25 Ways Speakers can Help Promote Your Event

Your speaker is responsible for more than just being fabulous at your event. 

As busy meeting professionals, you can—and should—expect more from your speakers.

There are many zero-budget ways speakers can add value to your next event, especially for groups that want to get the word out about a conference and raise their profile. Take a look at this list—and then ask your speakers how they would like to help you promote your event.

Before the event, ask your speakers to:

1. Add the event details and a link to your event’s agenda on their website if they have a public calendar.
2. Update their e-mail signature to include a link to your event registration page.
3. Promote your event on their social media channels, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and others.
4. Request that they include your event hashtag in tweets before the event.
5. In addition to posting the event on their LinkedIn account, ask them to invite key connections to the event—especially if your event is online and doesn’t require travel.
6. Include the name of your event in voicemail messages.
7. Include information about your event in their blog posts, including a profile of the event with links to registration.
8. Post regular status updates on Facebook, including a link for more information.
9. Mention your event in radio interviews.
10. Share details about your event at book signings.
11. Include event information in e-zines and newsletters.
12. Add information to Tripit to advise other clients of the event as the reason for their travel.
13. Personally invite other clients to attend your event so they also can watch your speaker present.
14. Create a personalized e-mail blast for clients who would benefit from networking opportunities at your event.
15. Create a short video of the benefits of attending the event and post it to YouTube, your website, and other social media profiles.
16. Request that their publicists or social-media teams create press releases and social media posts to share with contacts.
17. Provide a press kit to share with any media connections covering your event.

During the event, ask them to:

18. Leverage tools, including Hootsuite and Later to pre-schedule tweets and posts your attendees can share.
19. Post photos they take with your guests at the event, along with your event hashtag, on their social-media profiles.
20. Be available to speak with and record videos for the press during the event.
21. Collect video testimonials from attendees, which they can then post to YouTube and provide to other planners for future events.

After the event, ask them to:

22. Share testimonials from you with other clients to promote the event for future years.
23. Blog about the success of your event, and publish the post to their site and social media platforms.
24. Create a video that summarizes the event, along with a few points from their keynote, that you can share in follow-up marketing activities.
25. Share articles/blogs mentioning your event with you so you can publish them on your websites and include them in your follow-up marketing efforts.

The next time you book your speaker, include this question: “How can you help us promote this event?” Use your imagination! These low-cost solutions can help you attract more attendees and help them extend their own branding.

This was initially published in the IdeaXchange MeetingsNet Magazine on May 27th, 2016.