You’ve planned the perfect networking event for your business, secured the venue and guest speakers, but what next? How do you drive registrations to your event?
Effective communication is key writes Osborn communications specialist, Clare Edwards. You want to attract the right audience and ultimately organise and host a sell-out event!
At Osborn Communications we are experts at sharing your company news far and wide. Whether it’s through social media messaging or engaging with the local media to put your event front and centre.
Here are some top tips to drive registrations to a company networking event:
- Build momentum and awareness across a range of channels at least 4-6 weeks before your event is due to take place.
- Identify your target audience and look to share your event far and wide. Utilise your social media accounts, company e-newsletters, and local media to communicate your event to the right people.
- Plan to post on social media 3-5 times before the event. Most followers won’t see any single post, so repetition is key, but vary your angle each time (speakers one week, benefits another, urgency/limited spots the next).
- Have you thought about images too? People led, original images are favoured by LinkedIn’s algorithm and more likely to be seen by your followers. If you have images from a previous networking event, make sure to use them.
- Draft a simple press release to send to the local media. Make sure to spell out who should attend, what’s the purpose of the event, who the guest speakers are and when the event will take place. That’s exactly what we do for one of our finance clients who regularly hosts networking events across their trading area. By targeting media outlets by geography, we ensure that their networking events are seen by the right audience.
- If you have memberships to organisations such as the Chamber or industry specific member organisations, you might be able to share your event via their network.
- Make it simple for interested guests to register. Set up a booking link through sites such as Eventbrite to manage registrations and provide delegates with all the information they need.
- Make sure the date, time, and venue appear clearly on all communications. Is free parking and food included? No one will attend if they don’t know when and where it is!
By following the top tips above, your networking event should get the exposure and promotion it needs to drive interest and ultimately, registrations.
Want Osborn to take the stress away? Get in touch with us today and find out how we can support your promotional activities.