Events remain a favorite tactic among marketers and PR pros. It’s no wonder why; events self-perpetuate buzz, particularly as they become part of the established calendar.
Just think about the upcoming Measurement Week. PR pros from around the world are taking part and hosting events in their hometowns. While Measurement Week may not have the notoriety of SxSW, the week produces excitement and interest within a niche audience and some coverage.
The buzz is all well and good, but events should be tied to outcomes other than brand or event awareness. For example, if the events are wedded with digital media, the outcome possibilities multiply. Events become not self-perpetuating buzz machines but self-perpetuating PR generators.
To achieve the latter, events need to be considered from three aspects: before, during and after.
Create content before the event
In the words of Lord of the Rings character Boromir, “One does not simply promote an event with a news release alone.” Create content that shows what people can expect at the event. Offer exclusive content or other reward to people who register early. Invite key influencers and offer at-event perks to ensure they attend. Pitch reporters and journalists. Use social to not only generate awareness but also to establish your hashtag – an important component for the second aspect.
Don’t neglect traditional media; it still has a role to play. You may need to pay for a few promoted tweets or ads to drive initial interest. Print can work, too, particularly if you’re creating an exclusive offer for some of your influencers. Because print is atypical, it stands out from a standard email and may cause influencers to talk about the offer online.
Create content during the event
Your work here is two-fold. You need ongoing, up-to-date coverage of the event, which means you’ll have to generate some of the news with recaps and social updates. Other publishers will likely syndicate some of that content. Influencers, reporters, and journalists who are present at the event may even write some of it.
You’ll also want to ask attendees to create content, which ties into solidifying the hashtag prior to the event, to help build awareness and almost 24/7 coverage. You’ll want any created content to be tagged with the hashtag regardless of the social network so that you can track their work and your campaign results.
Also follow where people post their content. If they use Instagram almost exclusively, but you don’t have a brand account, you’re missing out on an active audience. You’ll want to create an account if only to curate and monitor the content and conversation.
Create content after the event
Post-event content isn’t a marketing responsibility. You have a role to play, particularly if you want the event to become a PR generator. Pitch story ideas that arose from the event or weren’t covered prior to it. Turn any data you shared at the event into an infographic or Slideshare. Use those pieces either to complement your pitches or as the pitches themselves. If you’re trying to garner new speaking engagements, you might include links to video from the event, if available, as well as the Slideshare.
Also remember to use the content your audience created. Curate it and release a “best of the best.” You might even use something like Storify to gather different pieces of the story together.
Finally, work with marketing to acquire feedback from attendees. Use that data, plus data you gathered during the event, to assess how the event went and how it can be improved in the future.
Events don’t have to be a single point in time. Use digital media to create content for them before, during and after to turn them from one-time-only buzz machines to humming PR generators.
Image: CWCS Managed Hosting, Sebastien Wiertz, Daniel Hsia (Creative Commons)
