This is the continuation of our Events topic.
Yesterday we explained that you should first create a dedicated and permanent page on your website for each event you hold. You should include a link to that dedicated page in all email invitations and in the Facebook Event that you create.
We left off with the question of why would you want to create a dedicated, permanent page on your website for each event. Here are our 2 really good reasons why:
1. Regular Social Activity
It's good to show people you have activities year round. Remember that in the February 29, 2012 Daily Nugget (bit.ly/xQ9BPj) we told you that the Store Events page was the 2nd most popular viewed via mobile browsers. Even if you don't have a current event, you still need to give them something to find.
Listings of past events just might be the reason they decide to Like you on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, and Circle you on Google+.
If they missed out the first time, they know to Like it so they don't miss out on it again! Words like "Annual," "Monthly," "Weekly," and "Regular" indicate to your customers that this event is one of many they should be looking out for and then participating in.
2. Unbeatable Google SERP longevity
Let's say, for example, that you have an email list of 300 customers. How many would open your email when you send it? As of this writing, our own Daily Nugget Email only has a 17.5% average daily open ratio. What's the open rate on your emails? 20% of 300 would be 60 people.
You might get discouraged if only 60 people read your email; perhaps only a few hundred fans will read the Facebook event page. With all the effort that goes into marketing, we really hate the Numbers Game that many marketing guys talk about.
A quick flash in the pan and your FB event page and email landing page are yesterday's news, and we hate that.
On the other hand, if you create that dedicated landing page on your website, Google will return people to it again and again. Here's some hard numbers to demonstrate how this actually works.
Today:
You create the dedicated event page on your website. Then set up the Facebook page and include a link to your website for "full" details. Then send the email invite with a link to your website. You will probably have 30 to 75 hits to your website within the first 24 hours.
Tomorrow:
A few more people will read your Facebook page, and even fewer will finally read your email. But Google finds and indexes your new page. You could also start Tweeting about the event and bring a few more people per Tweet to your website.
1 week from today:
By now you have about 150 people who've see your page. Check your stats in Google Analytics to see this number. Every time you send reminder emails, post a Facebook status update, and Tweet a message, you will increase your website visitors.
2 weeks from today:
Your event might already be over by now, but your page is attracting regular SERP attention because people find it through product and designer name searching in Google. Your event page has now become a content page for your website; real content, with a variety of non-spammy phrases.
3 months from today:
Your event is long over, but this dedicated page is bringing you at least 3 people to your website every day simply because of Google SERP and the keyword phrases on the page.
Content is the most important thing you can have on your website. Content that your consumers actually want to read is solid gold.
In conclusion, let's give you some solid numbers. Back in 2009 when we first started studying this idea of a permanent event page we started monitoring a few specific sites. Some of the oldest events pages we're still tracking have more than 10,360 unique visitors. From our point of view 10K visitors to a page is far better than the 60 email reads, and few hundred Facebook Fans.
Of course, now you have to figure out how to monetize each of these visitors. But that's a story for another day.
