Marketing Meetings On A Dime


If you are like most organizations, you are being asked to do more with less. Just those words – do more with less – don’t seem to make sense. But, actually they do. When you look hard at where your money is spent, you will often find that money has been spent on items that just don’t make a difference.

With so much “free” marketing available, it is imperative that organizations are aware of their options. Below are a few ideas for marketing your meetings that can significantly increase your meeting attendance for pennies spent.

Email marketing – Do you use your email to successfully market your meetings or do you rely on traditional print mailers? Email marketing costs a fraction of what print mailers do. Sure you need to create web pages and PDF brochures, but you will save on printing and postage costs. Plus, attendees can register within minutes of receiving the email promotion. Some attendees may respond quicker to fancy HTML emails, while others may respond better to personalized text emails. There are a number of programs available that allow you to send mass emails within minutes. Take advantage of this technology and you will see your marketing dollars drop and your attendance rise.

Blogs – Create a buzz about your meeting and assist speakers with their presentation development. Your organization can create its own blog, or better yet, have your speakers blog. This way attendees and potential attendees can gain a sense of the information that they will receive at the meeting, and speakers can learn just what the attendees want to gain from their sessions. When you send marketing emails (see above) include excerpts from the blogs to generate interest. A little tease goes a long way.

Online group pages (google groups, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) – Why do people choose to attend meetings? Education is one, but they can get that many ways. Connecting with other people is a top reason that people choose to attend a meeting. Let your attendees connect ahead of time via online groups. Get people talking about your meeting way before they get there. Online groups will allow attendees and potential attendees to voice what they hope to accomplish, who they want to see and catch up with, and what they want to do in their free time. Organizers can use the group to post video clips of speakers, photos of the destination, and other pertinent information. Word of mouth is the best marketing media available. When potential attendees visit the group and see just what they will miss by not attending, you will definitely get an increase in attendance.

Listserves – Just like online group pages, listserves can create a sense of community about your meeting. While listserves won’t allow you to post pictures or videos, they will create a way for attendees to connect before the meeting. Make sure that speakers and organizers participate in the listserve to get conversations going!

As you can see, there are a number of options available to get the word out about your meeting for little money. Sure, they take time, but you will definitely see the results. In the current economy, not only do meeting organizers need to watch the bottom dollar, but we also need to create more value for participants to encourage them to spend their money to attend the meeting. Get creative…the above are only a few of the ideas you can use!