How To Get The Word Out For A Community Event

It might be an Eagle Scout activity, an Easter egg hunt at the high school, or a benefit dinner for a charity, but no matter the activity, putting on a community event can be a fun way to get with your neighbors to celebrate or work for something together. In the course of planning on activity, one of the important steps is making sure that everyone knows the details on what is going on so that they can come. Here are a few ideas to make sure that you have a big crowd on the big day.

1. Utilize Social Media

One of the best ways to get the word out there is through social media. The possibilities of this are endless, often don't take a lot of time, can help others be involved in letting people know about your event, and can be done from the comfort of your home. Some options include:

• Create an image that can be shared on Facebook and Twitter that has all of the details of the event
• Create an event page on Facebook that people can RSVP to
• Post the details as a Facebook status or tweet and ask people to share the information
• Post the details on a community group page if there is one
• Create a free website with the details that can also be shared on social media

2. Put Posters Everywhere 

There are likely many local print shops that offer wide format printing so that you can make a few large posters to put in spots around your community. If you're able to, have the poster graphically designed so that it is more appealing to look at. You can also use the smaller image to share on Facebook or to print off smaller fliers. Remember to think creatively about where to put the posters. Some options, depending on the type of your activity, could be put in places such as

• Local churches
• Schools
• Libraries
• Parks
• Local businesses that have bulletin boards for public information
• Post Offices

Remember to get permission to put up the posters so that they will stay up. When you ask for permission, try to be enthusiastic about the event so that the person you are asking permission from will be more likely to come and to tell other people about the activity.

3. Incentivize People To Talk 

Word of mouth is your best friend. Social media gives people a lot of room to discuss the event, and hopefully the posters around town will also help people to see it and talk to their neighbors. Try to have something unique, charitable, or exciting about the event that people will want to discuss with their neighbors. If nothing else, you could consider doing a small raffle so that people know there are prizes involved. Word-of-mouth is a difficult thing to define how to utilize, but if you can find a way to get people talking about the activity and keep that desire in mind during the planning stages, you are more likely to have a great event.

Putting on a community event takes a lot of work, but the more marketing you can do to get people to attend, the better turnout you will have. The time you spend doing these things will certainly pay off in the long run when your community gets together for a common goal.