Promotional Dos & Don’ts

Every event you’ve ever attended, you have heard about from some place or another like the radio, the newspaper, or maybe even a flyer. And what’s it called when an event planner let’s everyone know about an event?

That’s right, kiddos. Promotion!

Whether your event is large or small, I’m here to offer the basic dos and don’t to handling its promotion.

Advertising:
Do– Stay consistent. Don’t let potential attendees miss out because they didn’t hear about it. Find multiples advertising mediums and avenues including social networks, community calendars, and radio promos to let the public know.
Don’t– Spam. If you post about your event on your Facebook page three times a day, people will become so sick of hearing about it that they may resent your spam and then not attend. Remind your potential attendees when the event is approaching but never annoy them.

Invites:
Do– Send an invite or promotional flyer to a specific group of your target demographic.

Don’t– Be vague or bland. Salutations such as ‘Dear supporter’, ‘Dear business owner’, and ‘To whom it may concern’ are not appropriate when sending invites. Think about how special you would feel if you received a basic invitation not addressed to you. Do they event want you there?

Press Releases:
Do– Take advantage of them! Even if only one or two local newspapers or news programs share a story on your event, that’s promotion. Why would you turn down free promotion?? So take the time to write a story that sounds interesting to you with a catchy title. It takes less work to edit a story than write one from scratch so it’s more likely that it’ll get published.
Don’t– Pull media. Put the bare minimum of general details in your press releases if you must, but if details are still being decided upon, do not include them. You can add information to your promotional efforts but you should never take away information. You never know who has already seen your posters.

As usual, good luck!

Successful Event Planning: Do’s & Don’ts

When planning an event that’s a few months or even a year away, it can always be tempting to keep putting things off. Or to have a to-do list and revisit each item in your mind as opposed to actually checking them off.

Right now, I am in the process of planning A Silent Night Out auction with Delmarva Public Radio. So I’ve come up with some basic do’s and don’ts of event planning that directly relate to my experience.

DO’S
1.) What: Do decide what the event will be. What do you hope to accomplish? Don’t just say, “We’re going to have a bake sale!” Is your goal to fundraise or is it to encourage volunteers to help out with your organization? Because a bake sale is a fundraising event. Tailor your event to the needs of your organization and during each step of the event planning process, refer back to your original purpose to guide you.

2.) When: Do establish an exact date for the event as soon as possible. All other elements of the event will revolve around this basic detail. For example, the title of The Silent Night Out auction was chosen because the date, December 8, was chosen first. The winter and holiday theme first the “when” of the event. Find out if other community events or significant holidays are occurring around the same time and schedule around them.

3.) Where: Do secure a location as soon as possible. Venues often book months in advance and, as in the auction’s case, sometimes require a written proposal of what the event will be and how many people are expected to attend.

DONT’S
1.) Don’t confirm until you have confirmed! Twice! Before scheduling or booking something outside of your organization such as a band or catering, confirm the date and time with the venue as well as your own organization. The worst PR is to waste someone’s time.

2.) Don’t wait to promote your event. Once you have the basics confirmed, begin making flyers or posting on social media. Movies send out teaser trailers to peak an audience’s interest. Then later they release the actual movie trailer closer to the release date. You should do the same! Get the public interested and involved. Make sure they have it on their calendars.

3.) Don’t procrastinate. Event planning does not have to be as stressful as we make it. The last week before the event should not be when you are rushing around doing things that you’ve had on your to-do list since the very beginning. If you have small tasks, do them first. If you have to wait for another task to be done before you can get to it, then use that as your motivation to begin on that task instead.

Let’s see if I can take my own advice and make The Silent Night Out auction the least stressful event of my year. I’ll keep you guys updated!