Events in the PR 2.0 world

So I’m really focusing on events.  First because we just did one ourselves.  Second, because we have a flurry of them coming up for clients and for prospects.  So I’m looking at them with this new filter of the combination of the shrinking old media and growing social media.  So here are some thoughts in no particular order, hopefully you can find them helpful.

• The old rules apply but are on steroids:  An event for the sake of an event is a big “no.”  Media especially TV folks hate news conferences and there’s nothing worse for PR folks than the minutes leading up to one wondering if any media will show.

• Make it “hyper-visual”:  The visual needs to really break through the clutter now.  It needs to be among the top three reasons someone, especially electronic media will come to cover an event.  It needs to be a key selling point, even more important than the news itself and in most cases more important than the speaker or talent.

• Is your event elevating your brand?  I read where the President’s new “event person” is intentionally going to use events to “brand” the Presidency.  Do you use your events to do that.  Does the backdrop or location tell the media and public something valuable about your or your client’s brand proposition?  If the answer is no, then start over.

• Are you using all the social marketing tools.  Are you?:

  • Using Facebook or other SM platforms to invite, keep track and communicate with attendees or other audiences?

  • Are you planning to use Twitter to “broadcast” the event live.  (On a side note has anyone broadcast a sporting event live on Twitter?  Curious to know.)

  • Are you video or audio taping the event for use in podcasts, and for use on SM platforms?

  • At the very least are you taking pictures to upload to websites, blogs, SM platform pages etc.

If you’re not, then you are not harnessing all the tools of the SM trade to communicate the events directly to your communities.  In the shrinking media world success will not only be measured by which newspaper sends a reporter to cover, but by how many re-tweets you get, how many people view your event video or reads about it on a blog.

The “new” event should not be limited by who physically attends the event during that one hour or so, but by who “attends” in the many hours after the event is over.