Vorstellungsforum » bers of people search for info

increasing numbers of people search for information on the Internet Camiseta Rodri , it becomes more imperative to have a compelling Website to promote and support your meetings.


Here is my list of "The Seven Most Important Things You can do Online":


1. Identify all your Online Markets


It's a common mistake to focus your attention on the obvious target audience for your meetings site - the potential attendees.


But many other types of visitor may find your site, and it's important to consider whether they're important to you, how you want to engage them, and what outcomes you'd like to achieve with them.


Visitors to your meetings Website might include:




past potential attendees


suppliers vendors exhibitors sponsors insurers


Board members employees volunteers


content seekers


media


job seekers


competition




"Content seekers" is the term I use for members of the public who may not be regular customers or members of your organization, but who find you through a keyword search because they're interested in the content of your meeting. If you admit the public to your events Camiseta Jan Oblak , this is an important audience who might require different communications from your regular participants.


If you're looking for publicity, don't forget the importance of a press center. This should be very easy to find, and should contain all the information that a reporter would need to cover your event - they're usually under tight deadlines and will really appreciate this.


I include "competition" in this list because many people have asked me whether it's dangerous to put too much good information on your Website "in case the competition sees it". My (somewhat obvious) answer? "If your competition can't see it, neither can the people you're looking to attract!"


2. Set your Goals


This sounds self-evident, but is often overlooked. You can't evaluate your return on investment (see #7 later) if you don't know what you want to achieve. What will be your measures of success for this site in terms of your meeting? What are the key outcomes that you want - registrations Camiseta Thomas Lemar , exhibitors, media attention, ongoing discussion forums, etc.


Also consider the expenses of the site against any potential savings - for instance, if you're implementing online registration Camiseta Angel Correa , you want to be satisfied that your system can replace (and hopefully improve on) your real-world processes in a cost-effective manner.


3. Make it About Them, not You


Your site should be written from your visitors' point of view, not yours. Does your meeting description page clearly recognize why the reader might be there - what's in it for them to attend your event, and why they should care? What are the problems or issues that they might have, and how will participating in this meeting address them?


Include some testimonials from previous attendees giving clear examples of how they've benefited from this event in the past. Third party endorsements are worth far more than your own promotional text. They should be spread throughout your site Camiseta Nikola Kalinic , not relegated to a separate page (because few visitors will go to it).


4. Make it Easy to do Business With You


It's all too easy to throw online roadblocks into the paths of your visitors, perhaps without even realizing it. A couple of my favorite examples of this are:




Site search engines that return "no results found", making the visitor feel foolish. Clearly they're looking for something, so offer to have a representative call them - or provide further help with your search process


Asking for registration details prematurely, before you've created enough trust with a new visitor. Privacy issues and concern about spam are major barriers to volunteering personal information.




5. Every Page of your Site should Have a Strategy


Whatever the outcomes that you want from your site Camiseta Saul Niguez , you need to ask for them. Too many Web pages end weakly, with no clear calls to action. Don't make your visitors have to work to decide what to do next - they won't! Every page on your site should have a strategy - invite the visitor to interact with you, or go to the next page, but make it easy and obvious.


So, at the appropriate place in each page (or at several points in the page) Camiseta Antoine Griezmann , include a link to the appropriate form - "register for this meeting", "ask for an exhibitor packet" - or whatever invitation may be relevant.


6. Practice Multi-Channel Integrated Marketing


Offline marketing activities, such as postcard campaigns can be extremely useful in driving traffic to your Website. Think of all your marketing tactics as inter-related, and not as separate.


Don't rely on search engines to bring traffic to you - there are many other ways to create online buzz:




paid advertising - e-zine sponsorship banners pay-per-click searches


public relations and coverage on other sites


placing articles by your experts and speakers on sites and in publications read by your target audiences


and of course, targeted e-mail marketing to your existing mailing lists