- Define the purpose of your event
People have to know why your PR firm is hosting an event and most importantly, how will it benefit them. This means that you have to use persuasive tactics when inviting your audience to the event and remember to create the importance of their attendance.
- List the relevant details
Details are vital for any event(s) since it gives people an idea of the space, what will happen, how long it will take and in that particular event who will be there, that helps them to prepare ahead. The world we live in is busy, people work, have family and business. So nobody has time to guess what your event will be about, or read through the whole document just to figure out important details about your event, so having clear details on time, duration of the event, place, theme and possible activities or guest speaker(s) will be easier.
- Plan and organise your event
Planning and organising your event is not just about hiring the best caterer, venue, decorator and budget, but it is also about planning who you want to attend your event, which means thinking of ways to attract the people you want at your event. Doing thorough research on the audience you want is important since it will give you strategies to make them interested in going to your event. For example, if you want government officials at your event you would go on their websites and social media to see how they operate, you would not send them an email that is simply an invite to your event but you write an email in a way that makes them see how your event would benefit the public since the government serves the public.
- Start event PR outreach early
Start campaigning your event early. Make sure that people know about it for at least a few weeks in advance. Depending on the type of event you are hosting or its capacity, you could start campaigning it months ahead. This gives you time to change things around to suit the people you want at your event and it allows earlier feedback from your audience, to see how they react. Inviting people early helps them plan their schedules and book flights and accommodation ahead of time.
- Create an event hashtag
Event hashtags are exciting, everybody is using them. They keep the audience engaged to keep the conversation going and once again provides you with feedback. You have to make sure that you maintain the hashtag by interacting with people on social media platforms with trending issues, people must see that your campaign or event cares about current issues.
- Invite press to your event
As a PR firm it is vital to have connections or relationship with media outlets, since PR and media need each other. Having press at your event will give your event more weight and it will make people more aware and they will want to know about your event.
- Make people RSVP or confirm attendance
Making people RSVP enables you to estimate how many people will attend, which will prepare you and your team in regards to space, set-up and catering. A few days before the event you could send out emails and text messages to remind the people who had confirmed for the event.
by Smangele Shandu
UvoLwethu Blog 