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Events are great ways to get your customers together and get them pumped up about you, your stuff, or your mission. They give your advocates an exciting reason to spread the word, and they create bonds between otherwise isolated talkers. Some event tips for sparking word of mouth:
1. Find existing talkers to bring together
2. Make the invitees feel special
3. Help them make the conversation bigger
1. Find existing talkers to bring together
Passionate fans are already looking for ways to get together. You can find them on message boards and organizing their own offline events. They’re bloggers, Meetup organizers, and the admins of your Facebook fan groups. These fans will be your most engaged and credible talkers — and they’ll be the most enthusiastic about an invitation. These are also the best people to promote your events. Start by giving these talkers tools to create buzz: Flyers to hand out, forwardable emails, posters to hang, passes to give away, and exclusive content to promote it.
2. Make the invitees feel special
One of the best topics for word of mouth conversations is status. Use your event to generate buzz by making your fans feel important. Some easy ways to do it: Send secret invitations, grant VIP status, or give away backstage passes. Give them a reason to say, “I’m on the list.” It makes them feel like insiders and it starts conversations about you and your great event.
3. Help them make the conversation bigger
Make buzz bigger and more visible by supporting conversations before, during, and after your event. At SAP’s giant SAPPHIRE NOW events, they start excitement early with interviews with attendees and speakers before the event that everyone can share. They also broadcast live sessions online. At your events, try creating an official hashtag for online conversations, giving attendees something to commemorate the event with, and sending them thank you notes for attending. These tools can help take the conversation to a bigger audience and get more than just your attendees talking.
