How and Why to Plan an Event

(Photo by Richelle Krig -- Please do not use without proper attribution)

Event planning can be a big mystery to many people. Kathy Sluzewski, management supervisor from Northlich, gives three reasons to have an event: to interest the media, to inspire sales and to increase traffic. In order to successfully achieve the above-mentioned, there are a few things you will probably be interested in learning.

Here are several things to keep in mind while planning your event:

1. Make sure everyone involved in the event is aware of why the event is being held.

2. Check and double-check all reservations, appointments and decoration-related details.

3. Remember that keeping the customer happy is a crucial part of the planning process.

4. Keep your target audience in sight.

For some additional tips, click here.

Tom Hagley, professor of public relations at the University of Oregon, gave this tip in his public realtions planning class: "If you are unsure of where to begin planning, imagine you are a guest at the event; then ask yourself what you would want, as a guest, to make the event spectacular. Walk yourself step by step through the event, beginning with the invitation." Make a list as you go through your imaginative process: Check your budget later. At this point, you are solely after a vision for the event.

Once the vision is set, come up with a plan for the planning process complete with your target audience, time line and budget. From the plan, you should be able to create a list of the phone calls you will need to make and deadlines you will need to meet -- remember to continually check on all reservations, appointments and decoration-related details. Lastly, make certain there will be a person on-site the day of the event whose sole purpose is to orchestrate the event.

These tips should give you a running start on your endeavors; happy planning!

Social Media Releases (SMRs)

Science Factory's Official Logo

from www.pitchengine.com

“It’s important to understand that the Social Media News Release is not intended as a replacement for the traditional news release... With 50+ percent of consumers now creating and sharing content online (Pew Research), it just makes sense to democratize access to corporate news and multimedia assets to anyone (reporters, bloggers, laypeople) who might be interested, and, to create a forum for community and context that – to date – has been unavailable via old-world press releases.” -Todd Defren

Even as SMRs are not intended to replace traditional news releases, they should still be written in hard news style with usable information. According to Dr. Tiffany Derville Gallicano, assistant professor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, an SMR, like a news release, should be written in inverted pyramid style with a hard news lead. Both reporters and bloggers are busy. They are not interested in spinning your story the way you pitch it to them. Instead, they need atomized content, with information that they can use quickly, to write a story on their own terms. The best way to make a reporter happy with your release, and therefore more likely to pick it up, is to write directly: eliminate the fluff.

SMRs are different than traditional news releases because they allow content to be atomized and broken down. They also allow reporters and bloggers to converse online about content within the release. Furthermore, this format allows official logos and photos to be downloaded for the reporter's use. Another bonus to the SMR is that it can be tagged on your delicious page with links to other relevant online material. Shift Communications came out with the first SMR template; the diagram shows how content is easily rehashed by the user to create unique, relevant news stories.

Several SMR sites have popped up as of late. Just this evening I gave pitchengine a try. Visit my SMR for Eugene's Science Factory here. It is somewhat like a traditional release: The main part of the text is written nearly the same as a traditional release would be. However, it does offer atomized content with its news facts list to the right as well as extensive sharing capabilities online. Given that more than 50 percent of consumers are online, as Todd Defren points out, I would have to agree that it makes sense to offer an online version of the traditional news release.

Bloggers have indeed become an outlet for pitching your stories to. What better way than on their own platform?