You have a conference or other upcoming event, and you’re trying to decide how to make the most of both your time and budget. What can you do that will create excitement for your event while also create an experience for your attendees? While there are many options that you may consider, few can provide the level of engagement, interest, and return on investment that comes from a dynamic keynote speaker. And, although some event planners may see the price of hiring a speaker as expendable, the following three reasons illustrate perfectly why it’s wise to place this expense at the top of your budget.
Keynote Speakers Make Events More Credible
Hiring a speaker who is knowledgeable and experienced in your industry is a quick way to give your event a big boost in credibility. Ensure that this speaker is also a great storyteller, and you can make attendance a no-brainer. While it’s great to have many experts delivering valuable information across multiple platforms, including at least one great speaker with strong credentials can take an event from optional to must-attend in the eyes of your target audience.
Keynote Speakers Help Event Promotion
Once you’ve reached the decision to hire a keynote speaker, you not only boost your event’s credibility to your current audience, you are also opening it up to an entirely new demographic. Speakers typically promote their upcoming engagements on their own websites and social media platforms. This means that your event’s scope widens considerably through a mutually beneficial relationship that thrives on cross-promotion. Take advantage by tagging the speaker and linking to their website in your communications, and request that they do the same for your event. If they have videos of previous speaking engagements, share those too as a means to increase interest and create excitement.
Keynote Speakers Increase Audience Engagement
Everyone enjoys listening to a great storyteller. These are the individuals that can hold an audience’s rapt attention while delivering their message in an entertaining fashion, and what they say tends to resonate and stick with their listeners long after the event ends. In the case of a keynote speaker, you are hiring someone who has likely built a career on their ability to entertain and engage an audience. They have honed their presentation skills in ways that less experienced speakers simply have not and understand how to tailor their message and presentation style based on the event and attendees. Hire a great keynote speaker, and you can guarantee that not only will your audience have a memorable experience, but that they will also be more likely to attend your events in the future.
Putting together a great event can take an overwhelming amount of time and preparation, but the ultimate goal is to come away with eager attendees and residual benefit to your organization. Hiring the right keynote speaker will not only accomplish both of these goals but will also help alleviate the pressure you may be feeling to make your event a success.
