Why Post-Event Follow-Up Matters for Trainers
- Extends the Attendee Experience: Reinforces positive feelings about your event, building loyalty for future attendance.
- valuable Insights: Post-event surveys are key to identifying areas for improvement and what resonated most strongly.
- Marketing Goldmine: Glowing testimonials and attendee-generated content are powerful for social proof.
- Boosts Networking: Facilitating post-event connections between attendees can deliver long-term value.
Key Concepts for Training
- Timeliness is Key
- Initial Thank You: Within a few days of the event while excitement is still fresh.
- Survey or Feedback: Send shortly after the initial thank you for the best response rate.
- Content Roll-Out: Stagger the release of event photos, videos, or recaps to maintain engagement.
- Personalized Whenever Possible
- Segmentation: If feasible, tailor messages based on attendee type (speaker, sponsor, first-time attendee, etc.)
- Individual Outreach: A quick thank you email to key partners, speakers, or VIP attendees goes a long way.
- Provide Value, Not Just a ‘Thanks’
- Event Highlights: Photos, video snippets, key takeaways.
- Exclusive Content: Bonus resources, expanded speaker notes, etc.
- Early Access: Offer early-bird registration or special perks for the next event.
- Networking Facilitation: Create a way for attendees to connect if desired (with permission).
- Call to Action (But Make it Soft)
- Survey Participation: Emphasize how their feedback helps shape future events.
- Social Sharing: Encourage them to share their favorite moments with your event hashtag.
- Subtle Referral: Suggest they invite a friend or colleague if the event is a good fit.
Training Activities
- Email Draft Challenge: Provide event scenarios and have trainees craft several follow-up email variations based on different attendee segments.
- Survey Design: Have groups work to design a short but effective post-event survey, discussing question types and goals.
- Content Curation: Task trainees with outlining how they’d repackage event content (photos, videos, etc.) into engaging post-event social media assets.
Resources
- Eventbrite Blog: (https://www.eventbrite.com/blog) They often have articles on attendee follow-up strategies.
- Email Template Sites: Look for customizable post-event thank-you email templates for inspiration.
- Survey Tools: Introduce a few survey platforms (SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, etc.) for easy data collection.
Trainer Tips
- Emphasize Gratitude: A genuine thank you note should be the core of your follow-up, not just the vessel for other asks.
- Automation Can Help: Briefly discuss email marketing platforms that allow for segmented and scheduled follow-ups.
- Showcase Success: If possible, share anonymized results from past surveys showing how feedback led to real improvements in later events.
