San Francisco Bay Area Event Organizer Guide, Marketing Tips For Bars, Restaurants
Tips to increase visibility, turnout for event planners. Event ticket platforms. Social media, reminders, calendars. Event marketing tips, Eventbrite alternatives
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The other day, someone asked me about event planning and best practices. I have been hearing this quite a bit lately since I started this newsletter. Here are some general tips to help you get the most out of your events.
Eventbrite Alternatives, Event Ticketing Companies
See post on Eventbrite Alternatives, pricing below:
https://www.eddies-list.com/p/eventbrite-alternatives-online-ticketing-platforms
San Francisco Event Marketing Tips: Co-Marketing w/ Venues
A lot of event organizers don’t utilize the reach of venues for their events. Not all venues are able/willing to help promote your event.
Learn which venues will publish a post on your behalf or allow you to co-author a post on platforms like Instagram.
If the venue has a poor social media following, see if they will allow you to add flyers in the days/weeks leading up to the event or mention your event in their emails or their online event calendars.
Some people will want to check out your events specifically, others might want to attend because of the venue. Whatever the reasons, make sure to assess all reasons why someone might want to attend and push forth on those triggers.
Bay Area Event Planning, Location, Dates & Times
Event organizers need to set up dates far enough in advance but also send out reminders closer to the day of. It helps to understand what else is going on i.e. street closures, competition w/ similar/better events.
In places like SF, cleanliness and safety are important. Picking venues that people are not afraid to visit feels obvious but needs to be said and repeated. Similarly, it helps to understand your audience and where they might be coming from so that you can reduce the friction of attending events.
Scarcity, Vague/Generic Events
If an event is too generic or recurring every week, it’s not likely to gain popularity or significant attendees unless it’s already a kick-ass event (in which case you probably don’t need to read this post).
Events that are specific to audiences typically command more interest than ones catered to the masses. Instead of a tech event, find a niche i.e. AI, ML, VC’s, Co-Founder mixer etc.
Sometimes, you have to start small and grow your community, attendee user base, and reputation before you can successfully scale events.
Marketing Events On Other Platforms
I find out about events from all sorts out outlets including owned IG & FB account posts, FB events, news, posts from friends on social media, Reddit, Eventbrite and more.
Even if you don’t sell tickets via Eventbrite, creating a listing can help drive people to another platform. Similarly, you can create an event on Facebook and invite followers to buy tickets elsewhere.
Create an event page on facebook, alert folks on Nextdoor.
Event Pricing, Tickets
Pricing is tricky. People will pay for good events, but they need some assurances. If you are brand new to events, it might take a while to build this reputation before you can charge higher prices.
Similarly, charging nothing devalues the event. There is no commitment nor consideration if you don’t add a price. With that said, instituting no-show policies can greatly increase turnout or avoid false-positive attendees if you do decide to make events free.
Requiring tickets with certain info like emails is also great for collecting data and informing audiences of future events.
Ease/Safety - Request A Bike Rack!
Request a bike rack so people can watch their bikes while they dine, drink or shop at your business.
https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/bike/bike-parking/request-bike-rack
Did I miss anything? Have tips you want to share?
Final Thoughts
Sometimes, your event isn’t good. There might not be a compelling reason to attend. You are also competing with other events, cost considerations, and hurdles for attending, like time, distance, parking, and safety/cleanliness.
Building up email lists and social media followers takes time. Look for collaborators and service providers who can help cross-promote events. Once you have a shared interest and risk, it can help you rope in more audiences than you could on your own.
Lastly, include reminders so people don’t forget. Include add-to-calendar buttons on event pages and emailed tickets.
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About Eddie Hernandez
Analytics geek turned photographer (headshots, personal branding, dating profiles), image consultant & dating coach for introverts, engineers, tech folks, men/women, and straight/lgbtq+ (as seen in the NYT, WSJ). Check out my blog for all your dating questions/concerns.
Promoting Bay Area Events, Marketing San Francisco Events, Ticketing Options For Events, Event Ticketing Platforms, Eventbrite Alternatives, Event Marketing Tips, How To Market Free Event, Free Online Event Marketing Services