Be the Hostess with the Mostest: Event Planning Strategies That WON’T Give You A Headache

Event planning is a great way to engage with your target market and boost your business. But it also takes work. And, if you are like most of the business owners we know, you already have a lot on your plate (maybe it even feels like it is spinning above your head and getting ready to eject its contents). Here are some simple strategies to help your event planning come a bit easier! 

How did you know we would talk about strategic planning? 

One of the most important parts of planning an event is to make sure you are doing it intentionally, i.e. in line with your strategic plan. Your WHY for your business must be involved in the event planning fun, otherwise it might be a big old flop. The first question to ask yourself is: 

What are you hoping to achieve from this event? 

If you are a non-profit, are you hoping to raise funds for a certain project? As a for-profit business, do you want to get the word out about your brand? Are you trying to throw a shindig for loyal customers to help retention? Getting down to the nuts and bolts of why you want to play hostess will help you to deliver a clear and concise message.  

Once you and your team have an understanding about what you want to achieve, you need to decide on your target audience and set a realistic budget. These can take a lot of time and effort, but they make up the foundation of the rest of your event planning.  

Now that the hard part is over… 

Now you can start to focus on some of the more fun details of your event: format, scheduling, location, dates, times, attendees, theme, etc. Interactive events may be more successful than ones that require a lot of sitting and listening, but that will also depend on your target market and what you are hoping to accomplish. Some types of events we have enjoyed hosting in the past include: 

  • Happy hours 
  • Awards shows 
  • Golf outings 
  • Fundraising events 
  • Luncheons 
  • Sponsorship events 
  • Festivals and more 

Let your strategic plan guide the way and you will find that things fall into place.  

When and why should you outsource? 

If reading the last paragraph leaves your head spinning, then you know it’s time to outsource your event planning.  

Outsourcing comes with huge benefits, including access to professionals who specialize in strategic event planning, promotion and execution. It would be a bad business move to spend your budget (and valuable time) on an event that hasn’t been promoted properly and doesn’t end up boosting your business or brand. 

When you outsource to an agency, such as P&A, your team also gets their time freed up to run the business as usual, even as the event itself is in the works. This creates less stress in the workplace and a happier crew, which in turn makes your job as the boss a whole lot easier. 

Many people think that outsourcing for events or other marketing costs more money, but in reality, it saves you big time. Using professionals with industry knowledge means you have the inside scoop on how to get the most bang for your buck. Otherwise, you might fall into the trappings of hidden fees and add-in costs. When you are a small business, sticking to your budget means you have a better bottom line.  

A good event host or hostess knows their “why” and executes with a clear and strategic plan. Outsourcing is a great way to keep it neat and tidy for your team. Want to chat more about events and how we can help turn yours into a success? Just head on over to our website’s Contact Us page.  

 

How You Know You Need a New Website

Need a new website

The signs are popping up all around you. You start to feel like things are slowing down with your business, and you can’t quite put a finger on it. You hate going on your website because it looks outdated. You start to wonder if you need a new website or just a vacation.  

You need a new website 

If any of the above have been happening to you, it is probably time to consider updating your website or doing a complete overhaul. In today’s world, where things seem to be moving at hyper speed, websites go out of date quickly. That isn’t to say that brands don’t have staying power. Rather, we need to keep up with our consumers if we are going to offer them a great experience with our product, service, website or brand.  

Here are some tried and true signs that it is time to get a new website:

Your website is old or no longer aligns with your brand 

If your website looks old (or IS old, meaning more than three-years old) it may be time for an update. You also want to make sure the content on your site aligns with any branding changes you have had. Most business owners understand keeping their logo up-to-date on their site, but things like voice and messaging also need to be tweaked to ensure they are the same across all platforms.  

Your website has a confusing user experience 

If the navigation on your website is no longer serving your customers, it is definitely time for an update. User experience is everything, so making it both functional and visually pleasing will only help your brand to retain those loyal customers and attract new ones. Out with the slow loading pages and in with the more timely, clean and functional navigation! 

Your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices 

A large chunk of your customers will come to your site via mobile device, so if your website was created mainly for desktop being the main point of entry, it’s time to revamp. Why? Because not all websites  automatically convert from desktop to user-friendly mobile and if your customer is having a difficult user experience on your site, you can bet they probably won’t purchase from you.  

You aren’t nailing it in the inbound marketing department 

What meets customers when they log on to your website? Is it simply informational? If so, it is time to update your content and create an experience they will enjoy when interacting with your brand. Inbound marketing simply refers to making sure consumers who flock to your website will be met with engaging, educational content that will lead them to a purchasing decision.  

You have a high bounce rate 

We’ve saved the most important marker for last. Bounce rate is the percentage of people who visit your site only once and then leave (quickly). Whether they were turned away by something or didn’t find it appealing or easy to use, we don’t know. What we do know, however, is that you can’t make customers out of single-page visitors. It is important to know your bounce rate and act swiftly if you see it creeping into the 70-90% range consistently.  

Want to take your website from zero to hero? Chat with us to find out more about what we offer or check out our Entrepreneurial Pathway Program for a full list of package options, priced just for business owners.  

How to Rank Higher on Google

Google is a beast, but one that we need to work with in order to be successful in gaining access to our target markets. Most consumers, after all, will use a search engine to look up what they are trying to find, whether it be advice, local products, or services. But how can you make sure that your web page will rank higher on Google search results pages?  

Let’s rank higher on Google and get in front of more potential customers! 

Search engine results pages (or SERPs for short) are notoriously tricky. They contain ads, sidebars, a list of search results and a few other tricks. Although you can purchase ads, which you will see rank toward the top of the page with the word “sponsored” in bold, we want to try to get you there organically … meaning without spending your hard-earned bucks.  

But how can you do it? Isn’t that, like, the Holy Grail of marketing or something? 

Actually, it is quite doable, especially with a seasoned seo pro behind you. Here is what we suggest: 

SEO 

In our first blog of the month, we broke down the importance of SEO (or search engine optimization) and how to make it work for you. SEO is all about choosing the right keywords. You need to do background research to understand the phrases and words your target market might be plugging into their search engine. The more on-point you are, the more likely your page will show up in the first page of search results.  

We can’t stress enough how important this step is. It should, in fact, take you some time. But, in the end it is time well spent when you have a good handle on what your target market is looking for, their intention behind their searching and key phrases they may be typing into that Google search bar. We always recommend Search Engine Optimization go hand-in-hand with website development. Retrofitting your SEO is frustrating, costly and … unnecessary. (IF your Web designer says “SEO isn’t in their bandwidth or we’ll do that later” STOP, DROP & ROLL. Please find someone who puts it all together with UX and your brand strategy!) 

Optimize your pages 

Once you have your keywords, you will want to make sure to optimize the pages on your website, including copy, blogs and more. In general, plugging keywords into certain areas will help your content to rank higher on a Google search. This includes: 

  • Page title 
  • Header tags 
  • URL structures 
  • Meta description 

This is where things can get tricky because, although you want to add your keywords in, it must be done with finesse. Otherwise, your content won’t make sense and probably won’t sound very good to the reader. Having the help of a strategic marketing firm who knows their stuff can come in super handy. (Wink, wink) 

Create quality content 

That brings us to our next step, creating quality content. Not only do you need to use keywords in just the right places, but you also need to make sure your content is interesting. Is your article, blog, or webpage copy relevant and engaging? Is it useful to your audience and providing a good user experience? Google will use certain methods to determine content quality as part of the search results they return to the user.  

Make it mobile-friendly

Optimize your website so it is mobile-friendly (responsive!) if you want to rank higher on Google searches. Why? Because we all carry a supercomputer around in our pocket and, even when people are at home, they are most likely searching on their handheld device instead of a laptop or desktop. Your website is mobile-friendly if users can read the content well, view any images and navigate without trouble.  (This is not the same as viewing a teeny-tiny mini website; photos should automatically stack and text adjusts.) 

There are a plethora of other, more advanced, ways to get your foot in the door of Google. But, by starting with these tips, you will find yourself crawling up the search results in no time!  

Need some help? Feel free to contact us, sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social to learn more about the expertise advice we offer! 

How to Prioritize Your Keywords and Optimization Goals

Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) is something most of us know exists, but we don’t always know how to make it work for us or our brand. In fact, it can be downright confusing! Instead of falling apart when it’s time to actually figure out which keywords *might* work to grab you some eyeballs, stick with us for the next few minutes and we will give you our short but sweet lesson in SEO for beginners… 

Keywords are more than just something that grabs your audience’s attention

Let’s forget everything we know about keywords in the analog world, because the web is a completely different beast. Search engines have things down to a science, and one that runs efficiently (and a little bit cut-throat if we are being honest). In order to find your place in the gauntlet of entrepreneurs (especially within your industry) you will need to start with the basics: 

Research 

Isn’t it funny how things always circle back to research? That is because, aside from everything else we could throw at you, knowing your brand and consumers well is the key to success in just about everything business related. Keyword research isn’t as tough as it seems, especially if you know your brand’s mission, voice and target audience. When you know your audience, you can define the questions in their search … and that, my friends, are your keywords. 

Find relevant keywords 

First, take some time to brainstorm some topics that are related to your business or industry. Then, using a keyword planning tool such as Ahrefs, input these topics one at a time to see relevant keywords. You are looking for a keyword that doesn’t have too much competition, but still has search volume potential. Still confused? Let us take the work out of it for you. 

Double check your work 

Evaluating the relevance of your keywords is crucial. In this step, make sure that you understand why you are using certain keywords, what connotations they may have, and double check to ensure they align with your brand. Do the keywords you have found align with the message you want to send to your audience? Do they resonate with you as a business owner or employee? Are they closely related to your industry?  

Check out the competition 

Jump on websites of your competitors. Follow them on social. Read their blogs. What keywords are they using? Who are they reaching that you aren’t? While you are at it, spend some time checking in on your target market. They may be using terms that you aren’t familiar with.  

Use your keywords wisely 

Relevant keywords should be used on your website, in your blogs, in copy you share and more, but that doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-fall. Too many keywords is just as bad as too few. (We call it “keyword soup” … and Google will actually punish you for that.) Make sure your messaging and content make sense to your audience so when they find your brand (thanks to your amazing SEO) they will jive with what you are dishing out.  

Need more help? SEO can be tricky, but we are experts! Whether you are an entrepreneur, small business, or already-established brand, let’s chat!