followers, supporters, etc Second, you hope to [click to build] “pull” some sort of response from them – you want them to read, forward or share what you sent, show up, call, attend – you want them to take an action of some sort Think about a campaign in terms of push/pull and more importantly do not think about it as just putting an offer out there and making the sale … in this new marketing world, it’s more like a conversation – which lends itself to that advantage we talked about that you have over big business. As a small company, you can engage in a conversation that feels and in fact IS much less like a sales gimmick and more like nurturing a relationship. If you’re doing it right, it will seem like that from both sides of that conversation.
- In the case of events, what you’re pushing out are invitations (and information about the event), and you’re hoping to pull in registrations. That’s the campaign!
- When we use the word “event,” the image that often comes to mind is that of a gala or dinner with entertainment in a reception hall. And that’s accurate, but there are other types as well…here are just a few… [click to build – all will build automatically] seminars/lectures workshops/classes (education or training) conferences social gatherings/networking fundraisers/galas Types of events are really only limited by your imagination.
- Great…we’ve identified some new ways to think about what an event is (and you may even have heard an idea that you want to consider for your organization). Now let’s go a little bit deeper into why an organization would want to run one.
- Across those types of events, at their core is that some organization has a reason for hosting that event. Think about they types of goals you might have for an event. Do any of these look familiar to you as goals that you’ve set for your events before? [click to build – all will build automatically…talk through these each or just a couple of them] raise money or drive purchases create face-to-face engagement reward loyalty celebrate milestones grow your list educate (and offer yourself as an expert)
- [NOTE: UK VERSION WITH BRITISH POUNDS FOR PIGGY BANK] Across those types of events, at their core is that some organization has a reason for hosting that event. Think about they types of goals you might have for an event. Do any of these look familiar to you as goals that you’ve set for your events before? [click to build – all will build automatically…talk through these each or just a couple of them] raise money or drive purchases create face-to-face engagement reward loyalty celebrate milestones grow your list educate (and offer yourself as an expert) [Speaker: Take a few minutes to ask the audience if there are other goals that they’d add to the list…]
- It can be hard trying to determine what to charge for an event…but sometimes it’s hard to determine if you actually want to charge anything at all. In some cases you may not be sure if people will be willing to pay for your event. Let me help take a little bit of the stress out of that question. Constant Contact reviewed over 200,000 RSVPs in which people declined an invitation, and looked at the reasons why people say “no, thanks.” We found… [click to build] over 50% cited conflicts with dates and times… [click to build] another almost 30% cited “other”…when you drill into the reasons most of those were related to date/time/location [click to build] an additional 10% cited “location” directly. In essence, almost 90% of the reasons people say “no” come down to timing and location. when it comes to cost, out of all of those responses, the % of people who cited “cost” as the reason they were declining was [click to build] Think about that!! Out of [click to build] 200,000 responses only [click to build] .01% cited cost…that’s only [click to build] 20 people!! What’s the takeaway here? [click to build] don’t be afraid to charge for your event !! What’s important to consider, is the value your offering your attendees. Is there a perceived value built into the event and your marketing of the event, and will people be willing to come out of their own pocket?
- There’s a concept we regularly discuss in my webinars, called The Engagement Marketing Cycle. It outlines the connections between key elements of the relationship that a business or organization has with its customers, clients or donors. Events definitely have a place in this cycle. Events are definitely about the “Wow” experience, but they also have a place in each other part of the Engagement Marketing cycle. They give organizations a reason to ask people to stay in touch (“Entice” – so followers can learn about other events!), the experience at the event creates a ready connection around which “Engagement” can be created (“remember at our gala when this happened?” with a picture, etc.), events provide opportunities for Social Visibility during the event or after/before with the sharing of stories, pictures, results, etc.; and finally, everyone loves to hear about a great party or gathering or a meaningful reason to get together (fundraiser) – so events supported by engagement and social visibility will draw new prospects to your business or your cause.
- Great…we’ve talked about the types of events you could think about, the goals you could have for one (and why to consider charging for one), and the important role that events can play in helping you stay engaged with your audiences. Let’s now talk about the promotion of your event.
- Studies show it is best to promote your event over a period of time that makes sense for the type of event, your organization, your audience and their planning horizon, etc. We’re going to walk through the types of activities you should consider as you promote your event. For our purposes today, we’re going to use a sample 6-week promotional period…but you can think about how you would stretch these core promotional periods out over the length of your ideal timeframe. We’re not talking about just blasting out your registration URL 6 weeks in a row. Today we’ve broken your event success formula into 3 stages: [click to build] Creating Buzz [click to build] Increasing registration and [click to build] Maximizing attendance. Each stage is broken down into different best practices designed to help you achieve the goal of that stage. All of these stages come together to make your event a success! The one piece of promotion that can (and should!) be sent before this timeframe is the [click to build] Save-the-Date notice. Be sure to leave plenty of time for your audience to start making appropriate plans…
- Creating buzz is all the ground work you can do to get people excited about your event and on their radar even before you share the event’s registration URL. Email newsletters are a fantastic way to stay top of mind with your customers. It keeps them thinking about your company so when they are ready to buy or recommend you to a friend, you are the first to come to mind. When you create compelling content, people want to read it and share it with their friends and family. And when they are reading your newsletter, make sure they are reading about your upcoming events. Talking about the event is not enough. Make sure registration is only one click away!
- Your email newsletter is a great place to promote your events because it reaches a wide audience. It takes advantage of the places they are already paying attention to. These are the exact same reasons you should also promote your event on your website. With a lot of event management systems, it is very easy to do this. It doesn’t require constantly updating your web designer or swapping out code. It’s a change you make once and it will update your website automatically for every new event you publish. And just like your email, registration is just one click away making it easy for your audience.
- By promoting your event through your email newsletter and your website, you are taking advantage of the places your customers are already engaging and looking. What about the places prospects are looking for events? That is where public listings come in! With online event management systems, you can push your event out automatically to sites like Events in America and SocialVents. These are online databases of professional events and trade shows that you can get your event listed on. Don’t just stop there! Make sure your local press covers your event as well. Whether that’s the paper, an event calendar and co-marketing opportunities with local businesses. Whatever the place, just make sure to get your event out there.
- With that idea in mind, here are just a few other things you might ask for… [click to build – all will build automatically and you can then speak to them] I mentioned asking about meal and giveaway info (vegetarians? special sizes?) Asking about things that might seem unrelated could actually help a lot. If you run a summer camp and want to know what school the child attended, it could help you put kids into groups of others that they might know Again, the key takeaway here is to make sure you’re asking for information that is relevant to your event. Once you have the set of questions you want to ask, with online tools there’s another important consideration that you want to make, one that will help you make better use of that information.
- You’ve got the questions you want to ask, so then you just build out the form, provide space for the answers and you’re off to the races, right? Wrong. Here’s an example of a form [click to build] that might have been created that way. Clearly there’s a lot of information they want to collect, and they’ve provided ample space for those answers. What’s wrong with this picture? [click to build] These are all open-ended questions. Why is that a problem? Because as registrants complete and submit their answers, you’ll get a spreadsheet that looks a lot like this [click to build]. This is a set of data that will be hard for you to process or analyze easily…because of the variety of answers, types of answers, etc. You’d have to do a lot of “clean-up” work in this spreadsheet before you could make the most effective use of it. What should you do?
- The best approach is to provide options in response to each question. Look at this form, and how [click to build] the event manager has made it easy for the registrant by asking for Yes/No answers or providing a selection of responses in a drop-down menu. Then, when the event manager looks at the data, they’ll find [click to build] a very “clean” data set that can be easily sorted, filtered, analyzed, etc., making it much easier to make decisions, changes in the event strategy, etc. So remember, “good data in = good data out!”
- Here’s another time-tested piece of advice. Make yourself the first test subject for your registration form. Even before you send out your invitations, be sure that you fill out the form yourself, or have members of your staff fill it out. This will allow you to [click to build] make sure it’s easy to understand and complete, [click to build] doesn’t have any typos or other errors, and [click to build] get a sense of how long it would take to complete. You can then assess if the time it takes is appropriate for the event and your audience. Once you have a good sense of the time it takes, you could [click to build] even comment in the invite or at the start of the registration process "this should only take you 3 minutes to complete“ or “15 minutes” or “30 minutes.”
- You came up with questions, you built a good form to collect the information, you tested it and now it’s “live.” Now what? One thing you can do is ask your registrants if they’d like others to see that they’re attending. With most online registration tools you would [click to build] set this up as you set up everything else for your event and your registration form. Then, when the registrant gets to the end of the form [click to build], they will be asked if they want to share their registration with others (with limited information). If and when they allow that, other registrants will see how your event’s audience is shaping up, resulting in an experience that looks like this [click to build], with the names visible to registrants. This is actually a great practice, as it will help create something known as…
- …social proof. What is social proof? It’s a phenomenon by which someone looks to see how others are responding to a particular situation, decision, etc. before they make their own. Think of when you’ve driven to a restaurant and found the parking lot empty – do you wonder if the food is any good? Will you drive on to one with a full parking lot? What happens is that one of your invitees will get to the registration form, and see that list of names. She’ll look at that list of names [click to build] and try to find people that she knows, that have similar interests, etc. – all as part of the process of deciding whether or not she wants to attend. [click to build] If she see’s enough of that “social proof,” she’ll be more inclined to think that this is an event worth attending and she’ll complete the registration. She’ll also be more likely to show up….
- You can also extend how this social proof can work for you. Give your registrants an option [click to build] to share their registration and a link to the event through their social networks. You should also leverage your own social media channels to try to generate that proof…by posting the event on Facebook [click to build] as these businesses did. Notice the use of information, images and even video to promote the events…and since these were posted on Facebook, followers of these businesses had commented and liked those posts…increasing the “social proof” and driving registrants to the registration page.
- In addition to facilitating the collection of information that is relevant to your event, as well as helping provide the social proof that might help increase your registrations, online tools and their collection of data can help inform future business decisions. [click to build] Collecting email addresses for future events will help increase your list size [click to build] Getting a sense of guests that are coming to an event might help you decide how you approach that audience at your event, as you start to build a relationship with them [click to build] other information you collect will similarly improve your future planning efforts. For example, learning how they heard about the event (members, past attendees, etc.) will help you know where to promote your next event to maximize registration. In short, you’ll be better able to develop and market your events in the future.
- If you have decided to collect payment for your event, consider the impact that how you allow them to pay, or make donations, can have on registration and attendance. The options you provide can influence the number of people that complete the registration process: offer different ways for invitees to pay for registration (if charging for your event) or make donations. [click to build] pay-by-check or credit card are common options, with a lot of small businesses using credit card processors like [click to build] Authorize.Net and ProPay to make credit card payments a seamless part of the process [click to build] you might also find that an online payment solution like Google Checkout or PayPal would work better for you. Just keep in mind that in most cases options like these will take your registrant out of your own registration form into a separate website. [click to build] also, depending upon the type of event and the audience, you may want to offer the option to pay at the door.
- Something that you need to keep in mind, though, with respect to payment options is that if you offer only one payment option, people may opt out of the registration process at that point. While there may be one option that works best for you and your organization, that may not be the best option for your invitees. Imagine the scenario we have here, that shows certain potential attendees and the payment options they prefer. If you [click to build] start to reduce the options available for paying for the event, you may be limiting the potential pool of people likely to register or attend. In other words, carefully consider how you will let people pay.
- Now flash-forward to the day after your event. You’re all done, right? You cleaned up and now you get to go on that vacation you’ve been putting off while you worked on the event, right? Not yet! There are still some important steps to take to make sure you close out the event as a marketing campaign…
- The most important thing after an event. Don’t forget to say Thank you to everyone that attended.
- Some of the tools you can use to plan and promote events return your results instantaneously, and others take 24 hours – some tools used to run webinars will take that long for the recording and list of attendees and non-attendees. Make sure you know which option your tool is so you can plan accordingly. In either case, once the event is concluded, [click to build] you can go ahead and check your results and reporting and get a few different things. You can pull a list of attendees and no-shows. Once you have your list, send an email to attendees and to registrants that didn’t attend. To attendees, send all the resources. If you had a live event, photos videos, results like who won raffle prizes or silent auction prizes, additional info you’ll be sharing on your webpage – send a link. Make sure to nurture them to the next step, whatever step you decide, with a call to action. And make sure that next step stands out. Some common CTA are to ask questions on a Facebook page, purchase a product, start a trial, attending the next event. For non-attendees, send a Sorry-you-couldn’t-attend, Here’s-what-you-missed email, provide a recording or photos or videos, and let them know when the next event is. Use the follow up email to drive registrations. You can use the reporting features to check on revenue from ticket sales or donations (if the tool you’re using allowed you to collect them) And if you asked questions during the registration process and that information can be synced with your attendee lists, you can go ahead and start segmenting your lists of names based on responses. This will help you with your follow-up over time.
- Soon after your event, connect with your attendees, staff and volunteers – [click to build] ask them to share any multimedia they captured. Make it easy for them to share, by inviting them to [click to build] post photos to Facebook or other any social channel you utilize. Create albums where you can, and then send a link to your online albums in your follow up email and your next email newsletter, and link to it from your social media posts.
- If you provided your event attendees with a hashtag (#) for your event as well as the key social media addresses, you’ve provided them with a great tool to share their experience…and a great way for you to check on social visibility that took place during the event. You can review the results of your event social media activity pretty easily through most of the social channels and the reporting they offer. [click to build] You can take a look at when the tweets were posted and compare them to the times different activities took place – what parts of your event or sessions, speakers got the most attention on Twitter. It will help you determine which speakers or topics or parts of the event were most popular. And take a look at who your top participants were on Twitter. [click to build] If you’re not following them already, start doing it. Send them direct messages to thank them or send a tweet that publicly thanks everyone who tweeted about your event – list their Twitter handles. These people are loyal followers or brand ambassadors – keep track of them and engage with them.
- All of the various facets of using online event registration that I discussed today including mobile marketing can all be done with Constant Contact’s new all in one Toolkit product. When you sign up for Constant Contact through The URL Dr. (for the same great low price)
- You also get our new online training for Constant Contact Toolkit, absolutely free. I developed this online learning system especially for Toolkit customers. To get it you can visit theurldr.com and from our home page [Click to Build] Click on this orange button that says “Get Online Training for Toolkit Free”
- Then you’ll have the opportunity to [Click to Build] sign up for Toolkit and the learning tool, if you don’t have it yet and you’re ready to get started on your new online marketing campaign [Click to Build] If you already have Toolkit, you can still get the online training by clicking on this button and filling out the form. This system is designed to walk you through the set up of Toolkit, all the best practices in email, social media, online promotions, event marketing, and using online surveys, and then it walks you through how to implement these different marketing efforts in your business with Toolkit.
- I have one more fun announcement. For all of our attendees today, you have the opportunity to win a featured spot on my new radio show, “Prescriptions for Online Success.” My new show will premiere on Saturday, June 7th at 1:30 PM on AM1450 The Source out of Frederick, MD, but we’ll also be streaming audio and video of every show to The URL Dr.’s website and our new Prescriptions for Online Success website. Each show will have a segment where we bring on real small businesses who have a problem with their online marketing or their website. They’ll get a free exam and a prescription from The URL Dr. Then they’ll be invited on the show to talk about the results they got. It should be a lot of fun, but we really need you to help make this a success, so go to The URL Dr.’s Facebook page and like us to enter. You’ll get a follow-up email that will ask you a couple of questions about what you are struggling with. We’ll go through all the entries and pick a winner to work with on the air.
- If you have a question for me on any type of online marketing or website problem you’re having, you can visit PrescriptionsForOnlineSuccess.com/ask-the-url-dr-question/ And you can send me a voice message. Just click on the Start recording button and you can record up to a 3 minute question. Include your name and company in the recording and it may be answered on my radio show or in my social media. At the very least, you’ll be sent an email with a response.
- So here’s all the contact information once again. Now let’s take some questions from our audience.