We all want more friends. Some find making friends a piece of cake; for others, it is their worst nightmare. For event planners, ensuring networking happens at events is a must to increase attendance. Making this happen is a daunting task … or is it? We explain how the event planner’s job can be made easier
Networking, networking and more damn networking
We hear the word all the time, and how crucial networking is in conducting yourself in the modern workplace. More importantly the age-old phrase “it’s not what you know but who you know” still rings true. But actually being in the position of “knowing someone” is becoming increasingly more difficult. Lead generation suffers from increased competition just like any other industry. So how can you get ahead? Glisser has 5 top tips as to how you can turn any events you host into lead generating machines.
- It’s all about connection
Hosts need to connect to their attendees in order to generate leads from events. This has to be the number one priority of hosts otherwise your great event might generate leads for your attendees, but not for you. Reaching out to potential leads BEFORE the event gives you a better chance at converting conversations into leads DURING the event. Especially as you will be busy actually hosting so you need to give yourself the best chance possible. By giving your attendees the opportunity to start connecting with you, and one another, beforehand you can give your attendees a better idea of what to expect at the event and address any potential concerns. This way, you get your attendees invested in your event, and invested in you as a host. It’s a free promotional tool for your event, and an easy lead generation technique. By personally addressing the target attendee, you have initiated stage one of developing a personal relationship with your potential lead.
Top Tip: Establish your personalised Glisser URL, and circulate it with your attendees to make them aware of your content before the event.
- Know the room before you work the room
No matter how much you have invested in your marketing, it would be silly to expect that everyone you have reached out to will have definitely shown up to your event. If you want to target specific attendees, then you need to know who is in the room. Most events do have a sign in sheet, or some other form of register. This is great post-event, but not so helpful during the event. You need the list in real time so you know not to waste precious minutes hunting around. As a host this makes your life easier, but encouraging your delegates to interact with each other virtually again provides an incentive to attend, maximising your chances of generating leads.
Top Tip: Using delegate-to-delegate message systems on event apps will encourage preliminary conversations, whilst also taking away the fear factor. Encouraging research on fellow attendees before the event is a no brainer
- The best things in life are free
Everyone loves a freebie. Promotion wise, companies that offer free products create a great additional incentive that increases attendance. Yet, unless you have a very wealthy sponsor, providing free goodies can be a costly experience. So, how to get around this problem? Make the freebie a virtual product; this way there is no production costs that will undermine the value of the freebie. On top of that, we all have enough pens so why not offer something different?
Top Tip: Using Glisser’s software allows your attendees to be able to download your content or resources completely free of charge. Bargain!
- Come on strong
You may be hosting the event, or have been responsible for bringing everyone in the room together, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into everyone knowing who you are. You and who you represent need to have a strong brand image and a strong presence at your event. Standing out is crucial so you need a 21st century name badge.
Top Tip: Using Glisser’s white labelling service means that you can get all the benefits of using Glisser software, but custom to your branding. Make sure your branding is consistent across the whole event: decorations, notepads, pens … you know the drill.
- Improve Interaction
Virtual interaction is just as important as face-to-face contact. Printed out handouts are not only a waste of resources, but are also boring and are a long shot at generating leads. Having interactive content means that your event will offer something different, and is a sure way to get your attendees actively engaging with your event. Such engagement will leave a much better impression on potential leads than a leaflet that anyone could have produced.
Top Tip: Incorporating Glisser poll slides in your presentation means that attendee responses can be analysed, giving you more information enabling better targeting, and overall leading to an increased conversion rate. You can always encourage your attendees to interact on social media; it’s not just celebs that can take selfies!