Relationship Building After an Event: How to Follow Up

​

​

Hi friends,

​

So, you just hosted a successful nonprofit event that went off without a hitch.

​

Now what?

​

Well, the event may be over… but your work isn’t done quite yet.

​

The days after an event end are the perfect time to work on relationship-building with that event’s sponsors, attendees, and volunteers by simply following up.

​

And, while your nonprofit’s development team or fundraising committee is busy handling the typical follow-up of thank-you letters and messages, you can be working to make the follow-up even more effective.

​

How?

​

By supplementing it with marketing.

​

Taking the follow-up one step further with marketing

​

There are two main marketing channels I recommend to nonprofits looking to take their follow-up to the next level:

​

Email Marketing - Email is one of the most direct ways to connect with your event’s sponsors, attendees, and volunteers. There’s no straighter path than an email to someone’s inbox!

​

Social Media - Social media is a great way to keep your nonprofit top of mind after an event has ended. It’s a fast and easy choice to show your gratitude in highly engaging ways.

​

Here are a few ideas for using each marketing platform to amplify your nonprofit’s follow-up efforts after an event.

​

1 — Email marketing

​

✅ Add attendees and sponsors to their own email list

​

Creating an email list of exclusively event attendees and sponsors makes it easy to hyper-personalize and tailor your content to people who were actually there. Plus, it can help you promote future events with exclusive, early access invites, too.

​

✅ Send a (pre-made) thank-you/summary email

​

Supplement your team’s thank-you letters with a thank-you email — and save yourself some effort by prepping a template ahead of time. Then, all you have to do is drop in some photos, results, notable news, and send. Gratitude and an event summary, all in one.

​

✅ Share event updates in your regular email communications

​

Keep event sponsors and attendees in the loop by sharing consistent updates in your regular, ongoing email communications. Show where their donations are going, updates on your nonprofit’s work and programs, and how their support made a difference.

​

2 — Social media

​

✅ Tag sponsors/attendees in posts (strategically)

​

If you know that your sponsors/attendees regularly use social media, tag them in posts that are relevant to them so they’ll see it. Try tagging these individuals in posts about event highlights, upcoming related events, and results related to the event they attended.

​

✅ Regularly highlight sponsors/attendees on your page

​

Another great way to bring your nonprofit back in focus is by posting regular sponsor/attendee highlights. You can post photos of these individuals from the event in question, or even give them a “VIP” highlight where you share their logo and work on its own.

​

✅ Engage with your sponsors’ social media accounts

​

Relationship-building on social media is easy because all it takes is regular, genuine engagement. Follow your sponsors’ social media accounts, share their posts to amplify their work, and have conversations in the comments. A little effort goes a long way!

​

Now, just because email and social media are my go-to channels for following up, doesn’t mean it’s always easy in practice.

​

So, I’d love to know: What's your #1 struggle with following up via email or social media?

​

Respond to this email and let’s talk it through —maybe I can help!

​

See you in two weeks,

​

Catrina

​

---

Are you having a hard time keeping up with your nonprofit’s marketing efforts?

Learn More

Have questions? Reply to this email!

PO Box 1547, Adrian, MI 49221
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

​

© 2025 Catrina Ossmann - Clever Ideas Marketing®