5 WRONG ways to do online event promotion

As more people hop on the social media bandwagon, more of them are promoting their events online. In theory, that's great news. In execution? Well. some of the results are downright disappointing. Take these two invites below, for example.

First, I share with you a tweet I just received about a networking event. At first when I read "I enjoy following you and I hope to see you...", I thought it was so nice for this guy to send me this sweet invitation. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize his name so I went to look at his Twitter page. You can imagine my surprise when I saw that exact same tweet sent to several dozen people:

Perhaps this will be a wonderful event. And, I'm sure the organizer is a nice guy. However, I simply don't respond to templated, spammy tweets like this. Invite me or don't, but I'm not going to respond to a generic tweet that someone copies and pastes to lots of other folks. Tweeting the same thing over and over again is, by definition, s-p-a-m.

My second example today is an invitation I received to join a group called Blacks in Tech. Now, I'm sure this is a great group. Unfortunately, I'm lacking the major criteria to be a member.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure if I went to a Blacks in Tech event, I have no doubt they'd welcome me. However, it's not called People in Technology; it's called Blacks in Technology. I'm not black and, therefore, probably not their targeted demographic.

So, at last, here are five things you can do to incorrectly promote your events. Tip: You can just do the opposite of what's here and this magically becomes a piece on how to promote events correctly! Ta da!

1. Blanket the world with your event or group invitations. Who cares if 99% of the people aren't going to be interested? Targeting your efforts is unnecessary.
2. Make people feel unimportant! No one likes to feel special, so be sure to be generic as possible when you invite them.
3. Promote your event on only one social media platform. Forget all the people who coordinate their plans on other social media sites. If they're not on the one you've chosen to promote your event, forget 'em!
4. Don't provide details that make attending the event easy for your guests. Forget including information like parking options and prices, a Google map, or contact info for questions. If they can't get to your event regardless of the obstacles, who needs them!
5. Stalk strangers. People you don't know will love to receive multiple invitations to your event. If they haven't responded the first three times, send them the same invitation a fourth time. People like that.

Alright, am I being snarky? Yeah. But my point is no less valid.

Putting on a great event is important, but getting the right people there is just as crucial to your success. If you're sponsoring an event in Los Angeles, don't send a Facebook Events invite to your 1,500 friends when 1,485 of them don't live in California.  If you want to tweet people about your event, do so in a sincere way. No one responds to things that feel automated.

What do you see being done right and wrong when it comes to online event promotion? What do you respond to and what alienates you? Got tips on how to promote an event? Let's hear it!