Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies
Part 5 - Choosing qualities in a Website Designer
 for your Festivals and Events Website?

Mr. King states … "I can only speak for myself. I listen to what the customer wants instead of telling them what they want. Then I tell them what is possible and what is not. Some designers try to sell customers the “Razzle Dazzle”, however Shawn cautions, if it’s not going to get you the EXPOSURE then no one will ever see your website anyways and money will be lost in poor design choices".

For those who don’t know what questions to ask when setting up a website, a consultant, such as Shawn King would be a good start. Shawn goes on to tell us … "You may not know what you want in a website, but, you do know what is important to your festival/event! If you can identify what is it that you want to achieve or looking to solve something (i.e.: how to bring more visitors to your festival/event), you may be able to come to clear conclusions.

Shawn continues with his advice … If you are looking for a Basic Website it should only take a reasonable amount of time. It will be pretty quick designing once all the elements you wish have been defined, taking about only 2 weeks. I would help build a website and then teach the client how to manage it. This would be financially more economic for the customer. Your choice of “who” you want to manage your website will depend on your needs. You may want to choose someone who is available to maintain the website with updated important information in a timely manner. It should be someone though who knows there way around".

(To Be Continued)

Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies
Part 3 - Should you Optimize Your
 Festivals and Events Website? continued ...

 Shawn goes on to share with us … that drawing people to your website is important as it creates more activity and it stands to reason you will get more visitors out to your festival/event. The Search Engine Optimization can be expensive. Many festivals/events are run by volunteers and/or minimal budgets and financial constraints.

Part 4 - What should a GOOD WEBSITE includ
for Your Festivals and Events Website?

I asked Mr. King, what he thought a GOOD WEBSITE should include. Shawn replies … “When I think of a Festival/Event I think of fun! The website usually gives a good reflection of what people can expect when they come out to visit. If your website offers lots of pictures and video, it will be a great asset in promoting and enticing visitors to attend. Testimonials of people having a great time would be of benefit!

Shawn feels a poor website is one that is “too cluttered”. A website that does not focus on the actual event will not be as successful. It is important to be clear and have prevalent information about your Festival/Event including details about the time, location, costs, phone numbers, maps and other relevant information. (Such as are pets allowed on the grounds to- are the grounds accessible to all?)

If you see the contact information predominantly posted on your website it is inviting. It also states that you have nothing to hide and welcomes questions to assist with visitors. It is vital to have a contact telephone number at the site on the days of the Festival/Event. This will allow visitors to ask any challenging questions (from the Festival/Event being cancelled due to weather, re-located to different location, time changes, etc.) It is important to keep promoting your Festival/Event all year around. Visitors sometimes plan their outings and schedules well in advance. If they see your website and your’ Festival/Event, it may just prompt them to “pencil you in”.

(To Be Continued)

Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies

Part 3 - Should you Optimize Your
 Festivals and Events Website?

Having a website is one thing … having a GOOD WEBSITE is another! Part of having a Good Website, Shawn tells us, "is maximizing your website's visibility by using techniques of “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)”. My understanding of Search Engine Optimization is that you use different techniques to maximize how Search Engines see your website in certain categories or "key words/key word phrases".  The Search Engine rates your website for these key words, the higher the key words the higher the placement on these internet websites. To optimum is to be on the "first page" of the major search engines' websites for specific "key words" that relate to you and the web visitor you wish to reach. If ,for example, you go to “Google” on the internet and type in the name of an event you wish to attend, you may not find it right away (or at all) or. If the website has been properly optimized, you might find it right at the top of the first page. There are hundreds of pages of listings of similar names and types of events listed. Sometimes, festivals and events authorized websites are not listed until many pages deep into the search. There may be articles written about the event, “You Tube Videos”, or many other postings on the search engine that will show up before yours. These are not the “official” website of the festival/event, but still rank higher".

Shawn King shares with us … “You want to draw people to your website. As much as people are looking for information, they don’t like to read. If you know your demographics (the visitors you are looking for, their age, diverse income levels, types of interests, families, couples, young, old, etc.) you can identify your Search Terms and the Key Words that you can use in your Optimization". I wondered then, how a festival/event would know if their website was best “optimized”. Shawn tells us “that if you simply use a search engine to find your event, you can see where you stand in the listings. Part of knowing how well you are doing is by understanding the importance of having a Good Website in the first place! There are programs to help you track your ratings on the internet and through Search Engines. The attendance of your event increasing may be an indication of how well you are getting your word out there”.

(To Be Continued)

Festivals & Event "Web World Strategies"

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies

Part 2 - The Importance of a Good Website
for Festivals and Events

A few festivals/events do not have websites, which I think is a big mistake. With those that do have websites, some are very difficult to maneuver through and lack important information, such as contact names and phone numbers, while others are very welcoming for their visitors. I asked Shawn King why he felt having a Good Website was important for Festivals/Events. He answer, summarized … “EXPOSURE”!  "A website might attract stable clients, clients that know about your Festival/Event. With an aging clientele your website visitors may decrease.  A poor website will not attract new clients unless referral by word-of- mouth. Shawn tells us “that it is vital to attract new clients/visitors to your website! Through our Social Media World today “Exposure” is the “Virtual Bible”! You need to be seen in the millions/billions of choices out there”.

I have my own opinions as to what constitutes a Good Website, but I wanted to know from Shawn what he felt made a Good Website. Again, Shawn was concise with his response … “How clearly and how quickly it emphasis’s its point!”  "If you are searching for a Festival/Event to attend and you use a search engine (like Google) to find it, and it takes too long, you may give up looking. You may see other Festivals/Events listed on the first few pages that may catch your attention and choose attend them instead. Even with the fast speed of our information highways today, people do not have a lot of time or patience to look for things. If you don’t catch the attention of a client/visitor to your Website in 7 seconds, you have lost them. Shawn said “Speed is no longer really a case now, unless you are in a foreign remote country”. Dial-Up- Rural is what it is and is getting left behind”

(To Be Continued)

Festival & Event "Web World Strategies"

Interview with Mr. Shawn King
Web World Strategies

Introduction written by Judi McWilliams

Ontario Visited - Part 1

During high school, I was fortunate to have had “Typing 101” as my introduction to what today are computers. I had an amazing teacher who encouraged the students by supplying the “fastest typing row of students” with a large Laura Secord Chocolate Bar. I became so fast at typing that the other students in the class fought to sit in my row, because they knew I was going to win the competition and they would receive the chocolate bar too. In college, my two year course was called “Computer Science”. I called it a glorified secretary course, (secretaries now referred to as Executive Assistants). Back in the day, typewriters used ribbons, hand pushed return handles, black carbon paper, rice paper copies and more. During college, we progressed to what I would liken to an “x-ray” type of memory. It was an unprotected piece of flat “x-ray like” item inserted into the “computer”. We had to share this memory stick with the entire class. Back in the day, I could type (correctly) about 96 words per minute. I wonder today, if “spell check” would correct any errors and make me even faster? Today, of course, there are clouds, chips, discs, and items I can’t even begin to comprehend. Technology though, is what is keeping Ontario Visited and our various websites “linked” to our visitors and organizers of the fantastic festivals and events throughout Ontario. Our website has grown over the years and now attracts over 400,000 web Festival and Event visitors per year.

Today, I am fortunate to share with you some SCOOP from a leading “expert” in the “Web World Strategies”! These next few INSIDE SCOOP blogs will focus on Festivals and Events websites. Shawn King has been a colleague of Gary’s and mine for about 5 years. He was willing to share some of his years of experience with us.  I was able to ask questions about WEBSITES… the IMPORTANCE of WEBSITES for FESTIVALS & EVENTS, WEB OPTIMIZATION and much more!

(To Be Continued)  

Special Anecdote from Jan Bonhomme ...

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Birector
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance
Experienced, Insighful, Knowledgeable and fun!

Finally, it would make sense, that since during the course of the year I have been collecting some "special anecdotes" to publish...that with Jan’s vast experience, I was sure she would have something she would like to share with us in our THE INSIDE SCOOP special “anecdote” section … and of course she did … “I have learned that as event organizers we take our event and its activities much more serious than our visitors do. They come for the unusual experience, to spend valuable time with their families/friends in a fun way, and to try a new activity. With this in mind, I changed all of our event contests to activities instead. Contests mean judges, prizes, unhappy parents and/or kids. Why do that to yourself as an event leader? By changing your contests into participating activities where everyone gets a ribbon – you keep costs down and management headaches to a minimum. We changed our scarecrow making, seed spitting, watermelon eating etc. contests into family activities and our numbers went up and challenges down! Another thing I have learned is to never say why but why not! When African Lion Safari contacted Pumpkinfest to say they wanted to bring their elephants to our event, my first reaction was what do elephants have to do with our event. But then I started thinking “pumpkins so big we need elephants “and Pumpkinfest goes wild. Instead of saying no to all the stuff that comes out of elephants, why not sell their waste as a new type of manure for our pumpkin growers. Over the years, the elephants have added a wonderful experience for young visitors with not only the rides but the popular elephant tug-a-war. And last but not least, elephants eat pumpkins whole just like we would eat a chocolate bar – it’s one of their favourite foods – who knew!”

Stratageis in Obtaining & Keeping Sponsors

Jan Bonhomme
Executive Director
St. Lawrence 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

The Festival Nomad and I have seen some very successful festivals/events that take the time to properly acknowledge their sponsors. The Railway Chocolate Festival in Smith Falls is a perfect example of this. They have professional signs for their sponsors all along the rails at the boardwalk by the waterway. These signs are in clear view for all visitors and participants to see. During these times of economical challenges that we are experiencing today, I wondered if Jan had any strategies in obtaining and keeping sponsors, and, how do you acknowledge their support? Jan shares with us … “My experience has taught me to treat your sponsor like a partner. Sit down and talk to them about the event, what you are offering and what they have to balance that – is it food, clothing, equipment, people or prizes? Then work together to create some arrangement where they supply product or equipment or cash to balance one of your event needs. Let them have ownership of that aspect – they are the stage sponsor, or the tickets, or the refreshments or info booth etc. I break down the event in every possible way and find the best sponsor/partner to enhance each aspect. Therefore COMMUNICATION is the key in developing and keeping good sponsors.” For myself, I feel you should treat Sponsors like your Volunteers! Treat these folks with respect and kindness at all times.Don't forget to acknowledge them prior to, during and after your festival or event.