Hosting an event for your brand is a good opportunity to connect with the community and other industry professionals. Depending on the type of event, you might also want to consider inviting influencers. Brands that take the time to partner with the right influencers and value maintaining positive relationships end up building long-lasting connections.
The Introduction
Getting influencers to attend your event can be a challenge. They get invited to so many different events, and they have many demands on their time. You want them there because of the exposure and prestige that having an influencer will bring to your brand, but you also need them for their expertise and audience reach. So how do you make sure that your event stands out from the rest and gets influencers’ attention?
Pick the right influencers.
The first thing you need to do is pick the right influencers. Influencers are people with a large following from social media, subscribers and/or a local guide, and they can help you get your message out.
There are many types of influencers, including product reviewers, event planners, journalists and lifestyle experts who have their own blogs or YouTube channels. They all have their own unique way of communicating information online, but they all share one thing in common: they all want more followers!
If you manage to convince an influencer to attend your event by providing them with free food or other incentives (which we will cover later), then it’s likely that he or she will post about it on his or her social media account afterwards — hopefully resulting in more attendees for your next event, subscribers and/or customers!
Invite influencers for a private meet-and-greet.
Once you’ve got your event planned and set, it’s time to get Influencers on board.
The best way to ensure that they attend is by inviting them to a private meet-and-greet before the main event. This gives you a chance to get to know each other, understand their needs and interests, and determine which influencers will be perfect for your brand or organization.
Give them an experience they can’t find online.
One of the ways to get influencers to attend your event is by giving them an experience they can’t find online.
For example, if you’re organizing a tech conference and want to invite influencers from all over the world, you could offer them a VIP pass that provides access to everything: the talks, networking opportunities and even exclusive workshops.
You could also let them meet other attendees in advance through social media so they feel comfortable with each other when they get there. This will help make sure that everyone is having a good time at your event and encourage others to join in on the fun too!
Make their time at the event easy and enjoyable.
A big part of making your event enjoyable for influencers is making sure that everything about it is easy for them. You want to make their time at your event as comfortable as possible, so that they can focus on enjoying themselves and sharing the fun with their followers. Here are some tips:
- Make sure they have everything they need. This can seem obvious, but if you’re not providing what you promise them, it could be an issue. For example, if you say there will be food and drink at the event, make sure there’s actually food and drink available!
- Make sure they have a comfortable place to sit or stand (if appropriate). Influencers are often on their feet all day long during events like yours; make sure that you give them somewhere nice to sit down during breaks in between sessions or other activities. You might even want to offer up some cushions that were just lying around the office! If this isn’t possible or practical for whatever reason though (maybe because people will think it looks tacky), then don’t worry about it too much—just remember that this small consideration goes a long way towards creating an inviting atmosphere at any type of social gathering.
- Introduce them to your VIPs, keynote speakers, executive chefs, business partners that could potentially be included in their write-up, social media reels, videos and/or various content.
Be honest about what you’re willing to provide.
Before you start reaching out to influencers, be sure you’re honest about what you’re willing to provide.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to promise things that are outside your budget or that you don’t want to deliver. You can lose an influencer just as quickly by trying to rope them into something they aren’t comfortable doing than by saying no outright.
Make your brand look good.
- Make sure your brand’s message is clear.
- Make sure your brand is visible to everyone.
- Make sure your brand is accessible to everyone.
- Make sure your brand is consistent—it should look the same everywhere you are, not just at events or on social media accounts that you manage yourself!
- Make sure your brand is memorable; people should be able to remember it easily by sight and sound.
Don’t just rely on incentives.
Influencers are busy people, and they’re constantly juggling a hundred different projects at once. It’s hard to get them to attend your event if you don’t provide value for them. So instead of offering an incentive like free drinks or food, think about what the influencer needs from your event and make sure that you have a great event that will be worth their time.
For example, if you’re looking for someone who focuses on business, consider inviting a business expert guest speaker that can discuss how they’ve used social media to grow their own business and draw in new customers. Consider providing something valuable to the people who come—ideally something related directly back towards their goals and interests—and then offer it as an incentive for attending your event.
Another idea is to invite influencers to experience an underutilized service that you offer. Or offer to experience a particular service that you want to build up excitement that will have special pricing for a limited time with a promo code.
You wouldn’t ask someone to be your friend if you didn’t like them, right?
Influencers are not machines or robots. Many are down to earth and enjoy what they do. When deciding on what kind of entertainment should go into your events’ agendas, think about what would be fun for attendees rather than just focusing on what makes sense from a logistical standpoint.
Ask yourself: “What does this look like from an attendee perspective?” If I were going along with my friends/colleagues/family members/etc., “what would be great about attending this event?”
It’s not always easy to get influencers to attend your event, but it’s possible by making some tweaks to your strategy and planning your event carefully.
Influencers are busy people. They have a lot of work to do, and they’re always looking for new ways to grow their business or brand. With the right planning and strategy, it can be done! Here are some tips on how to make sure your influencer outreach campaign is successful:
- Make sure you know who your target audience is before reaching out. The best way to do this is by conducting research into who would be interested in attending an event like yours and what they want from it (i.e., a good time? education? networking?).
- Plan all aspects of your event carefully, including the date and location (and even the venue itself). You want everything about your event–from the small details all the way up through its central theme.
- Consider pricing options based on attendance numbers.
- Send out e-marketing campaigns to highlight the benefits and state what you would like this potential influencer to do: a write-up, review, social media reels, fb lives, tag, etc.
- Add a menu tab or a dedicated page for influencers to sign up to double-opt in to receive exclusive news and invitations.
- Along with specific hashtags curate a post on your website’s blog and/or social media accounts that you are looking for a brand ambassador, micro influencer, social media influencer, content creator, local guide, colab partnerships, etc.
Conclusion
When you provide influencers something unique, memorable and they have a good time at your event, there’s a good chance they’ll share it with their followers—and that will help keep you in front of their eyes for years to come! Finally, if the influencer curated content like a blog share the news with your followers, comment below their post and thank them.
