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Nikol Murphy knows what she’s talking about. She has combined her more than 20 years of experience in the event industry with her knowledge of social media to cofound Triangle Google Plus HIRL – one of the most active real-life hangouts anywhere. When you want to know how to stage a live event online, Nikol is the go-to expert you need.
Setting the stage with live events
Live events are “cool parties.” They are unrehearsed real time discussions – and the participants can attend from anywhere in person or through an internet connection.
With live events online, your guests don’t have to travel in order to sit in on the show. How cool is that? That is one of the primary benefits of live events online: No travel time needed. Your guests can participate in their pajamas and from their own home.
Have you ever been to an Avon or Tupperware party? It’s exciting (and profitable) to gather a festive crowd, demonstrate something of value to them, and provide them with an offer that makes it easy to order the product or service.
Food stores can use live events to teach cooking classes. Companies can use live events to train employees. Writers can turn live events into kick-off parties for the next best-seller. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
Watch “How to Plan the Perfect Live Event” on Youtube
Why Are Live Events Important?
Live events are one of the most powerful ways to market your business. Nikol lists a number of reasons why:
- People do business with people, and live events allow you to get directly in front of current and potential customers. Live events offer more exposure, more traffic and – consequently – a better chance of making that next important sale. Live events allow your personality and knowledge to shine.
- Live events make it easier to connect with decision-makers. You can often bypass the gatekeeper and get right in front of a client via a live event.
- Hangouts On Air (HOA’s) are almost immediately available to view on YouTube, the second most powerful search engine in the world. That gives you more exposure and instant Google recognition for organic searches.
- With live events, you control your message. You don’t need to worry about others getting the story wrong; you are in the driver’s seat.
- You don’t need permission or a ton of cash to get your message out there. With basic tools, you can get right in the game with little expense. Live events are not just for major brands, even a mom and pop stores can make great use them.
Reasons to take advantage of live events are plentiful. Like all new ideas, though, the thought of staging your own gathering can seem a daunting undertaking. By keeping it simple, you can stage a live event with minimum headache.
Here are several of Nikol’s top suggestions for getting started:
Nikol’s tips for live events
- To get more comments and questions, use an event landing page on your website and monitor the commenting system. Then, be sure to ask for comments.
- Always enlist the help of an event planner, audio-visual person, and a social presence manager. Don’t try to do it all yourself. That sets the platform for success. You don’t need to hire professionals, but you do need people on your side. The skills are not difficult to learn.
- Keep a close watch on comments, questions, and your major contributors. These are nuggets of gold, just waiting to be mined.
- Have a purpose for your live event and make sure everyone who attends leaves with that message. For instance, if your a phone service provider, you might want your attendees to leave knowing that your service is “No contract and unlimited data.” Always be sure to get your primary point across clearly.
- Know your target audience and speak with them. Don’t worry about the number of “Likes” you get. Focus on reaching the right people with the right message.
- Know who your most engaged customers are. Know where they are online, which other businesses they interact with online, and what they “resonate with.” When you get the right people on your side, your reach will skyrocket.
- Reach out to your primary champions before the live event. Make them feel special and give them reasons to help get the word out. People want to help you. Find out who they are, ask them to help, and let them work magic for you.
Do you want to sell more, become better known, and position yourself or your company as a leader in the products and services you provide? Live events can be a way to catapult you towards success.
The only people who are down on live events are those who have yet to try them. Don’t let fear hold you back from using this powerful tool.
Here at On Track Tips, we can think of no better resource person to help you get going than Nikol Murphy. She can be reached at www.talkingmoosemedia.com or Google+. Or, to get a quick question off to Nikol, just use the comment section below.
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Writer, Dreamer, Believer. Friend of Entrepreneurs, Don Sturgill is a freelance writer, conversion specialist, and the author of Roadmap to Freedom (Dream Into It), the field manual that helps entrepreneurs turn ideas into reality - fast. Don is from Bend, Oregon, blogging capital of the world. His home on the web is at donsturgill.com.
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