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Loïc Thomas Profile Picture    Loïc Thomas
 in  Best practices
4 minutes

How do you transform your event into a gold mine?

Organizing an event, a conference or a trade fair takes a lot of work. But did you know that beyond the one-time happening you are also building a close to inexhaustible stock of content? Read on to find out how to maximize the impact of your event – even once it is over.

Events are the flagships of your promotional campaigns. However, their preparation does not only eat a lot of time but also a substantial amount of financial resources. Yet it is often hard to evaluate your effective returns on investment. Except if… except if you consider your event as an inexhaustible source of relationships with your target audience plus content that can easily be re-exploited. This post will explain how.

1. Create and unforgettable experience

Your event is first and foremost an experienced to be lived and if you keep the following points in mind you are sure to leave a lasting impression. Begin by choosing the appropriate location. Your speakers and participants will spend several hours there, so your location needs to provide at least a certain comfort. If possible, leave the beaten track. Why not get together in a cinema or an Art Deco theatre instead of the same old conference room? Or rent the congress room in an amusement park or a natural reserve to mix business with a hint of pleasure.

Naturally, the quality of your guests’ experience depends greatly on your speakers. The first impression will be determined by their charisma and presence rather than the richness of a presentation or the precision of their talks. As a result, choose speakers who feel at ease on stage. You might even give tips regarding posture and body language : 5 Tips for a Killer Presentation.

Furthermore, your event is more likely to leave a mark if you involve your audience as active participants rather than passive listeners. To do so, invite them to answer questions, vote on certain topics, share reactions to key words, live-tweet… Explore the countless possibilities of technology to give your audience the feeling of real immersion.

Finally, if you are already contemplating future editions of your event, don’t forget to ask your audience for feedback with a short paper or an online satisfaction survey.

2. Send memorable messages

A successful event presupposes that your audience at least remembers it. Follow these tips to achieve your goal!

Firstly, focus on making all participants think. The brain remembers by associating memories that can be very different in nature: Physical sensations (visual, acoustic or even olfactory), emotions, logical arguments… Build on a mix of these elements by planning visually appealing presentations, including jingles, inviting passionate speakers and providing clear and concise presentations…

Secondly, engage your audience. Remember Confucius, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” Start involving your guests early on while you plan the program of the event. Use interactive tools to facilitate your team’s contributions during conferences, for example, and choose visually engaging media… All of these techniques will help your guests remember your event.

Finally, flex your pedagogical skills. Since pedagogy is essentially the art of repetition, repeat your key messages at least three times in different forms during your talk. Don’t hesitate to reaffirm certain choc formulas several times throughout your event. Use schemas and other visual representations to leave a lasting impression.

3. Decompose your event into recyclable portions of content

Another way to capitalize off your event is to transform it into a content production plant. Here are some examples:

  • Take pictures and post them on your Instagram or Flickr accounts;
  • Make videos during your event and upload them to your YouTube channel;
  • Record the talks of different speakers (with their consent of course) and broadcast them as podcasts;
  • Synthesize different talks to post on your blog;
  • Create infographics to visually transcribe certain points your speakers made.

By proceeding in this manner, you transform an event that is limited in time into a stock of durable content that can be used to nurture leads and transform some of them into clients.

Find out how your leads will move further along the conversion funnel due to your event:

Pixture: schema, event, mine, dor

Due to social media, you can use your event to increase the notoriety of your company and make your value proposition known far beyond the walls of your conference room. Beforehand you can use it to attract a targeted audience. During the event, tweeting key quotations will help keep the conversation going. Show a little bit of backstage footage on Periscope or upload exclusive interviews in the form of bonuses. The possibilities are endless. Social media can act like a sound box for your event amplifying its impact all across the world wide web.

To get the most out of your event, don’t treat it like a one-hit wonder. Rather, look at it like the first element of a long-term communication plan. This approach will allow you to take a durable advantage of the relationships you create during your event with the possibility of future financial returns.

Beekast helps you make your event more memorable! Find out how!

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