Short for the word ‘familiarisation’, a famil is an opportunity for businesses to demonstrate what they have to offer and leverage word-of-mouth marketing.
The underlying marketing concept of a famil is once someone has experienced what your business has to offer they will influence others – via word of mouth and social media.
Generally famils are for businesses within the tourism industry, but rules are made to be broken. You could also offer a kind of famil or free trial of your product, service or offering.
What should businesses prepare before presenting at a famil?
If you have the opportunity to offer a famil these are the things I suggest you do to prepare before the big day.
Before committing to partaking in a famil, understand who’ll be attending the session, and what is expected of them. The best people to attend your famil are those who will promote your business via word of mouth and social media. Ideally they will be popular bloggers, journalists and other people of influence.
Maximise your marketing efforts by having an active online presence. If you don’t have a website or a Facebook page – maybe it’s too early in your business to think about a famil.
Ask for a list of attendees and their contact details, including their social media profiles, and if relevant – dietary or cultural requirements. Use this to connect with them, and follow up with them after the session.
Understand when the session will start and how much time you’ll have with attendees. Be prepared for last-minute changes!
Encourage the organiser to have a hashtag and use it to promote the famil event during the day. Our hashtag was #thisisqueensland and #visitgoldcoast and using the hashtag, we could see what other attendees were commenting on via their social media channels and in turn share them with our own channels.
Ask attendees to post and tag any photos they take of your business to social media – this is great way to visually showcase your business. Also ask attendees to send you copies of any photos they take from the session and ask for permission to use them. Some people will say no – but on the other hand you may end up with some great photos and save yourself the cost of a professional photographer.
Want more articles like this? Check out the business marketing section.
Display your business name prominently so it ends up in the background of all the photos. Use a flag banner or a pop-up banner, or just grab a blackboard and write your business contact details – so someone looking at any of the photos knows how to get in touch.
Be prepared to give the attendees detailed marketing material. Let them know everything you want them to share about your business.
Offer attendees a discount voucher, or call to action they can share with their network.
Famils are an interesting concept you can add to your marketing mix to spread the word and vision of what your business has to offer.
Has your business benefitted from offering a famil? What are your tips for getting the most out of it?