Five Tips for Curating a Successful Influencer Event

By Lauren Trieschmann

There’s no denying that in this age of technology, social media influencers have a massive – you guessed it – influence on consumers. Whereas journalists can take weeks or months to turn a story around, influencers have the ability to create and share content instantaneously, resulting in immediate exposure for your brand. At Double Forte, we work with hundreds of influencers who range vastly in their content style, area(s) of focus, follower count, and the demographics their content reaches.

Beyond partnering with influencers for social media campaigns, hosting influencer-specific events is a great way to engage with creators and generate buzz for your brand on social media. Here are a few key tips to keep in mind when planning your next influencer event:

1. Allow ample lead time for RSVPs.

As COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease and brands transition back to in-person events, influencers may find their inboxes flooded with more event invitations than ever. With so many brands vying for influencers’ time and attention, it’s important to send out invites well in advance of your event for a better chance of securing time on their calendars. For local and regional happenings, we generally recommend sending invitations four weeks before your event date and following up 2-3 weeks out from the event. For events that require guests to travel (such as a multi-day event or tour), it’s best to send invitations at least three months ahead of time.

2. If you can, offer guests a plus-one.

While there are certainly limitations to this rule based on budgetary or event capacity restrictions, we recommend allowing influencer guests to bring along a plus-one if it’s feasible for your brand. Why, you might ask? It’s because oftentimes, influencers quite literally need a second pair of hands to help them create quality content – whether it’s someone behind the camera snapping photos of them enjoying the experience, or a stand-in hand model for an Instagram Story of clinking glasses. We’ve found that many of our influencer partners appreciate being able to bring a partner, assistant, or fellow content creator to events with them to make the process of documenting the experience even more seamless.

3. Share your social media handles and hashtags in advance and have them readily available at the event.

In order to maximize influencer content and make things easier on your guests, it’s critical to provide your brand’s social media handles and hashtags ahead of time. When contacting guests to confirm their attendance or sending a reminder for an upcoming event, include relevant handles (with links) and hashtags so that they can be prepared to post in real time from the event. We also recommend having this information on-hand at the event, whether it’s included on signage, printed on menus, or visible elsewhere at the venue.

4. Create “Instagrammable” moments and experiences.

Due to the highly visual nature of many social media platforms, it’s essential to create visually appealing, “Insta-worthy” moments throughout your event to encourage guests to capture content. Offering an eye-catching photo backdrop, an interactive experience, or photo-ready food and drinks are all great ways to encourage content creation and posting. It’s also important to keep lighting in mind. While some influencers carry their own portable ring lights, offering well-lit photo ops is the one of the best ways to ensure that creators’ content is top-quality.

5. Offer your guests a parting gift.

Just because your event is coming to an end doesn’t mean there are no more opportunities for engaging with influencers. If it’s within your budget, we recommend sending guests home with a gift bag containing items that can be used to create more content from home, even well after the event. Another great way to keep up the momentum on social media is to offer influencers a special promotional code to share with their followers after the event. This can significantly benefit your brand (think link clicks and exposure to new customers) and the influencer, as these codes often translate to higher follower engagement.

Want to learn more about planning a successful influencer event? Reach out to the Double Forte team for more information.