If measured by the amount of time devoted to different topics in academic publications and newsletters, webinars, seminars and conference breakout sessions, PR-related events such as press conferences, product launches and lecture programs are the poor relations of the other tools in the PR professional’s toolbox.
While it is true that some aspects of event planning are about location, catering, facilities and invitations—and these pieces must be executed flawlessly in order for an event to be successful—the more important considerations in using events as a part of your public relations efforts are more strategic.
Events, if done properly, connect audiences to our organizations in real and tangible ways. Events help our organizations come alive by allowing individuals to network and engage with our people, our brands and our initiatives.
When you are creating an event, consider the following:
â–¶ How does this event meet my organization’s strategic goals? We’ve all been asked to host a reception or hold a press conference that had minimal strategic or tactical value, when other forms of communication would work equally well. Often, though, with a few tweaks and additions to the program, an event can become compelling.
Does the event tie directly to more than one of your goals? If an event can help members of your audience meet each other, learn something interesting, get something free and introduce your audience to a new product or service—all at the same time—it’s more likely to be compelling and successful than if it only met one of those criteria.
â–¶ Who is likely to be interested in attending the event? An event works best when it meets multiple goals or can engage multiple audiences.
For example, when we at Hofstra host receptions after a lecture, we give special invitations to an advanced undergraduate class, to the alumni group interested in the topic, to leaders in local professional organizations and to faculty in relevant departments.
â–¶ How can I engage different members of my audience and even expand my audience? While I am not generally an advocate for more committees in organization, in the case of a successful event, one or more committees help ensure success. A committee acts as a focus group, allowing you to monitor everything from your timing, pricing and facilities to the schedule and content of the program.
A motivated committee can and should be your event’s VIP audience, coming early, bringing friends or business contacts and helping create even more points of connection. Other ways to consider expanding your audience are:
• Inviting related groups to the event. Is it appropriate to extend invitations to shareholders, or members of a related professional organization? Would students be interested in the event? Community groups or senior citizens?
• Creating media partnerships. Sometimes local media organizations, who also have limited marketing and community outreach budgets, will exchange exposure for a tangible part of the program. It doesn’t hurt to ask, but of course, talk to the marketing or advertising side of the house.
• Deputize your friends. Give people a leading role, especially those who are ambitious, community-minded networkers. They will help expand your audience and connect people to one another.
â–¶ Can this event have the life of a campaign? If the event cannot have a significant shelf life, it might not be worth doing. The many forms of social media available to the practitioner—webcasting, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to name a few—can be used to poll, to invite, to broadcast, to share results and to discuss topics before, during and after, allowing the event’s networking benefits to multiply.
â–¶ Is the invitation real and is the event relevant? The key to the successful event is in the asking or the invitation. Have I made them feel as if they were chosen to be part of a movement, that their attendance was important to us and for them? And if they do come, the audience needs to realize some benefit—educational, social or economic.
To the layman, event planning seems like a straightforward discipline, in which a series of items on a list are created and checked off. But the best event planners know that events present a series of opportunities, in which new connections to our audiences, both internal and external, reveal themselves during the planning, execution and follow-up. PRN
CONTACT:
Melissa Connolly is the VP of university relations at Hofstra University. She can be reached at [email protected].