I was recently at an event in Hawaii where we were talking to some of the local businesses about social media and about how they can get into blogging, video, podcasting and other areas.  I was curious about the attendees and asked where they were from originally.  The funny thing I found was that most of them traveled to get there from out of state or from a long distance.

The target for that particular conference was the local businesses yet most of them never showed up.  Of the locals that were a part of the conference, I asked why they were not being joined by their other peers or other business owners in the area.  Their response was surprising.  It was not promoted locally.

Many attendees to events are from the local area or at least they should be and should be a target market for any event planner. The local attendees need not spend money on travel, can get to and from the event without a taxi, and has a free place to stay.  These are great benefits for events that are local to your town. I am always amazed when people tell me that they did not hear about the event locally.  That should be your first target market whenever planning an event or a conference.  Go after the close in and low hanging fruit first.

Tags: conventions, conferences, events, planners, meeting planners