Use LinkedIn Introductions to Build and Engage Event Communities

Now that you have installed and learned how to promote your event with LinkedIn Events application let’s talk about how to build your community and create some conversation.

An event without buzz is just another boring seminar that no one knows about.  You want to have your attendees, sponsors and speakers all participating in conversations to get people talking and have the topics picked up by those outside the event.  You want people to say, “Hey, everyone’s talking about this event over here.  What is it?”

So, how do you get the conversation started?  The great news is, you don’t have to do it all yourself, but you have to do a little seeding and get really good at introducing people to each other.  This is, after all, called social “networking”.

Using LinkedIn To Make Introductions

One of the unique features of LinkedIn is the ability to introduce your contacts to one another by forwarding profiles.  This comes in very handy when you are organizing events to create conversation and, quite possibly, increase attendance.  A couple suggestions:

1.  Introduce those that have RSVP’d they will be attending – Help break the ice of those that have never met before so they have someone to look forward to meeting at the event.  They will start their own conversation about the event: why they are going, what they expect to get out of it, who else they are meeting, etc.

2.  Introduce RSVPs that are “interested” to those that are attending – Remember the power of WOM (Word of Mouth).  A referral from someone else that already sees value in attending may be all they need to get them off the fence.

It’s easy to do from your Events page.  Just go to your RSVP page for your event and see who’s attending or interested and use the LinkedIn feature “Forward This Profile” to make the introduction.  The easiest way to do this is to open and minimize two browser windows so you can have them side by side rather than trying to do it from memory.

To navigate to your LinkedIn Event RSVP page:

• At top of home page click on “More”, tab then choose “Events”
• Click on “My Events” tab
• Click on the name of the upcoming event you created
• Click on “RSVP’s” tab.  This will show you all your RSVPS: attending, not attending, and interested.

I just took over some of the PR for SohoBiztube’s seminar “Aligning the Corporate and Personal Brand” that’s coming up in Chicago, March 4-5th, so I’m using their profile as an example.  (If you’re in Chicago, check it out. Branding experts Dan Schawbel and Olivier Blanchard are keynotes…if you’d like to attend, let me know and I’ll get you a discount off 2 day registration!)

Now that you can see who has RSVP’d you can select a profile to forward.  Try to choose someone that has RSVP’d they are attending that you are familiar with and know will recommend your event.  From their profile page, click on “Forward profile to a connection”.

That will open up a window for you to create a personalized message. BE SURE TO PERSONALIZE! Make the subject headline something that you would want to open – use email marketing smarts. Type in a little introduction and why you think it would be great to have the two meet before the event.

You can choose who you want to send the profile to by clicking on the small box next to the “Send TO” box to open up your LinkedIn contact list.

You’re sure to find RSVP’s from people that are not in your network so be sure to make the connection and ask to add them to your LinkedIn network. Again, take the time to personalize the request to mention what you have in common…in this case, your event.  There are very few times I will ask someone to join my network without a personalized introduction….usually when it’s already clear that we know each other and are on a familiar basis.

I wouldn’t call someone I know and say “Hi this is Coree from Market Like A Chick, we know each other from Twitter and you subscribe to my blog”.  It’s redundant and dorky.  Once they pick up the phone I’d just start talking.  If you have that type of relationship with the person you’re adding, then it’s cool to skip all the moo-ha-ha, otherwise… personalize.

By making introductions you’ll be paying it forward by helping others build their network and you’ll be building your own.  You might even add to the intro message a question to get conversation going, like “what are you most looking forward to at the event” or “what speaker would you like to see added to our future events?”. (Seed the conversation)

So, how many introductions have you made by forwarding profiles on LinkedIn?  What other LinkedIn tips do you use to promote or build your event community?  Please leave your comments and suggestions below.

To Your Success,

P.S. ~~> If you are looking for more help with promoting your event on LinkedIn or through other social media marketing, I am accepting a limited amount of new clients.  You can see more details about the services I offer on my Hire Me page.  Or, if you’d like me to be your personal representative, live blogger or Twitter moderator for your event, please check out my Sponsor Me page! You’re more than welcome to email or call me with any questions!

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Tagged as:  Event Communities · Event Community Management · Event Marketing · Marketing With Social Media