Event Planning and Marketing Tips for Holistic Businesses
By hosting an event around your offering or product, you can attract potential clients and establish yourself as an expert in your space.
Hosting an event around your product or service is a great way to build visibility for your brand, gather interested contacts for future outreach, and build relationships with potential customers. As a wellness business, events help you build credibility as an expert in your field, establish trust with your audience, and offer some face time to your clients - all important factors that can define your success as a wellness business.
Here are some event planning and marketing tips to help you plan your next event:
Define your target audience
The very first thing I recommend you do when starting to plan an event is to define your audience. Who are you hoping to attract with your event? Who are they as people? What defines them as a human being on this planet? What are their interests, loves, worries, joys? What lived experiences have they had that may impact the way they view your offering? What about your offering would interest them the most?
From there, the rest of your strategy will start to unfold. You can tailor your event to their needs and interests, then decide on the messaging that will resonate with this audience when marketing your event.
Choose the right venue
It’s important to choose a venue that reflects the values of your business and aligns with the focus of your event. Look for venues with natural surroundings, a calming ambiance, and enough space to accommodate all participants comfortably. For example, a yoga studio or a natural health store could be a great option. Don’t be afraid to reach out to local businesses that share similar values as you - hosting an event there could be just as beneficial to them as it is for you!
Curate engaging content
Develop your curriculum and how you plan to showcase the content of your event. Whatever you cover during the event should be engaging, informative, and appeal to the aspirations of your audience. Decide if you’d like to include any handouts, writing prompts, or discussion points.
Leverage social media
Social media is a powerful tool for showcasing your event (and finding your people!). Create a post promoting your event on your preferred social media platform and share it far and wide. This will help you reach a wider audience and generate buzz around your event. Social media will also help you engage with your attendees before and after the event, plus keep the conversation and connection going long after the event has ended. After the event, encourage your attendees to share updates and photos to their social platforms.
Plan, plan, plan!
You can never be too prepared. Think through any questions you may get, interruptions in the event flow, issues with accessibility, and any other potential snags you may run into before, during, and after the event. You will be grateful that you thought through every scenario and your preparedness will come across as authority and professionalism to your audience.
Follow up with attendees
After the event, connect with participants to thank them for attending and to gather feedback and testimonials. This could mean sending a thank-you email, providing additional resources, or offering a discount on your products or services. Keep the conversation going with your attendees after the event - this is how they’ll become a part of your community and keep coming back.
Every event is unique and your process will vary slightly with each one.
Looking for more detail? Check out my free, super-detailed event planning checklist for everything you need to host a successful wellness-focused event.