2017 Car Show Planning, it’s October and with the Fall / Winter setting in most of us are already thinking about warm weather. So, 2017 car show planning is just around the corner and we want to provide you with information to help you plan for your next event.
With a total of over 5000 events listed in our registry for the 2016 car show season, we support over 80% local events who are primarily raising money for a charity.
We get a ton of emails throughout the year asking us for tips on how to host an event and how to get started. I have put together a few articles in an attempt to answer some of those questions in the past. The articles are based off of my experiences and what I have learned over the years, by no means am I an expert but, I feel there is value in what I have put together based on the feedback from our followers.
Here are the links to those articles:
And for the car show guys who are seeking sponsors for their ride, we put together this article:
The above information is great, but there are some areas that I did not cover and I wanted to take the time to lay those out in this article. Now to get into the meat and the potato’s…
Set a Date Early and Start Marketing Early
Most car enthusiasts start planning their event schedule over the Winter. 2017 car show planning is in full affect, the car is in the garage getting detailed / upgrades, this is the time to start marketing your event so people plan early. Scan our website and check out your state and surrounding states to see what is already scheduled. Use Google to search the internet and check out other resources and also browse around social media to find out what events are scheduled around the day and times you are planning your event. If you plan your event early enough, you can coordinate with other local shows so your times do not conflict.
Car Shows can be added to our website for free here: http://carshowz.com/add-car-shows/
Event Website for Marketing
To setup a website is fairly simple, reserving a domain through GoDaddy and even allowing them to host your website is an option. There are a ton of platforms out there that will easily allow you to setup information on your website about your event. There are some upfront costs and it does require some maintenance.
Other factors to consider is as how long should you reserve your domain for? The easy answer is, if you plan to continue hosting the event for years to come, reserve your website domain for as far out as you can afford. A trick to this is, GoDaddy and other domain reservation sites offer a .com promotion code when first signing up. It typically is $1.99(US). To reserve a website domain for 10 years may only cost you a couple of hundred dollars, which is worth it when the promo expires, the domain cost will go up.
Social Media / Facebook Event Page
The easiest option is to set-up a Facebook event page, which is free. You will need an existing Facebook account and in order to invite people to your event it also helps having followers who will be interested.
If you do not have a ton of “car” friends on Facebook you can add a co-host to help you run the event page and help invite people to your event.
Use this page to communicate with people who are both interested in attending your event. Constant communication on event entertainment, schedule, etc. to continue the interest and draw people into your event.
Also when setting up the event page, be sure to set it for “public” viewing. That way people can share your event with their friends, etc. If you make the event “private” then people who you only invite will only be able to see the event and therefore it cannot be shared out.
Facebook Page
The Facebook event page and Facebook page are separate. The event page is only for the event, you can invite attendees and list the event address, day, time, etc. The Facebook Page will be your foundation for your event coverage and marketing future events. This will essential be your “business” page that you will use to communicate with your supporters and followers throughout the year up to your event day and after.
Flyers and Marketing Material
I touch on this topic in our “How to Plan a Car Show” article. When having car show flyers and event marketing material being designed and printed, be consistent with the layout and design. Meaning, all of the pertinent event information, such as time and address need to be visible. You would not believe how many people leave this information off of their flyers. We get folks sending in flyers all of the time to share and the city and state is completely missing. We get that your event is a local event, but there may be people who want to travel to check it out. Adding all of the event info on the flyer in one location of the flyer is key.
I Don’t Do Social Media
Not everyone has a Facebook account, if that is the case it is recommended to find a location to store your flyer with a web link so you can share out the flyer. If you know someone who runs a website and can upload your flyer, that would be ideal. If you do not know anyone who can help, you can reach out to us and we will work with you.
2017 Car Show Planning – Summary
- Plan Early, set a date early and start marketing it
- Set-up a website or a social media page to relay the information (early) and keep it updated
- Be consistent when designing your flyers and marketing material and be sure to add all of the events information, at the minimum add the following:
- Address
- Time
- Date
- Point of Contact Information
- Don’t forget to submit your event here to http://carshowz.com and please share our website.
