How to Create a Buzz-Worthy Event
At this month’s Net2Van Community Managers’ meetup, Kei Baritugo (@BoldLove) of boutique public relations agency BoldLove Communications shared event planning insights with a crowd of more than 100 people. This meetup was, in itself, a buzz-worthy event!
Kei’s presentation was filled with entertaining tidbits from her event planning adventures. She offered pro tips about event budgeting, venue selection, marketing considerations, securing sponsors & partners, reaching out to influencers & VIPs, handling the media, and dealing with emergencies. You could almost say her 1.5 hour presentation was a solid crash course on event planning.
Here are my key takeaways from Kei’s presentation:
- It’s all about your attitude:
- Start early, and set SMART goals:
- Budget considerations: Identify which items you can get in-kind, and which require cash on hand.
- Jonah Berger’s 6 STEPPS for making anything go viral – applied to Event Planning:
Social Currency: People care about how they are perceived by others. Does your event make your guests seem intelligent / cool / in the know?
Triggers: Have easily memorable party favours / door gifts – to stay in guests’ memory long after your event is over.
Emotion: Sharing is caring. Give people a reason to develop some sort of emotion toward your event.
Public: How visible is your event to the general public?
Practical Value: Does your event solve a problem? Does it inspire people?
Stories: This is how social transmission happens, so tell stories.
Taking all of the above factors into consideration will create contagiousness – and your event will take off!
- Marketing: strategy should include a mix of PR/Publicity, Advertising, Inbound, and Social Media.
- Sponsors & Partners: Create WIN-WIN proposals where mutual benefits are highlighted.
- Influencers & VIPs: Invite them personally; offer them special perks & benefits before & after the event
- The Media: Take into consideration lead time when submitting press releases.
- Emergencies: Mitigate, respond, and don’t react. Always have a contingency plan.
Kei’s expertise in event planning was evident from her engaging presentation. The meetup was a great learning session for anyone (community managers included) looking to plan successful events.
To read more about this event, check out Net2Van‘s Storify event report.
whythisbox? 
Memorable gifts / food is the best way to keep the event in my mind hahah
Same here! Those are definitely some of the things I remember most about events too! 🙂
We use SMART goals in dental hygiene too! When will you be planning an event? Hehe
Yes, I think the SMART goals are universally applicable to pretty much anything in life! We use those at work too.
Hmm.. I’d like to plan one soon.. I’ll keep you in the loop, Claudia! 😉