Your event doesn't have to end when the last lights are shut down, because its repercussions can continue to ripple outward and generate more exposure for your organization, as well as prepare the ground for future events. Post-event marketing is often overlooked as a way to make those ripples last longer and reach farther, but few organizations take full advantage of it and even fewer event management systems take this into consideration.

There are a variety of strategies for amplifying your event's impact after-the-fact, including media outreach, creating well-designed exit surveys, and maintaining a communications network with attendees. But one of the best ways to consolidate your post-event marketing is through an event website that includes the features and capabilities of an important communications and promotional vehicle.

With a properly-equipped event website, you can:

Publish photos and memorable images from your event

They say a pictures is worth a thousand words. Using a picture gallery, upload photos taken at the different areas and key moments of your event so that past and future attendees, as well as the media and other stakeholders, can see the atmosphere and human dynamic of the event. You can also reward exhibitors, sponsors, and speakers by dedicating special sections to each of these participant groups.

Interview your stakeholders

The great thing about many events is that they bring large numbers of people in a given industry or network together at one time, and this is an opportunity to talk to everyone in the space of a few days and publish those conversations online. Take advantage of the presence of your key supporters and stakeholder groups by interviewing them.

–Exhibitors: talk to them about the leads they received

–Sponsors: ask them about their company or organization's interest in the event and its audience, and what they're hoping to promote by participating

–Speakers and headliners: discuss the issues and interests that were dealt with in their sessions

–Attendees: take a broad cross-section of participants and put their comments and pictures online

Create discussion forums and continue the conversation online

Often issues and ideas are aired at gatherings that don't have the means to continue being developed, especially when people come from various parts of the country or the world and don't stay in touch. By creating discussions--via forums or simply via comment threads on key articles--you can give participants the chance to continue networking, exchanging ideas, and weighing in on questions brought up in your event.

These are just a few ideas for getting more mileage out of your event after the fact. Take advantage of a fully-equipped online event management system that allows you to do all of these things, rather than simply be limited to a registration site.

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