How to market your event and create buzz with Google +

If you have been following our series of how to market and create the buzz on social media, here is our new video!

This time we are telling you how to promote your event through Google +: a social media which plays a major role in Search Engine Optimization by making it easier for marketers to show up in search results. Despite its late start, Google + is one of the largest social network and is definitely to include into your marketing strategy.

Here are some highlights of the video:

• Join communities: They are the best way to promote your event. This is a place to meet and engage with people on topics you’re interested in. You can join communities related to any business or topic you want and they often have different categories so it allows you to target the right audience. If you cannot find a community related to your content, you can create you own.

• Include keywords and hashtags: Keywords are essential on Google + whether it is in your company description, personal profile or your posts. Make sure that they are SEO friendly and to include hashtags in all your posts. They will increase your visibility on google search so they are very important for your event promotion.

• Create your event: Like on Facebook, you can create your own event and invite all the persons in your circles. You can give all the details related to your event such as the date, the location, etc. People that you invited can let you know if they will be attending or not. This is also a great way to communicate any extra details, or answering questions of the attendees.

• Engage: There is no secret to buzz on social media, you have to engage with people and not simply post your content. This means that you have to join communities, comment and like others posts, but also share content from others that you find interesting. Google + is the best place where you can interact with people that could be interested in your events.

Watch our video below for more complete information and tips

 
Thank you for watching, and don’t forget to like this video, share it and subscribe to CityEvents to gain valuable knowledge about planning your future events.

Frocktail Five

The popular Frocktail Party returned this year. Last Thursday CityEvents enjoyed the fabulous frock designs and dancing at the Arcadian Loft. We were proud to help celebrate the 5th year of compassion and fashion in support of juvenile diabetes.

We have attended every year and some years have been lucky enough to bid and win a new frock.  As someone that attends a number of events it has been a great place to pick up some great finds.  This year after a fierce bidding war and down to the last 5 seconds we won an Oscar de La Renta dress donated by Valerie Pringle…all for a few hundred dollars.

I expect this quality dress will get a lot of wear and excited for the next big function. My guy friend won a great Strellson suit for only a few hundred dollars, less than half of what it is in the store. It was great to see more at the event for the men besides being with all of the beautiful ladies.

The dresses on auction are a variety of fashionable donated frocks by a variety of local retailers and celebrities. Some of the sponsors included Hudson’s Bay, O&B, French Connection, Marciano, got2b, Peroni, Iceberg Vodka, and Hendricks Gin.  We loved the mini boutiques by celebrity donators like Suzanna Rogers and stores like Marciano.  There were more than a few finds we would have loved.

It was great to join friends who also supported the event like glam jewellry designer Shay Lowe who donated some of her bright blue earrings again this year and other keen bidders.  We look forward to next year.  To check out some of the photos check out the Frocktail website and look out for details next fall on the 6th Annual.

http://www.thefrocktailparty.com

Photo credit to Kevin Gonsalves for taking these wonderful pictures.

Earrings Photo taken by Deb Lewis.

Check us in Toronto Life Fashion: http://www.fashionmagazine.com/society/2013/12/04/frocktail-party-2013/slide/frocktail-party-2013-003/

Canadian Helen Keller Centre 2013 Award Luncheon

This year the Canadian Helen Keller Centre Award Luncheon took place April 25^th, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. For this 9^th annual award ceremony, CHKC, in conjunction with the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons (CFPDP), honoured the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) for its outstanding achievements and contributions to the disability of deaf-blindness, and raising much needed funds to operate the centre.

Mr Larry Corke (Awards Chair, CHKC) and Cindy Accardi (Executive Director, Rotary Cheschire Homes and CHKC) presented the 2013 Canadian Helen Keller Award to John Rafferty CEO & President of CNIB and this included a special plaque made in Braille…do you know how hard it was to find a supplier who does awards in Braille?

The award was a great opportunity to network and mingle as 250 guests came to honour the award recipients and to listen to the wise words of Premiere of Ontario Kathleen Wynne and the audience enjoyed her update on the provinces involvement in this community.

The luncheon was paced by awarding London Olympic Paralympics athletes Patrick Anderson (wheelchair Basketball), David Durepos (Wheelchair Basketball), Jared Funk (Wheelchair Rugby), Virginia McLachla (Athletics), Nathan Stein (Swimming) and Michelle Stilwell (Wheelchair Race) with the King Clancy Award.

For this occasion the national anthem was wonderfully sung by Major Beverly Ivany.

Master of Ceremony Rob Snoek was our host for the day as a former Paralympics world champion and president of the CFPDP.

Picture of the 2013 CHKC Award Luncheon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityeventstoronto/sets/72157633432561322/

Picture of last years’ CHKC Award: HERE

Create Buzz for Events in Toronto

Planning events in Toronto isn’t easy, type the words: Event Toronto into google and you are instantly bombarded with thousands of promotions and invitations. With the advent of Facebook just about anyone can arrange an invitation to an event. But how does one make their event stand out? How do you influence a crowd to attend and keep them coming back for more? You create buzz!

Last night young professionals from across the GTA gathered to learn valuable tips, simple tricks and advanced tactics for marketing their events in Toronto. Attendees heard from Deb Lewis, CEO of CityEvents and Rob Campbell, Prime Innovator of Smojoe about best practices used by professionals and a myriad of free social media resources to create buzz and build social capital at the same time.

The seminar covered a step-by-step process that guided participants on how they should market their events or fundraisers. Atendees learned how to ‘put it out there’ and develop a communications strategy and agenda to target and achieve event objectives. The experience came complete with a handy booklet titled “ How to Market an Event in Toronto” on which to notate revelations.

There are numerous ways to promote, market and get the word out for events. Here is a glimpse of what they learned:

To begin create a promotional tool kit with event descriptions, photos, event images, links, and other relevant information or visuals. You need to create excitement around your event, the more often people see and hear about it the more interested they become. This also increases the credibility of your event. Get your target market excited about your event so they rush to sign up or buy tickets.The basis of promoting and marketing events is mainly determined by the details you decide to share and disclose with the target market.

Things to think about:

Who is your potential audience?

What is the value of your event for the attendee?

How can you communicate this to your potential audience?

Details of your Event ?Event Information:

Who? What? When? Where?

Tips to Developing Content:

When creating compelling content, images, photos and event descriptions, think about the value of your event or the “hooks” that will compel people to attend. Attendees want to know their value for attending your event. This is more relevant when people are investing in a ticket. It is important to promote what will be included in the ticket price. Create a compelling Unique Selling Proposition. Ensure you inject excitement into your event descriptions, make it sound intriguing and exciting to your target market. Focus on your targets needs, wants and desires. ??When you are developing your event description or “event story” consider these hooks to entice your target market. Create a series of hooks you can utilize in multiple promotional channels. ??Why do people care about your event? ?What are their motivations? ?What’s a unique offer? ?Are their key celebrities attending?

These are some the basic strategies needed to be successful in the event marketing field.

Want to Know More ?

If you are looking for more information in this area you can purchase a more detailed booklet “How to Create Buzz around your event”

With some basic knowledge, innovation, creative thinking, and the right partnership, anybody and everybody can and will master the ins and outs to event marketing. The How to Market and Create Buzz for Events manual available online is a perfect guide and a definite help to anybody who is starting out in the event marketing field. Also to those who need a little guidance while promoting and implementing various marketing strategies for events. Determining an area for promoting your events and websites IS creating your own community feeling! For assistance in this area contact us at info@torontocityevents.ca