10 Things You Can Do to Celebrate #aptday
Name: Jeannette Cox
Title: Vice President
Company: Oddo Development Company, Inc.
City: Lenexa, Kan.
1. Prime Location. NAA's second annual National Apartment Housing Day (NAHD) is on Tuesday, April 5. Choosing a popular venue in a convenient location for you and your peers to celebrate our industry will draw a larger crowd. Pick a hot spot where people like to go for happy hour, social activities and mingling. Everyone loves going to trendy places.
2. Working Group. Enlist a team to plan and execute the event. Working in teams brings forth every individual's unique strengths, takes the burden off one person and allows for more to be accomplished.
3. Spread the Word. Everyone loves an invite through social media. Post your event on websites, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and use the hashtag #aptday. Get the message out early about celebrating your industry through fun advertisements. Create an invite list through apps like Eventbrite.
4. Joint-Celebration. Coupling NAHD with an event people are already familiar with-and one that has proven success and many attendees-will increase participation.
5. Tie Event to Charity. Everyone loves to give back and be a part of something bigger and purposeful. People gravitate toward helping others, contributing and giving back to their communities. Teaming up with a local charity or cause is a great way to add meaningful value to the event, attract additional PR and provide opportunity for attendees to give back.
6. Include Suppliers. Reach out to your supplier partners and local management companies to sponsor the event. Offer them recognition for their support through advertisements, banners and giveaways.
7. Invite Friends. Who can resist a friendly invite to enjoy an entertaining evening with colleagues and peers? Make someone new feel welcome and give them a personal invite to the event.
8. Make It Interactive. Engage your attendees! Social media is all about photos and messages. Pictures can say 1,000 words. Create memories and encourage attendees to take photos. Providing a photo booth with fun props for added entertainment creates an exciting energy and gets people involved. Offer photo booth sponsorship to supplier partners and allow them to provide branded props. Ask attendees to share a short message on social media about what they love about the industry using #aptday.
9. Use the Hashtag. Include #aptday on all of your marketing materials and use it on social media sites. The hashtag makes it easy to categorize and find photos and messages with the same theme. You can search #aptday on social media networks and see what's happening across the nation to celebrate this day!
10. Offer Prizes. Set up a contest for attendees and reward winners with free tickets to upcoming association education seminars. This increases attendance and promotes future participation in local association events.