Small business owners often consider running a special event as a way of introducing their business to prospective clients. They hope the event will generate PR and create BUZZ. Our new intern Allison Carter shares some thoughts on how to structure the event to attract the attention of both the media and the community.
By Allison Carter:
Holding an event is a great way to raise your profile in your community. It gets your name out there, and lets you meet face-to-face with potential customers and share your expertise. But even the best event in the world won’t help you if no one attends! So here are a few questions to ask yourself when planning your event:
- Who am I trying to attract? Am I trying to gain new customers from the community at large, strengthen my relationships with existing customers, to network with other businesses?
- Is my event interesting or important? Is it relevant to the people that I want to come to my event, and geared to their level of knowledge?
- Am I going to charge for the event? If so, is this something that people would actually pay for?
- What is the best way to communicate with my audience? Do they read the newspaper? Do they Tweet? Do I have an email database of potentially interested people? Meet your audience where they feel most comfortable.
If you answer these questions honestly, know your audience, and truly have something interesting and unique to share with the community, you’ll find people lined up out the door for your event. Roundpeg, an Indianapolis public relations firm, can help you with your networking needs. Call for some PR advice!