Strategy #25 - Getting Involved in Your Local Community (12 minutes)

Once you have a list of potential events, the next step is simple—attend them!

The key is to choose events that resonate with you. If you’re passionate about a cause, you’re more likely to engage in these events more meaningfully. In this situation, consider groups that have a positive influence within your community.

• Distribute Responsibilities: If you work in a team, divide events among team members. One could attend a school fair, another a business expo, and another a charity event like ‘Relay for Life’. This is a perfect example of a large community coming together for an event.

• Be Consistent: Regular attendance at key community events will help you build recognition and trust; it’s about being top of mind.

• Show Support: Even if you’re not directly participating, attending and supporting local initiatives still builds connections, and you can donate your time to them.

For instance, at Integrity Real Estate in NSW, where I used to work as a Business Development Manager (BDM), the team attended a career expo, engaging with local students and teachers to foster valuable relationships within the community.

I also attended the ‘Relay for Life’ event, which my daughters’ school was involved with.

Another sporting event I attended was a Dragon Boat weekend event, where our entire office got involved.

Simply showing up isn’t enough—you need to engage with people in a way that makes them remember you.

• Create an Attraction: Hosting a stall with a barbecue, smoothie station, chocolate fountain, or free coffee can draw people to you. You can run a competition to draw people to your stand, like a guessing competition (count the number of lollies in the jar and win a prize).

• Collaborate with Local Businesses: Instead of running everything yourself, sponsor a local coffee van and brand it with your company’s name to attend the event. Again, you can also have a competition at the stand.

• Give Away Branded Items: Freebies, such as cookies, balloons, or tote bags with your logo, can help keep your brand top of mind.

• Be Approachable: Focus on conversations rather than sales pitches. The goal is to build relationships and not try to sell your services at an event. Building a relationship fosters trust and keeps you top of mind, so focus on establishing a rapport with people.

Power Tip: If the event you’re attending has a high number of kids, use lollies as the drawcard so they drag their parents over.

The prize can be related to the parents as well, so yes, they win the lollies, but they can also win other adult prizes.

This is what I’ve personally done, as well as for clients I’ve trained. Parents naturally followed their kids to our stand, leading to valuable conversations with people.

To stay top of mind even after the event, encourage attendees to follow you on social media.

• Use Signage: Display visible signs that encourage people to follow your Facebook and Instagram pages.

• Use Electronic Screens: You can display fun videos from your social media accounts that are also related to the event you’re attending. Let people know that you’ll also announce the winners on your social media.

• Post Event Photos: Tag attendees and check in at events to boost engagement.

• Run Social Media Competitions: Offer a prize for those who follow your page and engage with your content.

• Leverage Hashtags: Encourage event attendees to use a specific hashtag when posting about the event, including the event's hashtag.

Some businesses use a photo banner at industry conferences where attendees take a picture, post it with a hashtag, and enter a giveaway. We have an Instagram banner that we have used at events, as well as the large IGT and TBD (Teams By Design) banners for the awards nights.

You can implement a similar strategy at local events.​