Hosting a free public shredding event is one of the easier projects for a person or organization to undertake. It’s pretty-much as simple as gathering all the pieces together and then allowing them to work together. Most of the real work occurs ahead of time in publicizing the event. Remember, the shredding company that will be providing service on the day of the event is NOT responsible for publicity, you are.
Other posts to this blog examine the how-to’s of sponsoring a free shredding event. For now, we’ll outline the factors that are critical in building awareness among large numbers of people. The advice given here is intended to help you attract the biggest crowd possible AND spend the least amount of money possible. By apply the rules presented below, you’ll be doing a service to the community and be gaining the recognition that you deserve.
In my role as owner and operator of a shredding company, I have organized many free shredding events. In my experience these events generally attract members of the public who are action-oriented, positive-minded, and grateful for the opportunity to securely dispose of their personal papers. Until you’ve sponsored a document destruction event, you have no idea how many people you can make happy during the course of a 4 to 6 hour period of time. That is the truth.
The general public does not have to be coerced or browbeaten into attending a public shredding event. Simply make them aware of it and they will come. To build awareness, I follow nine simple rules:
Rule No. 1 – Lead Time
Select a date far enough in advance to give yourself at least 8 weeks to promote the event (10-12 weeks would be even better). As you are evaluating alternative dates for your event, you should also be developing your publicity plan. You must recognize that, for the general public, decisions made on impulse are different from decisions made based on advance planning. Buying Girl Scout cookies near the entrance of your favorite store is something that you do on impulse. Taking personal papers to be destroyed at a free shredding event requires some advance knowledge and preparation. Here’s how.
First, prior to attending a free shredding event people have to sort through their records and then temporarily store their confidential waste papers to be shredded later. For most people this is a job that requires days or weeks to complete. Second, in order to attend one of these shredding events, members of the public need to alter their plans, usually made for the weekend,. Instead, of sleeping late on a Saturday morning, for example, one must get up early, retrieve the stack of confidential papers, load the car and drive to what is sometimes an unfamiliar part of town to stand in line in front of a mobile shredding truck.
There is one additional advantage to getting the word out about your event 2-3 months ahead of time. By doing so, you minimize conflicts with potential competing events. Before adopting Rule No. 1, I once found myself in a situation where my company was one of three hosting free shredding events in the same community at the same time!
When your organization does not have lots of money to buy advertising, combining long lead times (Rule No. 1) with the use of online channels (Rule No. 3) is you best option for promoting your event.
Rule No. 2 – Experience Gathering
Find resources whose experiences you can draw upon. The fact that you may have never before worked to promote a community event does not mean that you won’t be successful with your first one. It simply means that your confidence may not be as high and your efforts might not be as efficient as someone with more experience. For you, this blog post will be especially valuable.
If you do have experience promoting an event, there are always new things to learn and new insights to gain, even from people from less experience. Keep you mind open, be receptive to new ideas and perspectives, actively solicit input from others.
Reflect on your own relevant past activities, think about lessons learned and keep notes for the future.
Rule No. 3 – Press Releases and Flyers
Commit all pertinent facts and information about the event to writing in the forms of both a press release and a conveniently sized flyer. The press release and the flyer are intended for different audiences. Newspapers, radio/TV stations and online press release services prefer to receive information about your event in the form of a press release. Members of the public prefer a flyer.
Positive or negative, in the minds of the public, your press release and flyer convey an image about the organization sponsoring the event. Document destruction is about security and dependability. Put thought and care into preparing your press release and flyer. See if you can involve someone with relevant experience in the writing effort.
Rule No. 4 – Online Channels
Take full advantage of the Internet to make the public aware of your free shredding event. Once your event is posted online, it becomes accessible by search engines and easier to find by web surfers. Why not make it easier to connect with people who already have an interest in what you are doing. The online channels are powerful for drawing attention to news and information targeted to special interest groups and for disseminating information about local events. Some websites have community calendars that, with a click of a button, will post the events that visitors select into their personal Outlook calendars.
Online services that you should consider include: free press release services and online event calendars. Visit the website FileStoreShred.com in the Useful Links section to examine tools that might be helpful.
Rule No. 5 – Your Website Homepage
Prominently display an announcement about your free shredding event on the web site of your organization or that of your co-sponsor(s). This adds to the event’s credibility and reinforces the sponsoring organization’s commitment. Also, remember that thousands of people will be visiting that website. Why waste that opportunity for exposure?
Whenever I discover a listing about a free shredding event on the Internet, I like to trace back to what I believe is the original source to confirm it. I always feel a little uneasy when the website of the sponsoring organization makes no mention. I ask myself if this is a prank listing or does the sponsoring organization just not have their act totally together.
Combining Rules No. 1 and 4 means that your website homepage should provide information promoting your event at least 8 weeks before the event date.
Rule No. 6 – Leg Work
Establish a team devoted to the mission of distributing flyers. Post and distribute flyers about your event as part of the daily routine of you and the members of your team. Many banks, stores, public buildings, restaurants and diners have bulletin boards intended for announcements such as these. Use them. With permission, leave stacks of announcements at senior centers, fitness centers, community centers, libraries, and houses of worship. Continually look for locations that were missed and follow-up on them. Word of mouth promotion is powerful.
Keep accurate records of where flyers are deposited and where they are declined. This information is handy the next time around.
Rule No. 7 – Broadcast and Print Media Outlets
Do NOT rely exclusively on the local TV, radio and newspapers to broadcast or print announcements and community calendar listings about your free public shredding event. Among the channels available to you, broadcast and print should not be neglected but they should be ranked no higher than third among your priorities (behind that of the online channels and the distribution of flyers). You can submit a press release to a media outlet and ask to that it be used, but in the end you have no control.
Media outlets are attractive because you assume that you can send out a handful of emails or press releases and have your message delivered to thousands of people. Unfortunately, reality does not work that way.
The problems with broadcast and print are several. They sometimes make arbitrary decisions about what they will and will not share with the public. I am not accusing them of anything evil. It’s just that space and time are finite resources; broadcast and print outlets have to make choices.
These media outlets have short time horizons and tend to focus on what’s happening “tomorrow” or “this weekend”. Obviously, short time horizons create an obstacle to Rule No. 1. Furthermore, broadcast and print media are in the business to sell advertising. If your organization or one of your co-sponsors is a commercial business, your shredding event might receive very little or no mention because a media outlet considers it free promotion for the business rather than a public service announcement. Ouch!
Of course, not all media outlets are the same. There are some that will present news about your event on their websites weeks in advance. Unfortunately, those web pages sometimes expire before your event has occurred and the announcement about your event disappears.
If you have the good fortune to have an announcement about your event posted by a media outlet, do not be surprised by the changes they may make to the information that you give them. Their announcement may say things in a manner different from your own or may exclude information that you would have preferred to see included.
Print and broadcast channels present wonderful opportunities, but you must condition yourself not to rely excessively on them – unless, of course, a radio station, TV station or newspaper is a co-sponsor of your event.
Rule No. 8 – Photography
Assign someone the full-time responsibility during the event to take photographs. If for no other reason, these images will be useful when you promote your next free shredding event.
Rule No. 9 – Wrap-up Session
Combine work and a celebration of success in a wrap-up session that you host a day or two after the event. During the working portion of this session, ask the team to put together two lists. The first is a list of all the things about the event that went well and according to plan. The second is a list of all those things that folks would do differently the next time. Save both lists and refer to them when you roll-out your next free shredding event.
During the fun portion of the meeting, in addition to food and drink, you might present a slide show of the photographs taken during the event and have the group select the 3 best in each of several categories that you define.
Do not underestimate the value of this wrap-up session; it is powerful in terms of documenting lessons learned for use in the future. It also helps the members your team to bond with each other and gives you the opportunity to express your appreciation.
Now you have them, the nine critical success factors in promoting your free shredder event. Have fun!
