Use the power of blogs to get things done

A couple of weeks ago, another blogger and I got rid of some of the old stuff in our closet through a garage sale. It was held on Sunday and many people participated. Most of us got rid of enough stuff to go around shopping from other tables. And it got me thinking.

People have events all the time but no one taps into the power of blogs and social networking as much as they should to get maximum mileage out of their dos. Only very few companies are waking up to the power of social media and using blogs and traditional media for their events.

So here's my own two cents about how to have a successful event by using blogs. It is possible and should be done more.
1. Clock your demographic: If you're planning an event for older people, it might be best to use blogs that get that readership. A sports event should be on a sports blog, a party on a party blog and so on. If you know who you're talking to, it's not just taking shots in the dark.

2. Use incentive: Ask yourself one simple question: what will others gain from this event? If you are an event manager asking bloggers to write about your event, offer the blogger a reason to post about it. Many blogs don't do outright plugs for ethical reasons, but if you say, "As a shopping blogger, I thought you might be interested in our sale. Plus we'll give you 50 per cent off," you have more of a chance of getting written about. Ask what your readers want. Is the sale worth it? Will there be things that your readers might like to buy? Then, and only then, post about it.

3. Get your facts straight: Make sure that everything you post has been cross checked. I put all the times and places in bold when I tell people about an event so even people who speed read don't miss out on the details. Put all the information you think is relevant, including directions to the venue. Imagine you're speaking to someone new to a city or an event.

4. Saturate all your social media: For our own garage sale, I put the information on my Facebook, my blog and my Twitter feed. This way I made sure I was reaching everyone. People who follow you on Twitter may not read your blog and vice versa. And Facebook is the way I find out about most of the events I go to, so this is imperative.

These are just the basic steps. Just advertising in a newspaper isn't enough. Word of mouth might be powerful, but word of Internet beats that hands down.

Meenakshi writes a blog at the compulsiveconfessor.blogspot.com. Send her your queries at meenakshimadhavan@gmail.com