You can have the best programs in the world, but if no one knows, your work will not be seen! Always focus first on who you want to attend and then, how to “get them” to your event. Listed below are some tips to help you get people to your event.
- Send personal invitations to people via campus mail. Target groups and individuals who you want to attend. If time permits, you might follow up with a phone call.
- Make presentations at other organizational meetings to encourage support for your program. This gives interested people a chance to ask questions and build enthusiasm. It helps if your group has supported their activities as well.
- Involve as many people in the planning of an event as possible. The more people involved, the more people have a vested interest in seeing the program succeed.
- Ask professors to give class credit for attending educational events. Extra points might bring a lot of students out to a speaker that you bring in.
- Give incentives, rewards, or discounts to those who bring five or more friends to your event or program.
- See if the RA’s can get programming credit for bringing their residents to your program. They will appreciate the support and collaboration.
- Have another group co-sponsor the event. Go after a group that would not normally attend your events so that a new group of students is exposed to your good work.
- Check the campus calendar closely. Make sure there is not a major event already planned which will conflict with yours. Avoid religious holidays and times when classes are extremely demanding.
- Post your event on the campus calendar.
- Plan your program as far in advance as possible, then circulate these dates among other campus organizations so (hopefully) they won’t plan events that conflict with yours.
- Carefully consider the size of the room you use for programs. If the room is too big, people will think the program fell short of your expectations. On the other hand, everyone hates to be in a cramped, hot room with too many people in it.
- Send thank you cards to organizations that attended the program in large numbers. This will increase repeat attendance.
- If you are charging admission for any program or event, have some sort of discount for purchasing tickets in advance.
- Go into classrooms and write little messages in the corner of the blackboards.
- Use progressive signs along high traveled walkways to promote events.
Progressive signs are a series of signs which contain pieces of information
about the program. Reading one sign leads your curiosity to read the
next, and so on.
Please contact the Student Organization Center or look in the Events section of The Leader’s Guide for policies and guidelines pertaining to promotion.