LinkedIn events are a great way to bring professionals together, either virtually or in-person. As the event organizer, one of your main responsibilities is to get the word out and invite relevant people to attend your event. Sending event invitations on LinkedIn is easy and straightforward when you know how to do it properly. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process step-by-step.
Why Send LinkedIn Event Invitations?
Here are some of the key reasons you should send LinkedIn invitations for your professional event:
– Wider reach – LinkedIn has over 740 million members globally. Tapping into this huge network allows you to promote your event to a much larger audience.
– Targeted invites – You can selectively invite connections, groups, or companies that would be interested in your event’s subject matter or industry.
– Credibility – Events sent through official LinkedIn invites look more professional and credible.
– Engagement – Sending invites enables you to see who has viewed, shared, or engaged with your event posts.
– Lower cost – Sending messages and invites is free on LinkedIn. It provides a cost-effective way to market your event.
– Follow up – After accepting invites, you have a direct channel to send event reminders and follow ups to attendees.
– Analytics – LinkedIn provides data and analytics on your event performance that you can use to improve future events.
Step 1 – Create the LinkedIn Event
The first step is to set up your official event page on LinkedIn. Here’s how to do it:
1. Go to your LinkedIn homepage and click on “Interests” at the top.
2. Next, click on “Events” in the dropdown menu.
3. On the Events page, click the blue “Create event” button in the upper right corner.
4. Enter all the key event details – name, date/time, venue, description, etc. Make sure to include an eye-catching image.
5. Under Organizers, add any other hosts or planners of the event.
6. Select the appropriate industry for your event from the dropdown options.
7. Enable attendees and comments so people can join your event and engage with posts.
8. Click “Publish” to create the public event page people can now view and join.
Once your event is live on LinkedIn, it’s time to start inviting guests.
Step 2 – Invite Your LinkedIn Connections
The easiest way to begin inviting is by messaging your existing LinkedIn connections:
1. Go to the Events page and click on your created event.
2. In the right column, click on “Manage” to access invite settings.
3. Click on the “Invite” tab at the top.
4. Select the “Connections” radio button.
5. Choose which connections to invite from the list. You can search for specific contacts.
6. Click the blue “Invite” button at the bottom to send invites to all selected connections.
This will send an invite containing your event details directly to those connections. They can RSVP or ask questions via the message.
Step 3 – Invite LinkedIn Groups
Another great way to tap into relevant audiences for your event is by inviting entire LinkedIn Groups to attend. Here’s how:
1. On the event “Invite” tab, select the “Groups” radio button.
2. Search for and select groups that align with your event’s professional audience and purpose.
3. Click the blue “Invite” button at the bottom to send invites to all members of the selected groups.
4. The group owners/managers will review the invite and likely approve posting it on their group page for all members to see.
Joining industry and local LinkedIn Groups is a valuable way to gain access to large pre-filtered audiences interested in your profession and location. Leveraging groups makes event promotion much easier.
Step 4 – Invite Companies to Attend
If your event would benefit from the presence and participation of certain companies, you can directly invite their company pages:
1. On the “Invite” tab, choose the “Companies” radio button.
2. Enter and select company pages you want to invite. Make sure they are relevant to the event.
3. Click the blue “Invite” button to message invite them.
4. The company managers will see the invite and evaluate if it’s a good fit for their team to attend.
Having sponsorship from reputable companies also adds legitimacy and prestige to your event listing.
Step 5 – Invite Posts on LinkedIn
You can expand your invites further by posting invites on various LinkedIn feeds:
– Share event invite posts on your Company Page feed.
– Post invites on your personal LinkedIn profile timeline.
– Share event details on LinkedIn groups you have joined.
– Comment with invites on relevant LinkedIn posts by others.
– Post invites on LinkedIn during weekly peak traffic times (Tues – Thurs).
– Leverage LinkedIn hashtags like #events #networking when posting.
Mixing up invites between private messages and public posts ensures wide distribution of your event information.
Step 6 – Send Event Reminders
Here are some best practices for sending event reminders to further boost participation:
– 2 weeks before – Send a reminder to all invited with updated event agenda.
– 1 week before – Send a reminder highlighting featured speakers and sponsors.
– 2 days before – Send a reminder with timing, location details, and contact info.
– 1 day before – Send a “Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!” reminder.
– Day of event – Send a “Looking forward to a great event today!” message.
Sending multiple reminder messages drives up attendee turnout rates according to studies. Keep the momentum going with regular updates.
Step 7 – Follow Up After the Event
Your event invitations don’t end when your event concludes. Here are effective ways to follow up:
– Send thank you notes – Show appreciation for those who attended.
– Share event photos – Post engaging photos highlighting your successful event.
– Send surveys – Ask for feedback on the event via online surveys.
– Share presentations – Distribute slides and materials from speakers at the event.
– Re-invite people – For recurring events, invite new and returning attendees.
– Review analytics – Check LinkedIn event data for insights to improve future events.
Following up properly makes attendees feel valued. It also provides valuable insights to help grow your next events.
Optimizing LinkedIn Event Invitations
Here are some optimization tips to improve the reach and conversion rates of your LinkedIn event invites:
– Personalize each invite with the recipient’s name. Generic invites get ignored more.
– Follow up your invites with an InMail message if needed.
– Avoid sending invites to those with no obvious interest or relevance to the event. Target invites carefully.
– Promote the unique value proposition and benefits attendees will gain at your event.
– Use eye-catching rich media in invites like images, videos, presentations.
– Segment your invites lists based on location, industry, job role, and level of interest.
– A/B test different subject lines and invite copy to see what generates higher response rates.
Putting some strategic thought into sending event invites on LinkedIn can really pay off with higher turnouts.
Conclusion
Inviting people to your LinkedIn events is crucial in driving registrations and attendance. Utilize your connections, groups, companies, posts, and reminders to reach the right audiences. Spend time segmenting and personalizing your invites. Follow up diligently before and after. Using LinkedIn’s immense reach to promote your professional events generates huge value at minimal cost. Implement these best practices for inviting people, and you will be on your way to hosting incredibly successful events.
