Why doesn’t the usual media plan work for an event?
A typical media plan is designed for a stream: the channel works for months, metrics are averaged out, a bad week is compensated by a good one. The event has everything on the contrary. There is a hard date after which traffic makes no sense, and There are two different goals that for some reason are constantly confused: registration and arrival.
Between them, between a third and half of people are usually lost. Therefore in this form, the last phase is not responsible for recruiting an audience, but only for profitability, and it has its own metric.
- Phases. Five phases from announcement to analysis, each with a task, set of activities and acceptance metric.
- Channels. Budget, reach, conversions, registrations and registration cost for each channel plus the person responsible.
- Calendar. Eight weeks before the event: activity, channel and readiness of materials.
- Day X What we publish at every moment and who is filming.
- After. Seven indicators and conclusion for the next event.
about the squeeze that everyone misses
The last week before the event is the most underrated part of the plan. The team is running out of steam at this point: registrations have been collected, the plan is by the numbers closed, it looks like the job is done. And then half it simply doesn’t reach those who registered because I forgot, couldn’t find it entrance or didn’t understand what time it started.
Three touches in the last week cover most of this loss: a letter with the program and a map per day, a short message in messenger in two hours and a clear landmark on the spot. None of them are worth money, but it is they who determine how many people will be in the hall.
what is considered success
The main figure of the event is not the number of registrations, but the cost who came. It is obtained by dividing the entire promotion budget by the number people who were physically on the site. Further it can be compare between events and between channels, and only then is it visible meaning: a channel with cheap registrations and low profitability It’s actually more expensive than a channel that brings fewer people, but brings almost everyone.
The second number is requests after the event. If the event is done for the sake of sales, and not for the sake of coverage, then without this line the entire plan remains an exercise in logistics.
what to take in addition
If the event is part of an annual activity, associate it with annual media plan, so that the budget for it does not suddenly appear in the middle of the quarter. Posters, radio and outdoor lighting around the site are considered separately, through offline media plan. Work with journalists on site and announcements in the media live in media plan of the press service.
Content for eight weeks of announcements is conveniently laid out in SMM content plan.
Frequently asked questions
- How many weeks in advance should I start promoting the event?
- 8 weeks before the date. The first two weeks are the announcement of the program and the opening of registration, they should give about 30% of the plan. Weeks five to two - paid traffic and sponsored placements, up to 80% of the plan. The last week does not gain an audience, but brings those registered to the entrance.
- What is the normal profitability for a free event?
- At free events, from a third to half of those registered are lost, so the profitability guideline is 55% or higher. It was raised by three touches in the last week: a letter with the program and map in 24 hours, a short message in the messenger in two hours and clear navigation on the spot.
- How to calculate the cost of attracting to an event?
- Divide the entire promotion budget not by registration, but by the number of people who physically came. A channel with cheap registrations and low profitability is actually more expensive than a channel that brings fewer people, but reaches almost everyone. The second required number is applications received after the event.
- What channels work for a forum or conference?
- You need to start with your own: your own channels, distribution to the database and reposts of speakers almost always provide the cheapest registration. Paid traffic - VK Ads by geo and interests, Telegram Ads, sponsored placements in thematic channels - is turned on after the organic content is squeezed out, otherwise it simply replaces it and overpays.