Congratulations! After months and months of planning, promoting and executing, your event has officially wrapped. But before you hang up your event planning hat, your work isn’t over just yet. Once you’ve counted your ticket sales, calculated the donation amount, paid your vendors, etc., it’s time for one of the most important phases of event planning – post-event engagement. Connecting with attendees after the event is essential for nurturing long-term and loyal relationships with your brand’s supporters.

So, how do you maintain those connections with your audience post-event? Below, we break down several strategies.

Send a digital thank you to attendees 

A simple thank you goes a long way when establishing brand loyalty. Sending a follow-up email or posting on social media gives you the opportunity to express appreciation for your attendees’ time and support. The most important part of this follow-up message is a clear call-to-action. Whether it’s asking them to donate (if they didn’t get the chance during the event), book an appointment or get in touch with your team, a well-crafted thank you can keep the connection going.

Share visual content from the event

Aside from a written thank you, be sure to share event highlights so the impact from the event can live online. This could be photos, videos, quotes from speakers, behind-the-scenes moments, goals reached or even user-generated content. When attendees see themselves or familiar moments featured in your post-event coverage, they’re more likely to engage. Catch their attention after the event wraps by creating a photo album on Facebook, sharing a link to event photos via email, resharing tagged content on your Instagram Stories, writing a blog post for your website, etc. 

Distribute a post-event survey 

In your follow-up communication to attendees, you may choose to include a post-event survey. Even if your event went swimmingly, feedback should always be welcomed. A survey can offer insight into what worked, what didn’t and what could be improved for next year. Keep the survey short while asking about key elements like the venue, the flow of the event, communication and overall satisfaction. 

Debrief with your team

After months of work, your team is likely ready to move on to the next project. Before you do, it’s important to reflect on successes and challenges. What lessons did you learn? How can you streamline processes for the next event? You don’t want to wait an entire year to talk through these key takeaways – do it while the event is fresh on your mind. 

When you’re dealing with operational tasks post-event, these communication follow-ups may fall to the bottom of your list. That’s where our team comes in! Whether you need support with pre-event promotion, post-event follow-ups or anything in between, we’re a phone call away.