If you’re not ready to start a Joint Venture, you can ease your way into an industry and group by going to your competitor’s events as a means to learn from the community and to promote yourself.
Let’s look at ways you can use your competition’s events to promote yourself ethically.
Choose the Right Events
One key to using other people’s events to help you build your business is to choose the right type of events. You want to figure out who the main event is meant for. Is it industry-centric or customer-centric? You want the most attendees at the event to be part of your ideal customer base. It’s fine and dandy to go to events meant for colleagues to commiserate and award themselves, but you need to go to customer-centric events if you want more customers.
Volunteer to Help at The Event
Many in-person and online events also run with a volunteer base doing a lot of the work. If your industry hosts events, ask to be a volunteer at the sign-in station. This is a great way to meet everyone who comes through the doors and get recognized as a leader.
Buy an Event Sponsorship
Many events also sell sponsorships as they’re setting up the event. Getting on lists with event organizers to be contacted early on in the process is the best way to ensure you can buy a sponsorship. Your name will be displayed and mentioned in all the marketing materials. It’s a great way to get known in any industry.
Donate Prizes to The Event
Most event organizers will be happy to accept donations to the event in the form of prizes they can give away to attendees. It’s a great way to get noticed. If you have books, memberships, product samples, it will all work great. Physical and digital products work equally well when it comes to setting up a prize for an event.
Get Special T-Shirts Made for The Event
Stand out in a crowd by dressing in a way that showcases your business or makes you memorable. People sometimes dye their hair in different colors, wear fun t-shirts (which they also hand out). Anything you can do to stand out and be remembered is helpful. In today’s environment, being photographable is the best way to ensure that you’re remembered.
Hand Out Business Cards with Purpose
Business cards are still critical tools for use at in-person events, but if you don’t create one that stands out, most people will not pay much attention to your card. Try adding a QR code to a free gift for the holder of the card in addition to your contact information.
Participate in Social Networking
When you go to any event, don’t just attend the speeches and classes. Also, spend time networking with and socializing with the attendees. If you are trying to find more of your ideal customer at the event, spend the most time with that portion of the audience instead of with the industry leaders unless they are your target audience.
Get on The Speaker’s List
The moment you know the topic and the issues being discussed at this event, send your one sheet to the organizers offering your services as an event speaker. If you have samples of your presentations and talks, send a link to those too. If you’re willing to speak for free, let them know what you expect in return instead of a fee.
Set Up a Side Event Before or After the Event
Another way to capture any event's mood is to plan some before and after activities; whether they’re touring your town, visiting great food spots, or something to do with your actual business, it will get you known. Offer a discount to anyone with a ticket to the event.
Self-Publish a Book to Hand Out as Gifts
A really great thing to bring with you to any event is your book. If you have a physical book or magazine to hand out with your name on it, you will be seen as an expert immediately. Sign the books, including a QR code sticker inside the book that entitles the person to get something else free so you can get them on your list later.
Bring Free Samples to Hand Out as You Meet People
When selling products, whether digital or otherwise, it’s okay to bring some samples with you to randomly give out to those you interact with and meet at the event. Ensure that your handouts are branded so that they can find you when they go through the information they’ve been given after the event.
Seek to Help the Attendees
You don’t want to critique the event promoters negatively when you’re using their event to get known by your audience. Speak positively of event hosts and seek to help the attendees interact with the hosts and point out the offers the event producers are putting out there. Be a bridge to introductions, information, and positive thoughts, and before you know it, you’ll be sought out as an industry insider too.
To promote yourself at other people’s events, you want to ensure that you use your competition’s events in an ethical way that makes sense and doesn’t earn you a bad reputation in the industry. Don’t talk down about the organizers, don’t be overly sales-focused as you network. Focus on being helpful and building a list of contacts. You can sell it to them later.
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