5. TITLE | 5
BEFORE YOUR EVENT
FIRST Finalize Event Details & Budget
Public Image Plan
âȘ Target Audience
âȘ Create your #EventHashtag
âȘ Social Media Goals
âȘ Select Media Outlets
Letâs talk about how you can effectively use Public Image to make your event, project or membership drive successful.
Clubs sometimes have an idea but need guidance from you to help put it into actionâŠthe goals is to come away from today with a sort of toolkit to use for project/event planning in your district and at the club levelâŠnot so much the logistics but from the public image standpoint
Think of a project or evet your club has hosted, as we go through this, try to envision how you could apply what we discuss
This could be an event your district is hosting, like a district conference or multi-club project, or a club event or project (i.e. fundraiser, gala, membership drive, etc.)
Finalize things you canât go back and change: event name, date/time, location
Do you have an advertising budget?
-YES â use the money towards boosting FB posts, etc. (see FB business page for budgeting assistance)âŠtraditional media is VERY expensive
-NO â utilize other tools weâll discuss, social media plays a huge part in spreading the word
Either way âNegotiate PR with media (print, radio) vs spend
PI Plan:
Determine target audience
Create a hashtag
Select your media outlets/goals
Assign who will contact/manage accounts (if multiple people)
How to leverage social media to make the event/project a success
Create your Hashtag to identify your event or project (samples for WFW)
Easy to remember
Start using immediately in all forms of media â print ads, website, posts, etc.
# allow your social media team to monitor the eventâs conversationâŠcan use it as a digital catalogue for future annual events as well
Check out tweetbeam as a way to display your tweets
Your district should have a #...make sure your clubs KNOW it and USE itâŠsame with clubsâŠwhen youâre promoting club news use their #
#PeopleOfAction!!!!
Once you have your plan/calendar start implementing things like:
-creating a registration page (if applicable)
-setting up the FB event
-Make it appealing and relative to your cause (WFW example - theme phot
-Invite attendees to RSVP (if applicable), or vote, donate, etc. via the page
-tag VIP attendees, partners and others so their friends will see
Use sites like eventrbrite or eventjoy to centralize your events for registration, donations, design website, have a mobile appâŠfree services but beware of transaction charges
Are you going to be accepting donations online? Make a post and toss the appropriate link into the message (join our event, canât come, give hereâŠcan do it before, during and after event)
RI created the POA campaign so districts and clubs all over the world will have a consistent look, messageâŠthey even provide us with words to use (we are people of action, inspire, transform, connect, end polio)
Your event/project should do this as wellâŠevery outlet should have the same look/message, and every social touch should drive viewers to your call of action page (register, donate, participate, etc.)
Make sure clubs know where to send their information within the district (DPIC or other designated teammate) so they can maximize exposure, possibly get other clubs involved (website, blog, FB, twitter, calendar, e-newsletter, etc.)âŠare you encouraging your clubs to collaborate on events/projects
Just because your event is here, doesnât mean you can stop promoting it
During event activities is essential if youâre trying to reach a goal
-Live tweet/live FB, update people who may not be in attendance
-Accept online donations, get those people who arenât at the event to still contribute
Share real time news about your goals. How much $$$ have you collected? How far along in your project are you?
PI Team
Social Media Command Center like this oneâș
many rotary events Iâve been to have a table with information about rotaryâŠthis is the perfect place to designate as a media command center
-check wifi connections before the day of
-make sure to have login credentials to your social media networks
-have sponsors and other relevant sourcesâ social media pages ready so you can post to theirs (donât tag unofficial or parody accounts)
-repurpose user generated contentâŠone of the trends we see now is that user-generated content can help drive reach and engagementâŠbe aware that hidden gems may lie within the content posted by those attending your eventâŠwhen others convey your message, sometimes it makes a bigger impact (like a spouse giving his/her opinion vs a friend telling you the same thing)
-look for and ALWAYS address any negative feedback immediately (i.e. parking, weather, etc.)âŠnot typically an issue, but just in case, it should be addressed
-anticipate who will be participating in your event/project and live stream interview or catch them in action
Image Capture / Live Stream / Hashtag Promotion
Have one person posting content
Have one person as a photographer
Rules of social media campaigns still applyâŠensure your grammar and spelling are correct and your content is of quality (photos, videos), accurately tag other accounts
After the event you can sit back and finally relaxâŠnot the PI team of courseâŠdonât miss out on the opportunities to reflect on the event and lay the groundwork for the future.
Start by posting all of your coverage from the event. Money raised/impact of project/what happens with the money, project, etc. now.
-post any engaging material you have from the event, tag people, ask them to share (i.e. we carried 300 gallons of water and walked a total of150 miles)
-are you still accepting donations? Break it down to show a personal impactâŠevery $50 you give buys 1 book for every child in 1 classroom
Share the Love (to participants, donors, and sponsors) â each in itâs own way
Participants/Donors: Recognizing someoneâs contribution is crucial in retaining their support, and itâs a personal message that will carry over to future events and have a lasting impact that will make other events successful
Recognition is also essential to events in generating sponsor supportâŠwhen people comment, like, share it makes it more meaningful to that person
Sponsors: Invite your sponsors to your eventsâŠex. Of WF luncheon, presenting of grants (30 agencies, sponsors invited)âŠplan carefully, if you go overboard sponsors may thing their money is spent on a party vs the cause
-Sponsors also like their business showcased in your PR so tap into their social media networks even after the event thanking them for their support
If youâre hosting a breakfast to help Veterans, encourage those attending to meet the recipients
â again, use inspiring footage from the event or project, show the results, reward those who took part and it will motivate others if shared the right way (i.e. if you have your annual PHS dinner, make a bid deal out of those recognized vs posting a list of names and their awards or doing nothing at all)
What are some club or district events youâve participate in? Letâs see how we can share the loveâŠ
Most events/projects will utilize district and club social media accounts so youâll consistently be talking about other activities, with some of the larger events where you have your own event page, try to stay active and keep people up to date on whatâs happening.
-post how the money was spent
-share an update from the recipient
-people support causes so keep it importantâŠwith WFW we will provide updates on the progress of the project, photos of progress, videos even?...remind people about the lives that were touchedâŠit will make your job easier next time youâre ready to start something else or build on the past yearâs event/project
INSPIRE OTHERS to get involved
Your clubs may ask you for help in promoting their projects and events. Be prepared with tool kits so they can handle their own media relations.
Include:
-create effective #...give them yours to use too
-give them your social media networks
-give them top tips for videos
-Brand Center Tools (logos, brand guidelines, event planning guide, other materials)
-how to tie in People of Action and Be The Inspiration into their messageâŠcontinue to add resources throughout the year
-provide district contact info for leadership (i.e. DPICâŠlet them know the district leaders are here to support them, show up at events, grab their posts and share)
Example of a template: Rotary Has Heart is a Zone project that started a few years backâŠwhen the information is provided to the district leadership we send a logo, brochure, NR templateâŠwhen youâre asking your clubs to host a RHH project or other projects (i.e. World Polio Day) send out a template they can use as a starting point then they can modify it
This year our team is encouraging you to take People of Action and Be the Inspiration and see districts and clubs using this in all of their effortsâŠwhen you host an event, donât just talk about the event details, tie it back to a story that will inspire others to take actionâŠwe arenât just raising money for a water project, we are touching 12,000 people in a community that is ridden with water borne disease, saving the lives of hundreds of children
Other tips:
-make sure youâre taking good photos and good videos (I didnât say professional)âŠbut weâve provided a lot of tips this weekend on how to create a video, please share this information with your other district leaders and clubs for upcoming events and projects
-catalogue the event photos in one locationâŠI use google drive
-collaborate with your team to gather positive and negative feedback to modify the next project or event
SHOW YOUR RESULTS
How many children are polio free from your efforts? What is the emotion felt by the people youâve helped?
Is your goal was to double the size of your club in a year like the Rotary Club in Habersham County? Promoting your club, members, projects, events and meetings is great! But how do you know if you are getting anywhere.
How are you measuring the success of everything you do? Membership drive? Events? Projects?
Is it worth repeating? Did we get the value intended from this?
What are some measurable outcomes you can look for? MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS and DOLLARS RAISED
Marshall Bulterâs famous words of wisdom...one of the many things Iâve learned from MB :)
Share what youâve doneâŠ.inspire others
Take Action - Develop projects
Rotarians are improving lives in communities around the world every day through thousands of service projects. Browse projects to explore the good work that Rotary clubs are doing locally and globally. Share your own with the Rotary community and your Facebook friends.