Events can be a great way to generate free publicity for your business.
They offer a number of PR opportunities from event listings in ‘What’s On’ sections of publications beforehand, to various types of post event coverage from news to social pages. On top of the publicity, you get to engage directly with your target audience – another great bonus.
You can run events for: product launches, awards, information sessions, exhibits, announcements, community programs, festivals, sporting competitions, and tourism. The list goes on. Events follow a range of formats, and quite often, media like them.
If you’re planning an event for your business, you’ll need to think about:
- The purpose of your event and what you are trying to achieve.
- Who your target audience is. Think about all of your stakeholders; who is this event for? Which media do you want to target?
- Who your spokesperson or speakers will be – this is important. Do you have a ‘drawcard’ speaker that will attract people and media attention? The more high profile the speaker, the better
- What will happen at the event? Will you stick to speeches or will there be some colour and movement such as performances that will make for great pictorial opportunities?
- What are your key messages? – what is the information that you would like people to know when they leave your event
- Where to have your event and when and make sure you take media into consideration if you want journalists to attend – for some it may be normal to attend out of hours events, while others will prefer either morning tea or lunchtime events so they have plenty of time in the day to file a story afterward
- What happens after the event? Follow-up is a key step in media relations. After your event is over, make sure you proactively send photos and press releases to your target media. And remember, media remember the little things. Always thank them for attending your events.
Timing is everything when working with the media. So make sure you plan your event at least three to six months out – especially if you want to aim for TV program or magazine coverage. Send event notifications early and then contact media again closer to the date.
Need help writing an event notification? PR Guru can help!
