Can't remind everyone often enough of how effective a little extra PR effort can be, especially for small and mid-size natonal or regional conferences and shows and those with tight marketing budgets.
I'm continue to be surprised when I receive items in my newsfeeds like this short blurb about a teacher speaking at a regional conference.
You might read and think, "So what." It almost seems gratuitous. But you'd be wrong.
I'm not surprised that I'm receiving links to minor stories about speakers and exhibitors. I'm surprised I'm not receiving MORE of them.
If you look at this blurb, it's only three short paragraphs. And it's published in the newspaper for Apple Valley, MN. Ever hear of it? Didn't think so.
For smaller organizers, success is in the details. Even minor incremental increases in attendance can make a big difference. Would another 10 or 15 full-paid conference attendees have made a difference to you last year? For many smaller organizers, that's a resounding "YES".
It probably took all of five minutes to put this teacher's blurb together. If you have 50 speakers, that's 250 minutes. A little more than half a work day. But it's a half day well spent.
Here's what you'll likely get for your efforts:
- 50 or more newspapers carrying your blurb. Major metropolitans may not carry your blurb, but smaller dailies will. So will many regional business magazines. Chamber of commerce newsletters. Local chapters of associations. Etc. etc. Potentially millions of exposures of your show name, dates, venue. With the impression that your show is worth mentioning in the newspaper, so it must be somewhat important.
- 50 or more mentions of your show name online. Some with inbound links to your show. Which translates to higher rankings on most search engines.
- For people that search specifically for your show name, they get a lot more hits when all these speaker blurbs show up. Which improves the perception that your event is important.
- More attendance. For an event with 50 speakers maybe that's only 10 or 15 more people. But what do you pay on average for an attendee? Your half day of work is likely worth a minimum of $250 and perhaps as much as $2,000 or more in marketing dollars depending on the average cost of acquiring an attendee.
This will also go a long way with your speakers. You'll get a reputation as a conference that really cares about speaker handling.
Not a bad way to spend half a day.
(Note: Above figures based on assumptions for a national expo and conference of 25,000-50,000 sf and 2,500-5,000 attendees. Your mileage may vary.)
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