MarCom Central: Tips for Launching a Successful Networking Event

There's more to social networking than just chatting online. Sometimes, you'll want to actively promote your great work live—all while courting new clients and making useful new contacts!
Andy Lopata provides tips for launching a successful social business event without breaking the bank or encountering unpleasant surprises along the way. Get all the details in his article at The Huffington Post UK.
Here are a few highlights:
Expectations. Be clear about your relevance to attendees and what you hope to achieve. Make these goals the foundation for choosing who you invite.
Timing. Pick a convenient date for attendees. Ensure it fits with the organizers, venue and speakers. Time of day is crucial as well. Many events these days are held between 4:00 and 7:00 pm so people can leave work a bit early and not lose too much family time.
Venue. People judge venue quality. If speakers are giving presentations, don't hold a bar meetup. Consider disabled access and whether bathrooms are kept clean. And sample the catering before you commit.
Cost. Can sponsors provide food or other amenities? Are you charging for attendance? Choose a price that doesn't exceed the true value of your offering. Round numbers help for those paying in cash on the day of the event. Make receipts available; attendees need these for accounting purposes. Consider services like Paypal for advanced payment.
Promotions. Send targeted invitations via niche networks where the people you seek congregate: LinkedIn groups, or niche-group sites like MallowStreet, which gathers people in the pensions industry. A relevant, peppy video can help spread the word for you.

Once attendees are registered, don't drop the ball! Remind them of what they can learn and who they may meet. Sites like Eventbrite help you share guest lists in advance.

The Po!nt: Social networking means grabbing face-time, too. Be as rigorous about planning an event as you would a social strategy.
Looking for great social media marketing data? MarketingProfs reviewed hundreds of research sources to create our most recent Social Media Marketing Factbook (May 2010). With 140 pages and 102 charts, it is full of relevant social media marketing stats and trends. The Social Media Marketing Factbook is Part 5 of the complete Digital Marketing Factbook (our 296-page full report).