How to Host an Event as an Influencer
- Stephani Shepherd
- Jan 4, 2021
- 9 min read
In November of 2020, myself and Kiva, of The Fun Foodie Mama partnered up to host an event, the Fall Garden Friendsgiving. We set out to bring other local bloggers and friends together for a foodie experience.
We received great feedback from our guests, so I want to share with you some tips on how you, as a blogger or influencer, can host your own successful event.
You will want to share this post with all your influencer or blogger friends! They will thank you!
The Benefits of Hosting an Event as an Influencer
As an influencer, gaining visibility and fostering connections are both vital to building your brand. Hosting an event will help you do both. Your event will expose your brand to more individuals and allow you to create more connections with others in the influencer community.
You will also establish great brand partnerships and connections. You will be able to build upon and nurture these relationships for years to come.
Collaborating with other Influencers for an Event
The Fun Foodie Mama and I decided to collaborate on this event, and it was the best decision. I highly recommend collaborating with another influencer if you are looking to host your first event. The power of collaboration is absolutely priceless! You will be able to leverage both of your networks for the benefit of the event. You will also discover that your combined skills will help to produce a great event and even allow you to save money by not having to outsource as many tasks.
I 100% believe in collaboration over competition, so do not let your fears of working with similar influencers (or any other influencer) prevent you from a great opportunity.
How to Plan an Event as an Influencer : 12 Tips
1. Determine a budget. Your budget will be the most important thing and should guide all your other event planning decisions. You and your partner will need to agree on the type of investment you want to make and should also consider how much you want to profit from the event. As a blogger/influencer it is possible to host a profitable event if you plan properly. Your time and talents as an influencer are valuable!
2. Establish a broad event plan. You will want to decide on the high-level details of what you want your event to be like and know that as planning goes on you will get much more specific.
Answer some of these initial questions: Will your event have a theme? What type of guests do you want to come? Will it be adults only, females only, or family-friendly? What type of venue do you want? How many people do you want there? What do you want people to wear? What type of event would entice other bloggers and influencers?
3. Create a Guest List. You may be tempted to invite as many people as possible, but that can spiral out of control quickly and cause you to go over budget. Initially, this list may not consist of actual names, but you will decide on the type of crowd you want at your event. Consider the connections you want to make within your influencer community.
The Fun Foodie Mama and I decided that we wanted to appeal to local bloggers and influencers for our event. However, we were also open to non-influencers attending, but still wanted to maintain a trendy/chic vibe. This meant that we would need to be intentional about our marketing and invitations. I talk more about marketing later.
4. Choose an Event Venue. Once you have solidified some of the details for the type of event you want, you will need to secure a date and event space. Go for a trendy instagrammable venue if you want to draw people in. Don't forget to consider your event theme as well.
Also be sure to consider the distance your guests will have to drive, as distance is always a factor for guests.
If you are considering an outdoor space, you will need to determine if that area needs to be reserved. If you plan on having alcohol at the event you will also need to find out if the outdoor space allows for that.
The event venues may require you to purchase Day of Event Insurance. This insurance will protect you from financial loss stemming from property damage or unexpected cancellation. This can be obtained online for as little as $75. If you need host liquor liability coverage (insurance to cover damage caused by an intoxicated guest) the price will be higher.
If you will have audio/visual needs, be sure to confirm this with the venue prior to signing any contracts.
The Fun Foodie Mama and I were fortunate to collaborate with Covington Farm in Dade City, FL for our event. The venue is gorgeous and perfect for both indoor and outdoor events. The venue specializes in hosting weddings and can accommodate all your event needs. The sun sets right by the lake and delivers breathtaking views for all your guests to take in. Our guests fell in love with the venue, as it features endless photo ops. Be sure to check out Covington Farm on instagram for more images.
5. Decide on Event Décor. This is another part of planning that will be led by your theme, if you have one. It is also another opportunity to establish a brand partnership. You will need to consider if you want to purchase the décor and handle that task on your own, or if you want to outsource this task. Depending on how elaborate your décor plans are, you may discover that outsourcing could save you money and time, rather doing it all yourself.
The Fun Foodie Mama and I worked with Rising Star Event Planning to decorate our food tables. Our event venue was the visual highlight of our event, so we didn't have a need for dramatic décor throughout the property.
6. Determine Your Menu. No event is complete without some type of food. A 5-course meal is not required, but at least consider having snacks. If you have a theme, it will help to guide your food choices. You will also need to consider if the venue offers catering or if they allow outside food. Ask yourself: Will you serve a sit-down meal? Will you serve finger foods? Will guests eat at high top tables or at seating throughout the event? How will you serve the food?
If you are concerned about the cost of providing food, you can get creating and use your influencer skills to your advantage. You can leverage existing or new relationships with restaurants willing to collaborate with you for your event. Some restaurants may be willing to offer you an influencer discount for your event. Do not be afraid to ask for what you want. A kind ask goes a long way!
Aim to serve food that photographs well so your guests and photographers can capture images worth posting.
Check out the Savory food The Fun Foodie Mama and I featured at our event. You can find links for all the businesses below. Each image will take you to the Instagram page for that business.
Check out the Desserts The Fun Foodie Mama and I featured at our event.
For drinks we featured Virgin Piña Coladas from Mr. Margarita (photo courtesy of @for_st_Petes_sake) and a wine tasting from Keel & Curley Farms
7. Determine how you will capture the event. Hiring a photographer is priceless if you want to capture the event. Never plan to photograph your own event. You will likely be entirely too busy to do that. While having a photographer is not a requirement, it will be good to have the images for future marketing and as part of your brand images.
If you employ an event photographer, be sure to provide him/her with a list of images you must have, such as: venue, food, images of you and your co-host, a full group image of all the guests, vendors, etc. Consider the images you will want to later include in social media or blog posts.
8. Plan Activities and Entertainment for the Event
Do not skip this part. You do not need to plan a circus or concert for every event. However, ask yourself: Will you have icebreakers? It is a strictly networking event? Will you have live music? Will you play any games? Is the food the main “activity”? Will there be music?
No matter the answers to these questions, you need to have a plan. It is optimistic to expect an event with no dead space, where everyone will mingle perfectly. However, it is better to be prepared to provide your guest with things to do at your event. Think of both simple and involved activities that might enhance your guest experience.
For our event we decided to have an interactive “scavenger challenge”, for lack of a better title. We created a document to pass out to each guest listing things/people they could take pictures of then post to their Instagram stories. Each post qualified the guest for entry into our drawing for gift cards.
This game was a hit, because it not only gave guest something to do throughout the event and it also served as marketing and engagement. Guests were tagging myself and The Fun Foodie Mama for weeks after the event which was a huge benefit. All the posts and positive feedback from guests helped to spread the word about our event and build up the anticipation for a future event.
Our event also featured the Magic Mirror from Just us productions. This is a selfie experience where guests can use the props to take photos then receive a printed & digital copy of their images. Check them out to book them for your next event. They offer a full line of event services including bartending and DJ Services.
9. Curate a goodie bag. Trust me when I say, this is a big deal. People love free stuff and a goodie bag is a great way to say thank you for attending my event. To secure items for these bags, you will want to reach out to companies and ask them to be a sponsor for your gift bags. Most companies are excited to partner for opportunities of exposure like this. You can ask for product, gift cards, coupons, samples, etc. You can even ask for a company to sponsor actual bags, not just the items in it. I recommend limiting the amount of paper ads with no "value" to them. Any paper fillers should consist of a coupon, future event announcement, etc.
10. Choose your vendors. A great way to increase your profit is to charge vendors who want to sell products at your events. Consider the cost, size, duration, and audience of your event when deciding on your vendor list and vendor fee. It is a good practice to create a simple contract so that you and your vendors are all clear on the costs and agreed upon expectations. You can use PayPal to create a simple invoice listing the contract details.
11. Decide how much to charge. Now that you have all the event details solidified, you will need to determine how much your event is worth. To set a price ask yourself: What are we offering? How much do we need to charge to make a profit? What is too low? What is too high? What have similar events charged? Also consider the time you invested in planning the event. Ultimately the choice is yours, just be sure to offer your guests an experience worth the price.
According to EventBrite, if your event caters to a unique niche in your community, people will be willing to pay more.
12. Market your event. Posting to your social media platforms is the obvious way to spread the word and you even can ask other bloggers to share the posts. However, do not simply reply on your posts. From my experience, people responded better to a direct invite.
If you want local bloggers there, simply do a search on Instagram for “your city bloggers/influencers”. This will give you a great pool of other bloggers to invite. The Fun Foodie Mama and I had great success sending direct messages to bloggers whom we hadn’t even met. You will find that most bloggers welcome the opportunity to connect with other local bloggers.
I believe many people hesitate to just assume they are invited, even if you explicitly convey an open invitation in your marketing materials. Remember, a personal touch works wonders.
You should also consider posting to Facebook groups with members in your target market. It is just important to do your homework on who is in the group, before posting your invite. You can pay for ads on FB or Instagram, if that is in your budget, but again, we found it better to just do the work ourselves and DM as many people in our target market as we could.
ALso, consider showing your face to talk about your event on your social media platforms. The Fun Foodie Mama and I went live on Instagram to talk about our event and answer some of the questions we received, such as what to wear, food inquiries, arrival time, etc.
Bonus Tip: Don't forget to establish a sign-in procedure at your event! You want to collect email addresses from every guest, so you can stay in touch with them and of course, notify them of your next event! The Fun Foodie Mama actually hired a greeter to sign guests in and distribute the goodie bags. This was well worth the money.
I wish you much success on your endeavor to host your first or next event. Feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Be sure to follow Great Life is a Must and The Fun Foodie Mama on Instagram to stay up-to-date on our future events in the Tampa Bay area.
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