There are countless (free and paid) marketing opportunities out there for your chamber. Finding the right mix that reaches and appeals to your members can take some experimentation.
A person in our Chamber of Commerce Professionals Group on Facebook asked:
What do you find to be your most effective event marketing tool? Radio, television, press releases, print ads, posters/banners, e-blasts, Facebook, personal phone calls, in-person invitations, mailed invitations, or something else? Did you notice a change in attendance/involvement when you added or discontinued one of these methods?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for chamber membership for increasing attendance at events but I have found that part of the marketing message to businesses is making sure the employees know whether they are welcome or not. Many companies pay their dues and never communicate event and networking opportunities to their employees.
Some employees know their company is a part of the chamber but they assume event attendance is for the higher-ups so they don’t ask if they are included. Helping businesses communicate what chamber membership means to employees is a great way to increase event attendance.
The Secret Advantage Behind Employee Members
Yes, you’ll have more attendees but that’s not the only benefit. The secret benefits to bringing in more employees of your member businesses are:
- New faces, which could mean new exposure as those people tell their network how much fun they had at your event
- Added value for the companies as those employees go back and tell their co-workers and managers how much they enjoyed themselves
- New future members; those employees move onto new jobs, they mention their experience with the chamber, new memberships spring forth
Your tried and true marketing is great for events but take some time to think about members of your community you’re not currently reaching — groups like company employees. Recruiting from an untouched segment is a great way to market events and increase attendance.
Guest post by Christina Green
Image via Flickr by Wrote
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