Lunch and learns are a great benefit to your chamber members but there’s a lot of competition out there in the Zoomisphere.
You must have a topic that people need or want above all the others out there.
That’s not easy. But we’re here to help.
How to Ensure Your Next Lunch and Learn Isn’t a Lunch and Nap
Before we get into some exciting topics, here’s a list of ideas and strategies for successful Lunch & Learns.
- Create a memorable title. Be funny. Be clever. But make sure it’s very clear what it’s about.
- Write an amazing description. Why do they need to know what you’re teaching and what happens to them if they don’t.
- Circulate and promote the Lunch and Learn everywhere: social media, blog, chamber calendar, Facebook groups, through members and your board. Place it in your email signature. Talk to people who you think might benefit. Make sure you market it wherever your ideal audience hangs out in multiple media formats.
- Always have quality presenters. A bad presentation means people won’t be back (or tune in again).
- Present in actionable items, not just ideas of what could be. Examples are great but action assignments will help attendees get where they want to be faster.
Here’s a list of lunch and learn topics that your community can get excited about whether you’re hosting them online or in-person.
- How to become an entrepreneur or what it takes to become an entrepreneur.
A lot of people want to start their own business but they aren’t sure how. The webinars that cover this topic often have something to sell at the end. The chamber is in a great position to create a webinar or lunch and learn panel of people who have “been there and done that” including things they wished they’d known beforehand.
- All the technology you never knew you needed and what to do with it.
People don’t want to take the time to try new apps and tech out. Being a guinea pig for them and putting together your list of most worthwhile can be a real help to them. You could even do a “second partner” or deeper dive into usage best practices or tricks of the tools you’ve identified as helpful. - Digital marketing for everyone.
There is always something new to learn in digital marketing. Since it’s such a big area to cover, it’s a good idea to divide by skill level. Host a “new to” digital marketing, an intermediate level, and an advanced. Be specific about what each class will cover so that potential attendees will know what they most need. - How to harness word of mouth marketing.
Reviews are incredibly important and yet some businesses still don’t know how to go about getting them. Give them some actionable ways to get more reviews. - Three things you need to fix on your website today.
This lunch and learn is an excellent example of hands-on learning. Have everyone come to the L&L (or join virtually) with a laptop and the ability to log in to their website and make changes to it. Present three suggestions to make the website better and then assist them in changing one of them. You won’t have time to personalize the three things so make them the same for the class and then allow the student to decide which one they want to implement. - Personal branding for the insanely busy person.
There’s a lot that goes into building a personal brand. While it’s important, most people don’t have the time to work at it several hours a day. Show them how to start seeing results very quickly with a few easy tips. Once they start seeing results, they may want to invest more time so make sure you end the lunch and learn with some tips on taking it to the next level. - How to keep your audience awake even when covering boring material.
These days a lot of us are called upon to do presentations, webinars, or virtual meetings and they can be snoozefests. Give them some tips on how to become a dynamic presenter when they’re not in the same room as their audience. - Being a better manager than the Wizard of Oz.
Managing is hard when you’re in person let alone managing a group who aren’t in the same area. Whether it’s due to COVID or growth, managing remotely takes some finesse and you can’t just bark out orders from behind the curtain (or a Zoom interface). Give some pointers on how to connect with people virtually. - Diversity training.
This is a topic a lot of businesses want to conduct but aren’t sure how to go about it. Bring in a speaker that can help. - Three things you can do today to save your business money immediately.
There are all sorts of subtopics you can use here like tax information, the chambers hot deals program, or introductions to discounted services. - The audience decides.
Use social media to figure out what topic is vital to your audience then put together a program addressing their interests. - 5 tax rules you need to know when opening a business.
There are a lot of mistakes you can make in your first year. While this topic may not be sexy, it certainly is helpful. You can do similar lunch and learns on things like selling a business, bringing on a partner, etc. Ask your tax consultant members what the most often asked question is that they receive. Then answer it. - X ways to make people love your customer service.
Take customer service to the next level with these creative tips. - Job-search strategies for the digital professional, even if you aren’t one yet.
There are a lot of creative avenues out there for landing a job these days. Help those who don’t know how to go about looking for work with modern tech by teaching them the things they need to know. - How to figure out who your audience is and where they are.
It is much easier to sell to your ideal audience/customer than it is to anyone else. And as much as business owners don’t want to admit it, their product or service isn’t for everyone. Some people are better customers than others. This lunch and learn should show people how to figure out their ideal and where they can find them. - How not to suck on social media.
Social media best practices aren’t that far removed from interpersonal skills but somehow, a lot of people are lacking in them. This lunch and learn should be more about what to post than how to do so. It should assume they know how to do the basics but are floundering at the engagement part. Providing the worst examples of what you’ve seen on the social sphere can be very moving. - What the heck is TikTok or SnapChat and how can I use it in my business without being creepy?
TikTok started out with teenagers (like so many social media platforms) but it’s now the fastest-growing social media platform ever. It takes a certain type of content – challenges, singalongs, dancing, etc. – but if you’re game, it’s possible that your members are there. - # ways to improve your emotional intelligence before it costs you.
It’s hard to climb the ladder without a certain level of emotional intelligence. This session will help attendees score themselves and then learn techniques to advance. - Keeping your #1 employee (you!) happy.
This session should show attendees coping mechanisms that will keep them from burning out or giving up. - COVID funding options: how to get them and what they mean for your future.
This session should cover basic and advanced ways to get money for your business. Things like PPP money, grants, 401k loans without penalty through December 2020 (3 years to pay them back without tax penalty), and others. The more creative the ideas, the more enticing the session will be.
Are your lunch and learn sessions not bringing in the numbers of attendees you want them to? Then it might be time to revisit the topics you’re covering. There’s a lot of virtual competition out there and you want to be sure that your community knows the chamber is one of the best business investments they can make. Create sessions that are in tune with what your members need and you will grow your attendance and membership.
