Niche events are a hot revenue stream and everyone’s doing it. But how do you ensure you stand out from the other events in your market?
Does your niche event have a WOW Factor? Does it have that special something that makes a lasting impression on your attendees?
Event marketing is all about building a valuable community.
We interviewed Phil Mershon (Social Media Examiner) about strategies to attract the right audience and keep them coming.
Phil: “You can’t assume that you can just start promoting your event on social media and people will come. Instead, you have to nurture a community that loves your content. That means you need to know where your ideal customers hang out (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, SnapChat or wherever). Get your audience to know, like and trust you on those platforms. When you do that, they will want to meet you in person and even gladly share your event with their friends (for FREE!). Only then can you start to tell them about your event.
Speakers love to tell the world where they are speaking. Create graphics for them, but don’t expect or require this. Some of them are doing you a favor and can’t possibly promote every place they speak. If you provide affiliate opportunities for speakers they are even more likely to share.”
Biggest piece of advice:
Phil: “Everything you do should be done with a laser focus on your goals. For us, this means we put ourselves in the customer’s shoes and think through what they want out of the event. Try to create an event that exceeds those needs and desires. The key guideline is pay attention to details. The difference between good and great events is the ability to execute on details.”
What new trend can bring a WOW factor to an event?
Phil: “The biggest trend in social media to watch is live streaming. It’s a great way to do market research by asking questions and talking to our fans. It’s also a way to create content quickly and easily.
This means a movement away from monologues and dialogues, when there are few voices, to polylogue, where many people can participate in a conversation that has multiple streams. As event organizers we need to learn how to make this easy, accepted and encouraged. This is uncharted territory for most of us, but creates for exciting times.”
To learn more, join us at the Super Niche event in Nashville, March 19-20, 2019. Our new EventFest track covers hot trends and revenue-driving tactics for growth. (Who doesn’t want that?!)
Editor’s note: This article has been updated since originally published in 2015.
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More about Phil: Phil Mershon is the director of events for Social Media Examiner, the world’s top social media magazine. He oversees two signature events: Social Media Marketing World and Social Media Success Summit. Prior to Social Media Examiner, Phil was a training consultant with Koch Industries, a systems analyst for Boeing Military Airplanes and has over 18 years working for churches and non-profits in leadership roles. Phil has planned over 1,000 events and is also a jazz saxophonist and songwriter.
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Niche Media has the best events, education, and training in media! Our super niched-out events & content give target-audience publishers in the B2C, hobbyist, B2B, city & regional, and association markets the tools they need to build revenue, audience, and more.
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