Why you need to market your event - and why you should hire MBD Marketing & Events to do so!1/22/2023
A good event attracts visitors, a great event draws a crowd. Marketing and events, while completely different concepts, go hand in hand. What is event marketing? When it comes to company or corporate events, event marketing is the term used to describe any event where a company’s product or service is promoted. Marketing events can be anything from a small gathering of like minded customers/followers, to a large scale industry convention. These events can be live and in-person, or held online, like webinars and meetings. Any event where you can showcase your product or service can be promoted through event marketing. This marketing campaign is built much like any other campaign - with clear goals, strategy, and a timeline that begins well before the event and includes follow up outreach after the event. This same structure can also be applied to any community gathering or large scale event.  Why you need to consider event marketing in your plans The main goal of any event - whether it’s for business or fun - is to bring people together. Event awareness is key. If you are planning a business or organizational event, including event marketing into your plans will help you:
Most importantly, event marketing allows you to build strong, in-person, relationships and trust with current and prospective customers. Business events help engage customers on a personal level.  Trends in event marketing There are numerous studies out there that provide statistics proving why event marketing should be part of your company’s general marketing strategy. In a world that continues to focus more and more on digital advertising, emails, and online content, event marketing offers a personal touch that many customers are craving.
How to incorporate event marketing into your overall strategy Even though we feel event marketing is more successful than any digital advertising campaign, in terms of reaching current and potential customers, we don’t suggest ignoring your digital marketing channels when it comes to event promotions. Social media and email campaigns are great tools for event promotions. Scheduling your event on an online community calendar, such as a local chamber calendar of events, is a great way to connect with other businesses and customers in the greater community. Social media is a great tool for pre and post event promotions and wrap up. Create event hashtags to promote on social media. Schedule posts to build up excitement for your event. Create engaging and exciting visuals to share a few weeks before your event, and to thank guests and partners following the event. Promote your event in relevant LinkedIn or Facebook groups. The possibilities are endless! Create a messaging campaign for your social media and online channels that promotes the event, allows you to tag event partners and vendors (a super easy way to increase the size of your audience), and thank customers and event attendees afterwards. How My Big Day Marketing & Events can help As event and marketing professionals, My Big Day Marketing & Events has the skills and talent to you create a successful event and grow your business at the same time! Our team starts by setting measurable goals and objectives. These goals provide a great way to measure success after all is said and done. Our team can help you build a clear and cohesive theme for your event that reflects your brand and brings everything together - making a pleasant experience for both you and your guests. Our creative team members are pros at creating thematic social media and online campaigns and messaging that draw your potential guests and audiences in!  My Big Day also has connections throughout the industry and we know the best places to promote your event. We can also help you connect with potential partners and vendors - growing your connections throughout the community. We can work with you from concept through event execution - making sure that your unique brand shines through your event, and ensure that all of your goals and objectives are met. If you would like to add event marketing to your overall strategy, please reach out to learn more about how we can help. You can find examples of our work at our website: www.mybigdaycompany.com, and on all of our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Youtube. Our Pinterest account also offers a wealth of ideas and examples you can use to start your business event planning process.  Congratulations, new business owner! You’ve honed your concept, raised the money, found your perfect space, conducted interviews – and now it’s time to open your doors, with the MBD Marketing and Events team’s tips on how to host a ribbon cutting for your new business.  What is a ribbon cutting? A ribbon cutting is a ceremonial opening of your business, usually a formal event where a company representative or local public figure commemorates your new venture. The name “ribbon cutting” comes from the tradition of cutting a large ribbon with supersized scissors to “open” the doorway to the new storefront. Fun fact: The origin of giant scissors can be traced back to the Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago. Modern ribbon cuttings need not involve the literal ribbon, though it is still a popular practice. The main purpose of a ribbon cutting is to gain publicity for and raise awareness of a new or renovated business. Ribbon cuttings and grand openings are not one and the same. Grand openings are typically the first time a storefront is open for regular business, while a ribbon cutting is a special event focused on ceremony and dissemination of information. Follow these steps to get the most out of your ribbon cutting: Plan First things first, you’ll need to set a date and time for your ribbon cutting. Your local Chamber of Commerce or an event planner can tell you the ideal day and time to host your event. You’ll also want to check the schedule of any officials or public figures you’d like to attend, before settling on a date. Be sure to allow enough time to plan the logistics of your event and to get the word out. Next, you’ll want to start on promotion (see “Promote” below). While you’re spreading the word about your event, you’ll need to prepare and send invitations to VIPs. Planning the ceremony itself involves considerations about who will host and answer questions, whether you will have any speakers, food, entertainment, seating, photography, and swag such as branded gift bags. Hiring a local event planner like MBD Marketing & Events can streamline this process, and we’ll use our huge network in northern Colorado to get you the best deals from your vendors.  Promote You’ll want to get the word out about your upcoming ribbon cutting as much as possible. There are free and paid methods for creating word of mouth about your event in your community. Consider promoting your event through:
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of hours promoting your new business while you’re, well, getting ready to open that new business, you’re not alone. Our marketing and events team can handle all of the above for you! Execute Many people, even business owners, don’t realize what goes into putting on an event behind the scenes – but we are experts. Sticking to your event timeline can be a challenge when juggling multiple vendors and inevitable last-minute mishaps. Having an event planning team working in the background ensures your day will run smoothly, but if you don’t, plan to at least have someone to coordinate vendors and logistics the day of your event. Consider things like:
 Publicize Ideally, your early promotion efforts enticed local publications to attend your ribbon cutting and/or write about your new business. But you can publicize your event, too. Share photos and information about your event on your business’s website and social media pages. If your website includes a blog, dedicate a post to your successful ribbon cutting. Your event guests are a great source of free publicity. Encourage them to share your event by creating a specific hashtag for posting about your event – this allows you to easily search for posts made by guests. A selfie wall, or eye-catching backdrop for guests to take photos in front of, is a source of entertainment and visual publicity for your ribbon cutting. For help planning your ribbon cutting and day-of coordination, book the northern Colorado experts at My Big Day Marketing & Events. We take on the behind-the-scenes stress, so you can enjoy your event. For more business marketing and event tips and ideas, follow My Big Day on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.   Running a small business is hard work! Small business owners tend to wear many hats: project manager, logistics manager, operations manager, human resources department, and often times, marketing manager. That is a lot to maintain and control! Marketing mistakes and pitfalls often occur due to the fact that so many small business owners aren’t confident in their marketing skills and they are simply just spread too thin. Marketing mistakes won’t necessarily ruin your business, but they do sometimes cost time and money. The My Big Day Marketing & Events team recently pulled together a list of common marketing mistakes that we have noticed clients and potential clients make. Our team has over 127 years of marketing experience - we’ve seen it all! Hopefully this list will help your small business avoid or correct potentially costly mistakes. Outdated Website Your website is your most valuable marketing asset. It is the key to reaching all of those searching potential customers. It is oftentimes the channel that delivers your company’s first impression to potential customers. 97% of consumers search online for products and services. A missing or outdated website can have a detrimental effect on your ability to do good business. Creating and maintaining a website isn’t hard or even expensive. There are a variety of easy-to-use website builders that are affordable - Wix, Weebly, Squarespace - are all user-friendly for even the most tech-fearing person. Neglecting Data If you don’t track the results of marketing campaigns, website traffic, or social media data, you never get a solid idea of what actually works. Not tracking goals, conversions, click-through rates, or engagement is like throwing something “against the wall” and hoping that something sticks - a sometimes costly mistake. There is no way to learn from your mistakes when you neglect to track. There is no way to improve. My Big Day Marketing & Events suggests building a strategy that includes campaigns with goals, milestones, defined messaging, targeted channels, and data collection. We suggest tracking website metrics, including the number of sessions, users, pageviews, top pages, traffic sources (which social media channels or ads bring your website the most visitors), visitor demographics, and conversions. When you collect this data, you’ll be able to track where to spend your time and money for campaign promotions. You’ll also learn a lot about your audience and customer base. My Big Day Marketing & Events tracks these metrics quarterly for all of our clients. This data helps us shape and adjust our marketing messaging.  You don’t have a clear idea of who your audience is Your audience is the people you want to purchase your service or product - those that are buying your solution to their problem. Sometimes the audience we want can blind us to the customers we actually have. No matter how great your messaging, logo, or campaigns are - if you don’t really know your audience, your message will miss the mark. Some small business owners try to avoid this problem by targeting the masses (remember before we mentioned throwing something against the wall in hopes that it will stick???). This is a sure way to drive up marketing costs and see very little on your ROI. My Big Day Marketing & Events helps small businesses study and get to know their customers and target audiences. We help companies segment their customer base, allowing tailored messaging to reach the right people at the right time.  Wasting time on social media by not following the 80/20 rule The 80/20 rule is a standard in social media marketing - 80% of social media posts should provide useful information to your audience (educating, entertaining, and offering solutions), 20% explicitly promote your business. People do not engage on social media to watch advertisements. They scroll through their timelines and feeds to connect with others, to be entertained, to learn, and to be inspired. Your social media strategy should reflect that. Also, when you provide helpful content for your audience, you are establishing yourself and your company as an authority on the matter. It builds trust. My Big Day Marketing & Events will often create posts and blogs that provide links to helpful articles or videos, industry insights, inspirational quotes and images, timely articles, and uplifting stories. These are peppered in with posts that promote our clients’ businesses and events. All of this is created to draw your customers in and engage them around your mission and business. No strategy or plan All of the previously mentioned mistakes could be avoided with one simple solution - having a strategy and plan. Failing to plan usually leads to a high rate of failure. Every client, event, and campaign is unique. My Big Day Marketing & Events works with each client to build a marketing strategy that works for their specific needs and goals. Our typical marketing strategy is built around these 7 steps:
 Failing to see marketing as a business investment Expenses are something you buy and are often cut or curbed during tight economic times. Investments deliver future value. The entire purpose of marketing is to drive leads into future and long-time customers. When you treat marketing as an expense, your ability to find future leads, customers, and company ambassadors is greatly diminished. Marketing should be viewed as a business investment. Marketing will help drive growth and new opportunities when your company needs it the most. My Big Day Marketing & Events helps coach clients to avoid these common mistakes. We work to help small businesses create effective, scalable, and brand-building marketing campaigns that really work. We specialize in marketing, advertising, social media strategy & management, website design & maintenance, and event marketing. We have the time and expertise to help support small business goals and growth. If you would like help with your marketing goals and strategy, reach out for a one-on-one consultation. We will help you avoid these mistakes and find success!  Making Business Personal
As a connected collective of experts, My Big Day specializes in creativity. With superior organization, marketing experience and original ideas, we pull off amazing events and campaigns! My Big Day makes business personal by bringing JOY to the job in everything we do. As purveyors of fun with My Big Day, we support businesses and individuals in the growth of their ideas, events and marketing strategies. Our creative aptitude allows for unique ideas. Our passion for perfection makes every client a priority! Contact MBD Marketing & Events *** Bringing Joy to the Job *** Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us 
MBD has been in business for 16 years and we have a team of 14 industry professionals who have learned a ting or two over the years about networking.
What do you NEED to know? Download our free printable! 
It’s pretty simple - smart Small Businesses rely on Referral Programs to bring in leads. Referral Programs are effective tools in converting leads and expanding your loyal customer base. What is a Referral Program for Small Business? A referral program is a word-of-mouth marketing strategy that turns your most satisfied customers into brand ambassadors. To simplify - your customers do a lot of your marketing for you! Referral programs let satisfied customers share their brand experience with partners, colleagues, and friends - providing a much larger communication web than your business could do on its own, at a fraction of the cost! The purpose of a referral program is to acquire leads and build credibility. When you ask your customers to consider others who might benefit from your product or service, they will forward leads that are already a good fit for your brand. It means you will spend less time and money on acquiring new customers - these referred clients will come in already with exposure to your business. For many, a Small Business Referral Program produces images of punch-card programs or discount coupons. These are low-budget tools that can produce results, for sure, but even small businesses can expand their reach by collecting and using data and creative communication.  How to Start Your Own Referral Program There are a variety of referral program software systems that you can research and utilize in setting up your own referral program. You can also utilize a variety of templates connected to your current CRM that allow you to create a bank of referral request emails, referral follow-up emails, social content about your business, and tools for creating a positive customer experience. That all sounds like a lot of work, but it is actually quite easy. After setting your referral program goals, start by:
 Referral Program Examples You can reap great benefits from a strong and well thought out referral program. Offering your customers an official way to spread the word about your business and rewarding them for their efforts is the name of the game! There are many creative ways in which you can launch a successful program:
There are many ways to engage with your current customers to build a quality program that will benefit your bottom line. You can increase your visibility, expand your audience base, and grow closer to your current customers, for a fraction of the cost of paid advertising. Something to consider when creating your business and marketing plans!  Small Business. Big Impact. As a connected collective of experts, My Big Day specializes in the creative touches so many marketing campaigns & events these days are lacking. With superior organization, marketing experience and original ideas, we pull off amazing events and campaigns! Allow us to WOW you and your guests! As purveyors of fun with My Big Day, we support businesses and individuals in the growth of their ideas, events and marketing strategies. Our creative aptitude allows for unique ideas. Our passion for perfection makes every client a priority! Contact MBD Marketing & Events Small Business. Big Impact. Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken  Color Psychology is the study of how colors affect perceptions and behaviors. It is something important to consider when creating branded assets and audience reaction and reach. Color psychology can have a profound impact on your brand recognition, marketing campaigns, and overall message consistency. Most successful companies use consistent color combos in their branding and messaging strategies. Choosing the right colors for your brand or rebrand is essential. Your brand colors help produce a mood, feeling, and personality for your company, services, and products. The right brand colors will differentiate your brand from the sea of other businesses that your audience interacts with. When picking the right color for your brand, research has found that predicting consumer reaction to color appropriateness is far more important than the actual color itself. How Colors Influence Your Audience Color has always been something that appeals to the human visual senses. Countless marketing studies have shown that particular colors have certain effects on consumers. For example, some colors stimulate areas of the brain that promote excitement (red), while others provide a sense of tranquility (blue). Businesses can harness these color-influenced feelings in their marketing and branding. Check out this infographic on Color Influence:   Your customers are bombarded with different images, colors, and brands every day. The colors you choose for your brand and your marketing campaigns (email marketing in particular) can help you stand out. Content created with color in mind can help your audience see exactly what you want to see and feel exactly what you want them to feel. The color combos and styling also has an effect on whether your content is readable or usable (think white fonts on a dark background). The wrong colors can have a profoundly negative effect on your message. Choosing the Right Colors for Your Brand Here are some pro tips when considering colors to represent your brand:
 Consider contrast when choosing the colors for your branding and messaging. Other things to consider when choosing your audience:
  A bit about our President, Christine K Forster... For the past 15 years, Christine has built a name for herself and My Big Day in our community. By design, she has remained mostly out of the spotlight - working behind the scenes to ensure clients are cared for, happy and receiving excellent service and advice. Every once in a while we are asked to provide sound bites, interviews or quotes about the events industry. We have been fortunate to be featured in many national publications and shows. Locally, we truly care about making a difference in our community and supporting fellow business owners, entrepreneurs and community partners. Recently, The Group Real Estate interviewed Christine on what makes her tik. See below.  Christine, tell me a little bit about your company My Big Day: My Big Day is a Marketing & Events Company completed owned and operated by outstanding women! What brought you to starting such a company? My entire life I have been planning events and working in the media. My socialite tendencies and organizational skills make my passion a career! What are some upcoming events you have planned for this year? Just in the next month we have a large Hollywood Game Show event for a corporate client, a wedding at the 4 Seasons, 5 non-profit fundraisers and a large community event in Fort Collins for adults - the NoCo Easter Keg Hunt! What are you most excited about in the future for My Big Day? Making a difference in our community through the work we do, and supporting my team and their families!  Contact MBD Marketing & Events
Small Business. Big Impact. Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Millike
3. Order delivery or grab some takeout for a date night in Bring the restaurant date night to you. Order in delivery or takeout from your favorite romantic restaurant - even fancy steakhouses and seafood restaurants are offering takeout during the pandemic. If you want to go all out, recreate the restaurant atmosphere at home with tablecloths, your best plates and glassware, and some candles and flowers to set the mood. If you don’t live with your partner, you can still enjoy the meal together via video chat. You can even surprise your S.O. (significant other) with the romantic meal by ordering the food ahead of time to be delivered to them. Most restaurants with their own delivery system will offer this, as do Uber Eats’ share system and Grubhub. 4. Shop local gifts Show your partner and struggling local businesses some love this year by choosing unique gifts from a small shop in your area. If you’re worried about going inside, many small businesses are offering curbside pickup, and some have even set up online ordering with shipping. If you live in NoCo, check out MBD’s local-centric Valentine’s Day gifts Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/MyBigDayEvents/valentines-day-gifts/ full of unique products from Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor, and more.  5. Stream a virtual concert Virtual concerts are still happening - more than ever. If concerts are a favorite date night pastime for you, now you can recreate the music fan experience at home. You can now easily search Google for a list of upcoming virtual concerts. SongKick also has a great list you can bookmark: https://www.songkick.com/live-stream-concerts of live streaming concerts with times. Clear the living room for slow dancing (or a mosh pit, if that’s more your vibe), have an in-home concert “tailgate,” and have your favorite concert drinks on hand. 6. Make chocolate fondue Chocolate and romance go hand-in-hand, and nothing is more romantic than melted chocolate with fruit or sweets. You may not feel comfortable going to your favorite fondue restaurant this year, but you can bring the fondue experience home. You can buy a fondue pot online for as little as $15 these days, grab a box of strawberries, melt a bag of chocolate chips, and voilà.
8. Send Valentines through snail mail Maybe you’re in a long distance relationship, or maybe you just want to surprise your partner with a note or two left around the house. Either way, handwritten notes are a romantic tradition that go a long way in today’s world of text messages and Snapchats. Take your time writing (practice that cursive?) and, if you’re mailing your Valentine, use your nicest stationery or take some time to personalize what you have. Doodles or notes in the margins will make these keepsakes even more memorable, and you’ll love looking back on them together down the road.  9. Serve your loved one breakfast in bed Surprise breakfast in bed is basically never a bad idea, if you ask us. Sneak out of bed early to prepare your loved one’s favorite meal (pizza is fine for breakfast, by the way) and surprise them with it. Alternatively, cook breakfast together, then head back to bed to enjoy your culinary creations and spend the day being couch bed potatoes. 10. Connect virtually If you can’t be together this Valentine’s Day, carve out some time to connect virtually. Phone calls, video calls, and virtual activities like an online class or Netflix movie party are an easy way to show someone you’re thinking of them. Other ideas include eating a meal or sharing a glass of wine “together,” live streaming the same concert, or solving a virtual escape room.  11. Get outdoors together Coloradoans are known for our love of the outdoors, so take to one of your local trails or head up to the mountains with your partner for a romantic outing in nature. Hold hands, have intimate conversations, take in the scenery, practice teamwork, and boost your health all in one date.  Contact MBD Marketing & Events
Small Business. Big Impact. Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken MBD Marketing & Events is proud to introduce you to our newest client, On The Rocks CO. These guys have an AMAZING concept and beautiful product - a custom mobile bar perfect for any type of gathering! Here is a bit about them:  We are Mike and Kate, and we are On The Rocks: the only mobile bar based in northern Colorado. Our renovated horse trailer, Pearl, is the third member of our team, and she has been through quite a journey. The Beginning We were married in 2013 at Gull Point State Park in Iowa at a beautiful lakefront lodge. Like many couples, we spent months searching for a beautiful, unique venue that would provide the flexibility we were looking for within our budget. It was a stressful experience that had us visiting dozens of golf courses, hotels, and event centers, ultimately finding that the more the venue charged, the more freedom we lost. We created Pearl to provide a flexible, elegant, unique, and affordable all-in-one bartending solution for anyone planning a wedding or other special event. Open bars shouldn’t cost thousands of dollars for limited options. We believe in an affordable experience, tailored to be exactly what you want. Pearl’s Journey Pearl is a 1960s horse trailer who spent a decade sitting in an open field overlooking the foothills of northern Colorado. In her past life, she hauled a young girl’s horse around the state for 4-H and other competitions. We saw her on our way to work one day, and immediately started dreaming of the possibilities. A full-body sandblast, metal-fill, custom weld work, and trim and body paint gave Pearl a new life. You can see Pearl’s renovation journey here [https://ontherocksco.com/gallery/]. With a self-serve four-tap “keezer” cooled draft tower on one side and a live edge bartender service window on the other, Pearl is ready to bring your event to the next level. Why On the Rocks? With Pearl, you can have an event anywhere – we’ll bring our luxury bar to you. Whether you’re a couple getting married, a company planning an employee retreat, or a concert organizer, customize your drinks, service, and even Pearl’s décor for a unique event experience your guests will be sure to remember. Not sure where to start? Check out our packages https://ontherocksco.com/reservations/or contact us https://ontherocksco.com/contact/ for a custom quote.
MBD is assisting Pearl with her website, messaging, marketing, social media, blogs and event connections! We love helping businesses launch!  Contact MBD Marketing & Events Small Business. Big Impact. Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken We have been rocking around the Christmas tree all month to these tunes! If you want to update your playlist with some of our favorites - be our guest! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1A5F8vdeA2BbM4lYKnEFcQ
And of course, everyone’s Christmas Favorite --- “All I Want for Christmas Is You” - Mariah Carey  Contact MBD Marketing & Events
Small Business. Big Impact. Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken |
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Making Business Personal. We pride ourselves on giving you something to look forward to. We are a connected collective of creatives - owned an operated by outstanding women. Want More?Never miss an event or opportunity. Sign up for our newsletter!
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My Big Day Company LLC 2006-2023 www.MyBigDayCompany.com
970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 EMAIL US
We serve the entire Front Range; Denver, Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken
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