Listen to the audio version of this post

‍

There’s no denying it at this point, the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus will have long-term effects on the events industry. We hope and predict, here at PheedLoop, that things will reach a new normal within a few short months with live events running and our cities operational, but we should all anticipate it not being the same as before for at least a few more months - maybe up to a year.

Not being the same, however, isn’t a bad thing. This is a time for us to reset our processes, reevaluate our most fundamental assumptions, and rebuild. We know a lot of event planners are at home, social distancing as we should. We have a few ideas that we’re suggesting to our own customers when we chat with them about virtual events, that go a bit beyond just the technology side of things. So if you’re at home right now, what are some things you can do to level up, and make the most of this time? Here are 4 tips we have for you!

‍

1. Work on Your Personal Brand

It takes an incredible amount of time and energy to plan an event, so much so that you probably are barely catching your breath before it’s on to the next project. Event planners are amongst the hardest working people in our communities, often behind the curtains. However, this leaves little time to work on yourself, and you matter!

In this day and age, where social media and presence counts a lot, having a professional and influential personality is a great driver for future success. This is a time for you to produce content, mentor, write, interview, document, stream … anything that you can think of doing which will put you and your ideas out there. Everyone’s at home right now, and people are looking to each other online for hope and inspiration. If you’re an independent planner, now is the time to demonstrate thought leadership so your current clients know you’re thinking strategically, prospects find out about you and become customers months down the line, and you gain a lot of self confidence during this time.

You’ll be playing the long game here, you may not get results for weeks or months - but you have little to lose and everything to gain.

If you're looking to become the next Charli D'Amelio, that's unlikely. Looking for the next best thing and some inspiration from event professionals who are creative, committed, and engaging? Examples of individuals we all can strive to aspire to are people like Leanne Calderwood, Dahlia El Gazzar, and Miguel Neves. Show them some love, and try to reach out!

Here are some great tips and steps by Sunny Lenarduzzi covering 5 simple steps to get your personal brand initiative going.

‍

2. Develop New Skills

There’s no better time than now to start working on acquiring those skills which you know you’re missing, but never had the time to pursue. Within a few months, you’re going to be hustling again. The same way many of us may be discovering tools to work from home like Zoom and Slack, consider the plethora of platforms out there that allow you to develop new skills - fast! 

We’re all used to spending time on Netflix, but give platforms like Udemy and Skillshare a whirl and see what interests you. You may want to sharpen your Excel skills and could pursue an advanced course, for example. Or maybe you want to refine your finance or sales skills, it’s totally up to you! With so much amazing content out there, all it takes is a bit of self motivation and positivity to get up off your feet and be productive.

Many sites like Udemy and Skillshare are offering awesome discounts right now as well, so for only a couple of dollars, you can get started.

‍

3. Build New Relationships

If there’s one thing our team at PheedLoop recently discovered, it’s that everyone wants to talk. This includes prospects of ours which we’ve really wanted to work with for years, but they’d ignore us. Now that we’re offering a virtual events platform for free, they all want to talk! Funny how things turn out that way.

People need people. Everyone, you and us, just want to share our problems, laugh, and work together like we always did. People have never been more attentive to social media and digital communication channels, so send that direct message (takes seconds) or email (keep them short and personal) to that prospect, partner, customer, or colleague. We’ve seen at least a doubling in response rates to our notes to people, and we think you’ll see the same. Combine this with the first point in this article by sharing something interesting you produced, and you’ll be miles ahead when this pandemic blows over.

Do you already have a large mailing list? If you’re looking for some solid tips about how to send lots of emails to people that are personal, automated, and will help you get responses, check out this video by Ahrefs.

There’s one thing to be cautious about, especially during this time. This isn’t a time to sell or pitch things to people, we specifically want you to focus on building relationships. Genuinely reach out to people and have conversations, and just check in on people. Don’t use clickbait messaging or spam hundreds or thousands of people with the same note. Right now, even a simple “hey, how are you” will go a long way.

Finally, if you’re looking for someone to talk to, feel free to message any of us! Mitch and George, for example, are two of the friendliest people on our team. Give them a quick shout on Linkedin or drop them a line - they’d love to hear from you.

‍

4. Cut Yourself Some Slack

We just want to take a minute to say that we know you’re working hard and you’re stressed. Everyone’s telling you to do all sorts of things, there’s a lot of uncertainty everywhere, it’s all super confusing. We’re right there with you. It’s a tough time.

If the above 3 suggestions seem overwhelming right now, ignore them. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to during this time. Focusing on your mental and physical health are the most important things you can do right now. Don’t beat yourself up if you binge watched a TV show and ate a bunch of junk food one night because you were feeling low. It’s a low point for everyone. We hope you can be resourceful and optimistic and find a silver lining in all of this, but don’t worry if you can’t. Everyone will cope with the reality of these times in different ways, and all we can expect from each other is our best effort.

With all this said, we believe in you, and hope that you’ll make the most of these strange times. Watch out for the health and safety of yourself and your loved ones, and we can’t wait to see you on the show floor soon.

‍