Turn your event speaker into the voice of your event

It goes without saying, the key speaker is a critical part of your event. If your event prides itself on the content from the lectures and presentations of said event speaker, he or she is an essential selling point: they are what attracts attendees, someone they would pay big money to come and hear them speak.

Usually, they are leaders in their field and therefore their inclusion in the program helps the conference to develop into a “must-attend” event within the sector that nobody wants to miss.

So with that in mind, your speakers can (and should) help make your event a success even before taking to the stage, by helping to increase the number of registrations and attendees. But how? By promoting and advertising your event.

Obviously, the speaker’s motivation to market the event won’t be the same if you’re organizing a TED event worldwide or a local conference. But even for smaller events, a speaker’s involvement is possible and desirable.

With these ideas, you’ll be able to establish a profitable collaboration for both parties:

Communicate from the beginning that you are counting on him or her to publicize the event

This will prevent unpleasant altercations later down the line. If they are the face of the program, to the outside eye, it will be expected for them to embody the image of the event. So, if they’re actively involved in promoting it, they’ll also see increased benefits for their own brand from their involvement.

It’s a two-way situation

What is their reason for giving the talk? Perhaps the speaker also needs the advertisement for a recently launched company or product; or he or she is seeking investment for their next project… If their situation is of interest to you, you’ll undoubtedly find a common ground that will benefit both and contribute to the smooth development of the event. For example, you may want to give them an opportunity to offer promotion of their products or services to attendees, which may be a motivating factor for the undecided to attend your conference.

Make it easy for them to be proactive

Be specific about how you would like them to contribute to the advertisement of the conference and provide any material they may need to do so (the promotional image, any data, logos, etc.). If the speaker is influential on social networks or has a committed audience, you can ask them to promote your event to their followers. Additionally, he or she could write about the event on their blog, or ask their followers if they want to know more about a particular topic beforehand…

With the above in mind, examine their online presence and ask them to include their participation in your event in their bio. Professional bios are essential online information, so for a potential attendee to see your event mentioned in this context will add relevance and value to it, and make it more memorable.

Put them in contact with other speakers or influencers

If thanks to you they meet other professionals in their industry, this will increase their interest and collaboration in your event.

Good speakers understand marketing and they value it: they know how to connect with, engage, entertain and communicate in order to achieve objectives. And they know that it’s a task that can’t be improvised. For that reason, they appreciate the work that goes into event promotion. But in the end, their level of involvement will depend on various factors: their motivation, what they can get back from the experience, their needs, and their skills in the digital environment (or lack thereof), etc.

In order to facilitate the process of collaboration, invest in your event speaker from the beginning, involve them with your marketing team and offer them the help, tools and all the information they need to increase the value of their involvement for both parties.

And if they don’t want to be involved, you’ll need to ask yourself if they’re the right speaker for your event.