In terms of event impact, taking care of the marketing and communication of events is important. Otherwise, your event organisation efforts are wasted. Event marketing and communication can be divided into three stages:
Marketing for events held at Think Corner should begin four to six weeks before the event.
A good title and interesting summaries make a big difference, as the competition for attention is intense and the time available limited.
Event name: Programmes with an interesting topic well thought out in terms of the audience deserve an attractive title suited to the target audience. The aim of event marketing is to raise interest, with the title serving as a gateway to in-depth content.
Event description: Good descriptions constitute a couple of paragraphs of text that sum up the content. Introduce the key questions for which perspectives are sought in the event. Explain what participants will gain from the event, highlight the most interesting points and introduce the speakers briefly. Remember to clearly state the event organiser in all materials.
Event marketing image: The image visually connects the elements of the event communication, with the best option being images relevant to the topic that evoke feelings. The image should be available for marketing in all channels. Take copyright and image layout into account: the image should fit the image formats used on social media, where landscape and square images are often used. (At the least, the image should be easily adjustable to 16:9 and 1:1 aspect ratios.)
Facebook event: Facebook events are a fitting tool for pre-marketing. When your event has attendees, advance releases and reminders reach those interested in the event. You can start the conversation before the event and, for example, request questions in advance. If you create a Facebook event, it can be added to Think Corner’s Facebook events. In such cases, Think Corner is not the event administrator. Send a notification of your Facebook event to thinkcorner@helsinki.fi. When creating a Facebook event, invite your contacts and ask others to invite their contacts to the event so that Facebook’s algorithms will increase its visibility. Also remember to set aside time for moderating the Facebook event, such as answering questions.
Hashtags: Properly selected hashtags help increase event visibility on social media. Consider which general keywords the event is associated with and whether an event-specific hashtag would be useful.
Advance questions: Questions and comments can be collected and prepared for the event in advance, for example, on Twitter, in a Facebook event or in sponsored social media posts.
Event calendars: If you wish to further the visibility of your events outside the University community, you can announce events in event calendars. Examples of event calendars:
University event calendar: We would like all events held at Think Corner to be advertised in the online event calendar of the University of Helsinki, provided this is appropriate for the nature of the event. Register event details in the calendar. To display the event in the calendar as one held at Think Corner, choose Think Corner as the event category. To make it easier to find the event with the event calendar search feature, we recommend that you list some keywords in basic form in the More information field, such as ‘health’, ‘brain’, ‘wellbeing’.
Event details should be announced as early as possible. The longer the event is visible, the more likely it is to reach its potential audience.
You can publish event details in the University's event calendar also in English and/or Swedish. Remember to state the language of the event in all language versions.
You can attract participants also by sending a personal invitation, for example, by email.
Think Corner info screens: On the day of the event, the event name will be displayed on Think Corner info screens in the today's events feed. Upon separate agreement, large-scale events can be promoted on Think Corner info screens also using the graphic design of the event.
Other channels: Think Corner highlights events held at its facilities through its own communication channels.
Announce the event organiser clearly: Clearly state the individuals or parties organising the event in introductions, the presentation materials displayed during the event and other relevant materials. Events are also a good opportunity to advertise, for example, social media channels, newsletters and other elements with which you wish to engage the audience.
Live streaming: If the event is streamed live (events at Stage), share the link, for example, in the Facebook event and on Twitter.
Live tweeting: Live tweeting is a great way of gaining additional attention and interaction for events and their topics. You can use your personal account or that of the relevant organisation for tweeting. If the event has a dedicated hashtag, follow, like, comment and retweet also tweets by event participants.
Social media: Make sure that a person is available during the event to announce, for example, technical problems in the Facebook event and/or through other channels.
Say thanks and engage: Thank the audience and speakers in the Facebook event, on Twitter, by email (if you have the participants’ addresses) or in another appropriate way. You can encourage participants to take action, such as subscribe to a newsletter, register for the next event, buy a book or read a publication, thus engaging them further. Ask for feedback.
Share content related to the event: If necessary and possible, share the presentation materials used in the event. Publish photos, if any were taken. You can also publish content through social media channels or write a blog entry about the event and the matters discussed.
Market the recording: By marketing the event recording, your event will have a longer shelf-life. After the live stream, the recording will be available for viewing on Think Corner's Watch and Listen page. The same link will work for the recording. To reach additional audiences and to increase your impact, it is a good idea to share the link to the event recording after the event, for example, on social media channels or on a relevant website.
If the recording of the programme is to be made public after the event, please note that any content on the helsinki.fi website must comply with the statutory accessibility requirements from 23 September 2020 onwards. In practice, this means that public organisations must provide subtitles for any video and audio content on their websites in accordance with the Accessibility Directive of the EU.
Please contact info(at)tiedekulma.fi in any other marketing-related questions. Members of the University community can also turn to their campus onsite communications team, whose contact information is available on Flamma.