Host an Unforgettable Influencer Event

It takes a lot of planning, strategizing, organization and outreach to host a memorable influencer event or blogger tour. Although it’s a major time commitment to find the perfect venue, reach out to local partners and find the perfect bloggers, an influencer event is a great way to market your brand. If you follow these tips, you'll be certain to have a seamless event that helps promote your business, develops new brand ambassadors and increases brand awareness.

1. Make a Plan
   Make sure to remember that influencers are consumers too. The bloggers you pick should be fans of your product/service and a future ambassador for your brand. Ensure that the event will accurately represent your client’s brand, products, goals and mission for the influencers and their followers.
2. Choose the Right Bloggers and Social Media Influencers
   Although a lot of influencers may use your client’s products or services, make sure to consider your target audience. Is your brand national or local? Are you targeting moms with young children or millennials?
   Larger bloggers have a bigger following and a greater national reach. Smaller influencers will have less followers, but will often produce quality content and have local consumers who engage more frequently with their posts. Remember, an influencer event is a marketing opportunity to provide your target consumers with a chance to become invested and excited about your client’s brand.
3. Craft an Agreement
   Influencers work with a handful of different brands at once. Help your influencers create content that will maximize your brand’s reach. Instead of hoping that your attendees will post coverage, take the time to lay out what is expected of them, whether it’s promoting a grand opening, drafting a blog post or sharing content on social media. The week of the event, it’s important to send out a memo including the agenda for the event, history of the brand, key messages and social media hashtags. Organization is key to ensuring event success for your brand and influencers.
4. Build Relationships
   Always remember that you’re the host! You set the tone of an event, so it’s important to make all of the influencers feel like a friend or integrated team member. When it comes to events, it’s all about the details. Pull out all of the stops. Influencers will notice and appreciate even the smallest gestures. The more they feel included, the better experience they will have and the more content they will post.
5. Promote the Content
   Now that you’ve had a successful event make sure to use the great content! Retweet, share and like your influencers’ posts. Share their photos down the line when promoting a specific product or service. This will help raise awareness and excitement about your grand opening, restaurant, product or shop in a way that appears less self-promotional. Just make sure to tag them to give them credit!

By following these tips, you'll be sure to have a successful influencer event.