Insights:Marketing Insights: When is your annual conference?

When is the next annual conference?

That’s what all your members and potential members should want to know. 

To be successful, your annual conference should be considered the must-attend event of the year. To make that happen requires a few key steps. 

1) Build excitement: Make sure you’re reaching out to your audience well in advance, including during the previous year’s conference, with enticing tidbits of what they can expect to gain at your next conference. Utilize all your member communication vehicles such as your magazine, email, website, social media and direct mail channels throughout the year to drive attendance.

2) Brand it: Creating a fresh look and feel for each year’s conference reassures potential attendees that it won’t just be the same old thing as last year. Highlighting location, keynote speakers and major issues to be covered create a compelling reason to attend.

3) Show the value: Attending a conference requires a significant investment of both time and money. Promoting the networking, education and potential new business opportunities provides your audience justification for the expense.

It also doesn’t hurt to have a great location that lends itself to fun, but never lose sight that attending an annual conference is, first and foremost, a business decision.

Next week’s topic – Does your website need video?