How to Create Content That Event Planners Crave
When we invited event planning professionals to give their advice to restaurants and venues during our EventCamp earlier this year, a few themes stood out: Event planners are busy juggling multiple clients. They’re short on time. And when they find a venue online, they want as much information as possible.
If they go to your website or social media profiles and they can’t find what they need to help them make a decision, they’re done. You’re off the list and they’re back to their online search.
So what can you do across your online presence to give event planners what they want and keep coming back to your restaurant or venue? You need to create content that event planners crave. And we’ve got 3 tips to steer you in the right direction:
1. Content that the right keywords for event planners
You know that keywords are important in getting your venue found in an online search, but they also play a role in getting event planners to stick around and read more about what you do.
Categories of keywords you want to use may focus on your location (including neighborhoods), what type of venue you are (restaurant, night club, convention center, hotel, wedding hall), the types of events you host (cocktail parties, networking events, corporate meetings, weddings), the type of food you serve, your venue’s style (modern, classic, loft, corporate), and amenities (rooftop, audio/visual equipment, wifi access, outdoor space, dance floor). Try Moz’s Keyword Explorer tool to narrow down the keywords that are right for your venue.
Once you have your primary keywords, use them in writing copy for your website that describes what you offer. This gives event planners more details to decide that you’re the right venue for their event. Don’t overdo it; Google penalizes websites that practice “keyword stuffing.”
2. Content that helps event planners solve a problem
Event planners are looking for your venue because it helps them solve one problem: where to hold an event. What would happen if you went beyond that and solved more than one problem for them?
Think about creating a frequently asked questions page with a list of common questions event planners typically ask you, and answer them with a sentence or two. When you have your FAQ page set up, write a blog post about each of these topics (around 500 words will do the trick if you aren’t sure about how much to write – and don’t forget those keywords!) that includes a list of tips or a discussion of best practices. Then, take individual tips or pieces of advice and create visual content and videos. Share your blog posts, images, and videos in your email marketing and on social media to drive even more traffic to your website.
If your online presence is full of advice that event planners need, they’ll see you as an expert, and they’ll turn to your business every time they have a question or need help.
3. Content that catches event planners’ eyes (or ears)
Visuals and video are essential for any business that wants to promote itself online. Content with visuals receives 94% more views than text-only content. And using video will get you results: 90% of online shoppers said that watching video helped them make purchasing decisions.
Event planners want to picture your event space, and visuals and video will help them do that quickly and easily. Share photos of your venue, different types of events you host, your amenities, and a behind-the-scenes look with your employees.
Create videos that give event planners a tour of your space, offer testimonials from satisfied clients, and show off what happens during an event. You could even be spontaneous with video. Try a livestream with Facebook Live and give a tour of your venue, talk to your employees about why they love working with you, or have a Q&A session and invite event planners to ask you their burning questions.
Share all of this visual content everywhere – your website, email marketing, blog, and social media marketing – to increase your reach.
It’s easier than you think
If you feel overwhelmed about creating content, start small and build your way up. Begin with finding the right keywords to improve your website and appeal to event planners. Then, focus on your expertise – write content that helps event planners solve their biggest problems. Once you have some written advice, translate that into photos and video to grab event planners’ attention.
Looking for more marketing advice?
Read our blog posts for more tips on email marketing, your website, and social media marketing. And check out our Pinterest board for links to event marketing resources and social media marketing information.
