Head over to leadfeeder.com and sign up for a 14-day (no strings attached) free trial!
Have you ever wondered how to light the spark that transforms a group of attendees into a buzzing community anticipating your event? Meisha, Joel, and I share our playbook to ignite excitement and connection before the first session begins. We dissect the art of the personal touch in emails—Joel's insightful PS line technique is a game-changer—and the creation of dedicated discussion spaces that create a deeper sense of involvement. Our conversation paints a vivid picture of the pre-event landscape, where preparation meets anticipation, ensuring attendees are not just present but truly engaged.
As we navigate the intricacies of community engagement, I lay bare my journey through the world of strategic calls-to-action, where even an email signature can become a powerful tool for involvement. We debate the merits of various platforms, from Slack to Facebook groups, and how to maintain the delicate balance of fostering a space that's not only vibrant but sustains its relevance. Whether you're a community novice or a seasoned pro, this episode unpacks the subtle tactics that can turn a gathering of minds into a dynamic force with enduring impact.
To cap it off, we explore the symbiotic relationship between a thriving community and a successful event. Through personal invites and tapping into the power of your community members in event roles, we outline how to grow your circle and enrich the event experience simultaneously. Plus, get a sneak peek at our forthcoming chat with Nathan Schlafer from Marketer Mate AI, where we'll explore the frontiers of AI in campaign content creation. Join us for insights, strategies, and a few laughs along the way as we uncover the secrets to building communities that resonate long after the event is over.
Meisha Bochicchio
Meisha is a first-gen college grad and burgeoning marketer based in Boston. By day, Meisha is the Digital Content Marketing Program Manager at VMware, driving digital content strategies for VMware Explore. When she’s not busy behind the screen, she enjoys chasing down Boston’s best plate of pasta, spending time with her husband and pets, and enjoying all that New England has to offer. Meisha recently graduated with an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University, though she’ll always be a Clemson Tiger at heart.
LinkedIn
Joel Primack
Joel Primack has been in the Community space for ~5 years, serving and supporting communities of different types of personas and geographies. He's spent time at Sales Assembly, Lattice, and with multiple Community Consulting clients in a variety of spaces. Beyond his work experience, he hosts a podcast, The Community-Led Growth Show, as well as guest speaks, writes, & partnered with Common Room on a 5-city tour in the Fall of 2023.
Podcast: Community-led
Website: https://www.sarahnoelblock.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahnoelblock/
Newsletter: https://tinymarketing.me/newsletter
Tiny Marketing Community
Click here to ask a question about the episode
Head over to leadfeeder.com and sign up for a 14-day (no strings attached) free trial!
Have you ever wondered how to light the spark that transforms a group of attendees into a buzzing community anticipating your event? Meisha, Joel, and I share our playbook to ignite excitement and connection before the first session begins. We dissect the art of the personal touch in emails—Joel's insightful PS line technique is a game-changer—and the creation of dedicated discussion spaces that create a deeper sense of involvement. Our conversation paints a vivid picture of the pre-event landscape, where preparation meets anticipation, ensuring attendees are not just present but truly engaged.
As we navigate the intricacies of community engagement, I lay bare my journey through the world of strategic calls-to-action, where even an email signature can become a powerful tool for involvement. We debate the merits of various platforms, from Slack to Facebook groups, and how to maintain the delicate balance of fostering a space that's not only vibrant but sustains its relevance. Whether you're a community novice or a seasoned pro, this episode unpacks the subtle tactics that can turn a gathering of minds into a dynamic force with enduring impact.
To cap it off, we explore the symbiotic relationship between a thriving community and a successful event. Through personal invites and tapping into the power of your community members in event roles, we outline how to grow your circle and enrich the event experience simultaneously. Plus, get a sneak peek at our forthcoming chat with Nathan Schlafer from Marketer Mate AI, where we'll explore the frontiers of AI in campaign content creation. Join us for insights, strategies, and a few laughs along the way as we uncover the secrets to building communities that resonate long after the event is over.
Meisha Bochicchio
Meisha is a first-gen college grad and burgeoning marketer based in Boston. By day, Meisha is the Digital Content Marketing Program Manager at VMware, driving digital content strategies for VMware Explore. When she’s not busy behind the screen, she enjoys chasing down Boston’s best plate of pasta, spending time with her husband and pets, and enjoying all that New England has to offer. Meisha recently graduated with an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University, though she’ll always be a Clemson Tiger at heart.
LinkedIn
Joel Primack
Joel Primack has been in the Community space for ~5 years, serving and supporting communities of different types of personas and geographies. He's spent time at Sales Assembly, Lattice, and with multiple Community Consulting clients in a variety of spaces. Beyond his work experience, he hosts a podcast, The Community-Led Growth Show, as well as guest speaks, writes, & partnered with Common Room on a 5-city tour in the Fall of 2023.
Podcast: Community-led
Website: https://www.sarahnoelblock.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahnoelblock/
Newsletter: https://tinymarketing.me/newsletter
Tiny Marketing Community
Click here to ask a question about the episode
Virtual events are taught on my mind because they are my very favorite way of getting in front of prospects, building a community and hopefully having them become my customer. Today I'm talking to Misha and Joel about how to build community before the event. So you are warming them up, getting them excited, getting them ready and pumped to go to the event before the event ever happens. Now this conversation was actually over an hour long and I'm only sharing a little blip of it today. But don't you worry, I left my ass off with them and this is going to be a series. So today we're sharing the before. We also have the middle. So how to create community during the event, and we're digging into both live in-person events and virtual events. And then, last, we'll go into the after event how to keep the community going after the event has already taken place. How do you keep those relationships going? So super important.
Speaker 1:It's going to be a three-parter and in the summer I've decided to do what I'm calling a live concert series where I'm going to share the whole conversation. So, for people who aren't getting the behind the scenes on it, my interviews are about 60 minutes, but I only use maybe 15 minutes of the interview in each of the episodes to keep them tiny and bite-sized for you, but this summer I'm going to release the entire conversation, so that should be fun. So you're going to get this in a three-part series before, middle and end of community-led growth for events, and then in the summer you're going to get the whole shebang in one episode and you'll get all of the little tangents and polarity that happened behind the scenes in that one too. All right, so stay tuned, I'm about to share that conversation right now.
Speaker 1:Today we're talking about community around virtual events. So how you build community before the event ever takes place, how to continue that community growth during the event whether it's in person or virtual, because most of my events are virtual and then how you keep that going afterwards, which is really how service businesses sell. You have to keep that community going afterwards or they're going to forget you existed and they're never going to actually buy that offer. So let's dig into it. Can you walk me through the before the plant, the seed phase?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can dig in and, joel, definitely feel free to chime in as well. I think, for the purpose of setting the stage here, we're just going to assume, like before your event, these folks are not involved in your community yet. So maybe you've heard of it, but they're not actively engaging it. They're not really aware of it in some cases. So you're really just trying to plant those seeds, get them involved and pull them in before your event.
Speaker 2:I think some of the tidbits we'll share could definitely apply in a digital setting or in person setting as well, since we know both formats are very popular today. So I think one of the most obvious but very effective ways is to get folks involved in an email nurture. It sounds like not the most exciting advice, but it's the most effective. We know this, having an owned list of folks that want to hear from you. So I think my first tip would be definitely leverage your email list, get people on, whether that's your newsletter, whether that's somebody registers and you have a pre event nurture series. For if you have a big conference or even if you have a VIP event where you're bringing folks together, or even a digital event you have when folks register, you have a few opportunities where they're open to hearing from you before that event. Go ahead and introduce your community, let them know. Hey, we also have this great community you can join. We might plug it during the event, but just so you know, here's some resources for you about this community that we have.
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Speaker 3:So I would add into that and say, especially if you're going to go the email route, email route is probably not my favorite. I'll be honest and say that I get it, that it's part of it, but it's definitely not my favorite. It's not the most fun thing for me. It doesn't get my creative juices flowing, it's just standard. But I will say and I have done this before of adding a PS line.
Speaker 3:After Then you have whether it's the registration confirmed email or an hour before one day, before, all of those standard pre-emails. You can switch up the CTA to test different lines, all of that at those different milestones too. But having just a PS line plugging your community and explaining the value and how it connects back to the topic of the event, is it where you have a dedicated channel on that specific topic or conversational space? Do you think that folks need a place to hear and connect with peers, to dive deeper into it, or is there a high place or a channel for the event that you all have and that you want folks to also join because you're going to drop questions there or collect questions from folks through that space? There are different things you can do, but make it, I would say engaging, and also explain the value or why it's relevant to folks.
Speaker 3:You just say, hey, we have a community, congratulations, you get one cookie for that. But like communities, that actually might be too generous because, today, communities are welcome. So what if the value is that there's a lot?
Speaker 2:of communities, Like you really sell me on it. Like to your point, Joel, it's like everybody is on board with the community train. Like it's kind of like okay, I'm going to join another Slack group and it's a big thing to like.
Speaker 1:What is community? What is your definition of community? It could be your email list, but it could be a circle community or weekly zoom sessions. What does it mean?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think the email. It might not be the sexiest route to go. I think my examples were definitely not the best. It's still early, I'm drinking coffee, but I think to your point, joel, make giving it a creative take. Maybe it is just a quick PS line so you can drop the seed and kind of plant the seed early and then have a few more touches. I hate that word, but introduced it a few more times. I think you can get creative with it. It doesn't have to just be like, by the way, join our community and get a cookie. You can make it something that is fun and something that kind of catches people and they're like, oh, what's this? And peaks that curiosity.
Speaker 1:Let's pause here for one second, joel. Continue the thought, and then we'll pause right here, because I have extra questions.
Speaker 3:Sounds good. I was just going to say, on that note of being creative, yeah, add a PS line, but you could also make it, for example, like your email banner to. That can be a great place, whether it's actually in your like Gmail or Outlook, and just having a different creative banner at the bottom in your email signature block that also calls out like something big. Of course that's going to be relevant to folks both externally who maybe already are customers of yours or clients or highly aware of you, and maybe it's a great way to remind them of something big that's upcoming. But then also for those folks who are maybe more in that like prospect or just curious kind of bucket, it can be a great way to also showcase something of hopefully high value to them too. So, taking email, but in a different lens, that can also be a great way, and that's something that we've done effectively in a password, actively in a pass roll of mine too. So now I will pause and say Sarah, go back to whatever questions you want to double down into.
Speaker 1:OK, one second though on that. I have made that change to my signature.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I add that CTA into my just standard email signature If I have an event going on or some sort of lead magnet that I want and all it's made a massive difference. I didn't like it felt super passive, but it made a massive difference. But just one more I also added it to my social media Cover photos. So whenever I'm doing a new event I'll put that in the cover photo.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I definitely agree that, like, how do I say this? Some of these things that seem low lifts Actually the biggest impact, because you're hitting people like when they can take action and when they are potentially most thinking about it. I know, for example, like we were really successful using a similar thing about changing like the creative banner and our email signature blocks in a past roll around big things that we wanted to showcase Additionally and, I would say, in a different vein, another company I worked at actually ran ads successfully around promoting our community and that was actually a really successful way to actually get folks to show interest into. It Was actually just through ads and not really anything specific around the company. So just sharing, like other things, work and community can be a great like CTA, but it's all I would say in the lens of a being clear about the value If that makes sense, and making it timely and or ideally relevant at the same time.
Speaker 1:I like that. We talked about emails a possible community element. What other places are great for community building them Like circles, slack, facebook groups. What do you guys see today as like a relevant place to build your community? Can we give?
Speaker 2:the marketer answer like it depends. I think the most important part and this is like a very tactical thing, like where do you build your community? Like you have to go where your people are, which is very interesting, because I will say I in my past lives have been a big fan of oh, I prefer communities in Slack because I work in Slack all day. I'm already there. That was just my preference. Now, unfortunately, I'm at a company that is going away with Slack, which I'm still coping with this information.
Speaker 3:So I appreciate your thoughts here.
Speaker 2:But it's hard now because all these communities that I was very active in I forget about it because I'm no longer in Slack. It's like, how do you solve for those types of problems? So, yes, go where people are. I think there's always an element of you have to give people a reason to go somewhere too, so I think that's why I'm seeing more people move to platform like Circle, or I'm sure there's a dozen other ones out there. I don't know, joel, you might have a more succinct answer than me, but I'm go where your people are and also give them a reason to go there.
Speaker 3:I would definitely echo that, give them a reason, like it goes back to just being value focused. If it's not a good community, you know we're not going down that whole bucket, but just understand that's a key thing. If it's not good, then like people aren't going to go. As Misha said a few minutes ago, there are a number of communities in the world today and so either folks are going to say where they are because it is good per se and valuable, or they are going to check it out and then say peace out and find another place.
Speaker 3:I don't waste my time in places that I don't gain value from. I assume Misha doesn't. I assume you don't, Sarah. It's just natural. I'll just say it. I would also say around like specific, like platform or other things, around that kind of vein of like how and where it depends, not just like where your folks are, if you want to have it in the community, but also connecting it to business outcomes, making sure that you're launching things that clearly are and like roll back to business outcomes and beyond that are also possible for like where you are today, either in terms of resourcing or company lifecycle etc. Just being realistic, like if you can't do the moon, shoot for a star. If you can't hit a star, hit a cloud because, you'll always be there to land on them.
Speaker 3:I don't know, I'm just like you can put that.
Speaker 1:Hm.
Speaker 3:Oh, our folks are already sitting. Yeah, just be realistic. Is the point of this? Don't over invest in tech. If you can't actually build and support the program behind it, tech doesn't run anything. It's like the strategy, it's the thought, it's the continuation of, like you, spending time there with your members that makes something in communities successful. So I guess really that's where I was going with that. Apologies for all of the moon, star and cloud references, it just happened.
Speaker 2:No, I think you're like spot on, though it's like tech can only get you so far and I think, given the context of a lot of the listeners might be at smaller companies. They might be one person marketing teams. I think Joel and I both have experienced startup enterprise, everything in between, so we're definitely not suggesting, oh, every event you have needs of a spoke community, or you need to drop everything and invest in building out a full community, like it is an investment. It's an investment a lot of folks are making because it does pay off in the long run. If you're just getting started or you're like I can't list a full community, that's okay. A lot of these things I think can be used to build a sense of community or create a sense of community. When you're bringing people together at your event, whether that's an in-person engagement, a digital event, there's still these things that you can do to create this sense of community without having to go all in on building this year round community strategy.
Speaker 1:Yeah that's a good point.
Speaker 3:I would just say on that too, is like you can, especially from the event perspective, start and like hyper focus, in the sense of if you want to work with folks in a specific geography or segment or industry, like hold, maybe monthly, like virtual roundups or like round tables or meetups or whatever for folks in that space, get it in front of them too, and then maybe simultaneously or other, like the following week or the week before you do, like your own event that's more educational, that you actually like lead and speak at and whatnot.
Speaker 3:That's also relevant. But through all of these the point is like you can do something that shows and starts getting the ball rolling to. You're going to start meeting folks Like the more you do and show and truly care about people and the space that they're in, the more they're going to open up to you and say, oh hey, I'd love XYZ One of my clients I am working on like a project with right now. They actually just did their first user group and something that they actually heard from one of the attendees was that a great question if they actually had a space for folks to chat off like asynchronously, aka like a community, whether it's on circles, slap, who knows whatever, but they actually got that question and it was just really interesting to hear someone wanting that from an in-person event, and so it just shows that events can start the conversation. Events can also be like part of the community experience, but I would argue either way, they go hand in hand and they work really well together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think a great point to Joel is another, I guess, channel for pre-event community promotion. Kind of tying it back is that you can absolutely use. If you have an existing community, use those folks who are referrals To your point. If you have a regional event and you happen to have folks who you know live in Boston or Chicago or say hey, we're hosting this dinner or we're hosting this online roundtable, would love to bring like-minded folks together. Do you have any recommendations? Feel free to invite your friends and just using your existing group of community members to continue to grow the community and get folks into your events.
Speaker 3:Go ahead. Okay, sorry, this is turning exactly like what Misha and I said during our prep session, which was like we would just be rift. Sorry, but on that I would just also say that, like yes, and you can also bring members into the fold of actually being speakers or leading events or being on panel or getting insights into what's top of mind for them. Is it their biggest pain, something that they want to celebrate in their space, or is it like indele a platform, like creating a huge wave throughout it, like you get those things, weave it into your experience? So it's again timely, relevant, if it's not either.
Speaker 2:Ideally, both of those look I feel like now, if you ask people like what's top of mind, everything is just like AI.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's how I-. I don't really love it.
Speaker 2:I'm like besides AI, what's top of mind? But I do love the idea of again pre-event asking folks like what's on your mind? What do you want to talk about? What's pressing hot button? Hot takes. This event is for you, so help us, help you and make the best use of your time.
Speaker 3:Exactly. That can also be a great way to invite panelists or other folks into it and say, hey, that's a great topic. I actually don't know a lot about it. I might be able. Would you be interested in being on a panel of potentially one other person If I bring someone else and if you can find a peer too, and then I could be like the moderator. If you're like the community leader, the marketer or the owner of the company, whatever that could be like a really basic but still impactful way to bring folks along for the ride. Make more of that like one-to-one connection between those folks who you're engaging with, but also then humanize the event itself. It's not just you. You got three other people, so now you're up to four and you can promote them. You can send out social packets for them, all of those sorts of things. It's just good. As long as I said, one more time to really beat this horse, it just has to be timely and relevant, that's all.
Speaker 1:You're taking that relationship to the next level by giving them an opportunity to be spotlighted in that event. That's just going to bring in more referrals, more promotion, because now you have multiple people promoting that event. Something I like to use community for pre-event is filling the event. The easiest lift I've had that had a big impact on my event getting sold out is creating meetup groups that are hyper-focused on a specific target audience for that event. Meetup will fill those communities. For me it pushes them out to the right people and then I just put those events on that meetup group and they fill so easily. That has been a really easy way to build community around the event but also gain awareness around it.
Speaker 2:I love the meetup group too, because I've seen some on Boston or other areas. An interesting feature is you can see who's coming to the event. A lot of times they'll preview X-men of people have already registered or signed up or whatever. It's social proof. But I think if you're not using a third party, that gives you that visibility small again, small list but just introducing people before the event. That's if you're having an intimate online roundtable. Here's the 10 other people that are going to be here today. Or for an in-person event. Again, works better for smaller events. But hey, here's the people that are coming to tonight's dinner and give them an opportunity to connect and meet with folks before the event, to break some of that tension of awkward strangers in a room and you're like oh, I already know this is Sarah. Sarah, so nice to meet you in person. I give them a little bit of that connection before the event.
Speaker 3:Yep, that's exactly what one of my community consultant clients does before our monthly dinners. So we'll spin up a specific and private space for all of the attendees of that dinner and then I'll share out the names, titles, companies and LinkedIn's of all of the attendees, usually 24 to 48 hours in advance of the event and people exactly like just get a meet, check it out. One time specifically, I remember someone was really surprised to see another person from their same kind of industry. I was like, yeah, happy coincidence, that's the best.
Speaker 1:Glad this worked. That's really good advice. I love that idea and I haven't even thought about doing something like a dinner. It's so.
Speaker 3:I love a good dinner.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's such a good idea and it's so personal.
Speaker 3:Misha, that's what we'll do when we go international. It'll just feel like 10-person intimate dinners.
Speaker 2:I love those type of events. Oh it's like I just prefer to sit and have like long deep conversations with folks versus a lot of your bigger events. Sometimes they'll do the everybody happy hour and that serves a purpose too, for sure, but I definitely love like a good. Let me just get to know five people super well and their role and their problems and challenges. Versus speed date, try to meet 20, 30 people an hour.
Speaker 1:That's a good introvert event too, where you can have those intimate conversations.
Speaker 1:Yes for sure. All right, beautiful humans. I hope that you got a ton out of this conversation. We learned about how to do email marketing right, to build up that community before the event. How to create communities outside of email, as Joel so gracefully said, that he much prefers, and how to get people excited about the event and kind of amp them up beforehand so they're ready to network and get to know new people. And if you liked this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, review. Thank you, I would love some more reviewers. Go over to Spotify or Apple podcasts to do that.
Speaker 1:All right, so I will be airing the middle part of the how to create community during an event in March and next week I'll share my conversation with Nathan Schlafer. He is the founder of Marketer Mate AI and if you've ever heard me talk about the four C's of content marketing, basically you don't get burned out. The second C is campaign content. So we'll be talking about how to use AI to create campaign content so much faster. So get excited for that and I will share the during the event community building in March. I will see you then share with a friend. Bye.