Lesson 11. How Getting in Front of My Audience at Events Sparked a Movement (Recap)

Why are events so important to attend? 

The answer is pretty simple in my opinion. When you’re in front of your audience, you have the opportunity to do things I feel just aren’t the same in a digital world. 

1. You create a human to human connection. Your audience gets to meet the team behind the logo, the website, the social media, the product. They might have heard of you (or maybe they haven’t), but now they actually get to form a personal connection with you. 

2. You get to actually talk to your audience and ask them questions about who they are, what they do, what they like about your brand or product, and what matters to them. They get to feel your product, shake your hand, or give you a hug. Building that personal connection goes a long way. 

3. Tell your Story. Not only as a brand, but as a human. What do you have in common with the people you connect with at the events? How can you relate? Why and how does your product or service relate to them? 

4. You get to branch out and not only meet attendees, but you get to build relationships with others in your community. Your current customers, partners, affiliates, and event promoters. I hit on Community a lot in the first few lessons. Go here to read them all. 

The first big convention I did created the spark that flamed into a movement around our brand. 

It was a tattoo convention in Ohio, at the same stadium the Cleveland Browns play. I was told by the promoter there would be thousands and thousands of my ideal clients walking around and ready to buy. I remember thinking to myself that we were going to crush it ... .that we were going to sell out of product, make all kinds of money, and finally go from a dream to an actual business.

I’ll never forget it…. 

The complete opposite happened.  Hardly anybody showed up and the dream of making money and people raving about our product vanished before the first day of the event was even over. 

It was us, a few other vendors, and a bunch of tattoo artists without anyone to tattoo. The rest of the weekend followed suit and hardly anyone showed up for the event. 

However…..regardless of the financial loss we took….it was because of that weekend I learned events were the way to grow a movement around my brand.

It wasn’t about the attendees who didn’t show, rather the ones that walked through the door and visited our booth. The slow traffic gave me the opportunity to spark meaningful conversations about them, the industry, and the clothes they’d love to see us produce. I got to share our story and hear theirs. It created a deep relationship and a few of them ended up becoming brand advocates and customers for as long as I can remember. 

It didn’t stop there. With hardly any attendees walking around, it gave me the opportunity to get away from the booth and meet every artist that was there. I shared our story, gave them free products, and learned about who they were as people.

I gained knowledge from them on what events were the best, which artists I should team up with, and so much more.  And because of that, in the ensuing months, I was able to get into the biggest conventions in the industry. And yes, conventions that we sold out of product and made a lot of money. 

The artists I met at that show went on to become our sponsored artists and brand partners. They advocated for us to other artists and brands ... .I believe it was because I made that personal connection.

A few of them, to this day, I still call my dear friends. 

Below are some photos from one of my best friends in the industry Parry Chotipradit who I met at that show. Our family’s ended up vacationing together, he tattooed me, became a sponsored artist, and is someone I’d do anything for………and it started at an event. 

I believe building community and making that human to human connection at events is one of the best ways to build a movement around your brand. It’s a way to meet your neighbors (who are more than likely in the same industry or sell to the same customer you do) and form bonds that everyone can grow from. 

I tell a lot of stories from when I owned InkAddict, but the reality is, I’ve formed similar relationships at conventions for my Merchandise Agency selling to B2B.  

So whatever your business is, I hope you can see the value in setting up a booth at events. And if you are unsure of how to take the next steps, or you want to make sure you have better success at your next event, I invite you to join me in the upcoming Masterclass.