Events both big and small both make a handful of common mistakes. These can be things as key as forgetting to say where the event is held. Of course, mistakes like these aren’t indicative of a bad event. There are many events that make all of these common mistakes – yet the event itself runs perfectly. But your online presence is vital – it’s the portal through which people find your event and buy tickets. This list presents several common mistakes and should help you better communicate your event to people.
1. Remember the basics: What, Where and When
At the very least you need to tell people what your event is about, where it’s happening and when. Make these details very easy to find – having them buried in separate locations on your website isn’t good enough. Have them up front and in multiple locations. Better still; put them on your banner art so they’re always on the top of your page.
2. Don’t make people Google your location
There’s no reason people should have to Google where the Buttercup Hotel is. Remember to include both the name of the venue and the address. Also, if the Buttercup Hotel is a chain hotel with multiple locations nation-wide, it’s even more important to state exactly where your event is. Remember that people outside your home town may find your event. Make sure the city and country is specified somewhere.
3. Have a website
Facebook makes planning events easy and cheap – but having a website for your event is still useful for plenty of reasons. It provides a static address that people can return to year after year, it looks professional and it makes it easier for people to Google your event. Even if it’s just a splash page linking to your Facebook and/or ticketing page it’s better than nothing.
4. Keep all your online locations up to date
Make sure all your online locations (website, Facebook, Twitter etc) stay up to date. It’s all too easy to update your Facebook page and call it job done. But if you haven’t updated your website since 2010 then you’ll have people who think your event died long, long ago. Plus if you’re still paying for website hosting you might as well keep it up to date.
5. Organise your Facebook
Whether or not Facebook is your only source of information about your event it needs to be kept tidy. Don’t just post your ticket and venue information on your wall and let it get buried under months of posts. Sticky important posts, put key details on your banner art and make use of the venue, date and website fields when creating an event.
6. Convey what your event is about
Sure the people who have been coming for years know what ‘FireCon’ is all about – but don’t assume newcomers know everything about your convention or your community. If it’s a games convention, tell us what kind of games. Make sure both the words and images you choose for your site depict the experiences your event is offering.
7. University of XYZ isn’t an address
Most big universities have multiple addresses, so saying your convention is at Smith University only narrows it down to a half dozen multiple locations. Even if you specify which campus it is – don’t forget to also mention what building you’re in. Most university campuses take up several city blocks and just because you as the organiser knows your university campus inside out doesn’t mean your attendees do.
8. Make use of automated emails
When people register for your event it’s a good opportunity to put all the key information in the automatic email that gets sent out. If there’s anything special people should know then include it here. Plus you can also set up reminder emails to go out to registered members a week or so prior to your event starting.
9. Make the year visible
Putting the current year somewhere tells people they haven’t stumbled onto a page for a long-past event. The ghosts of conventions past are everywhere – make sure you look like one of the living.
10. And lastly, if your proposed event is delayed, post the occasional update
Sometimes great ideas take longer than anticipated – or sometimes things just don’t work out. If you placeholder website for your event-to-be still says coming two months ago, you should think about posting an update. Even if your event doesn’t come together, you can at least give your idea a proper send off.