4 Things Event Professionals can learn from Oprah

Oprah Winfrey said today that she is calling it quits on her day job hosting “The Oprah Winfrey Show” She has said she will end the popular daytime show in 2011 after 25 seasons on this ground breaking program. Of course there is no question on the success of Oprah and her media empire. She will be leaving the day job to start a network. Besides owning the content. Oprah is Steve Jobs Applesque on the protection of her content. I had a friend from KIVA.org go on the show and she said they were not allowed to use any pictures or tape from the show afterward. (And this is from a nonprofit) Oprah is now looking to own the network her content is on. In fact the new network is called OWN or Oprah Winfrey Network. It is going to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will be in 74 million homes in 2011.

We all know the Oprah story of success but what can we learn as event professionals from this 25 year run?

1) Don’t be afraid to try new things- Always be looking at trends and trend setters. Mixing popular culture in is always a good move.
2) Use as many mediums as possible to get your content out to your audience. She uses her TV show, her production company, her radio show, her magazine, her books, and now she will be starting an all Oprah network. As event professionals we need to use social networks, hybrid events, mobile technologies, the internet and established event meeting industry tools to enhance your meeting
3) Oprah made her show the trust ticket for her audience. Recommending products and services which made many companies wildly successful after being on the show. How can you make your event or meeting the trusted source for your audience? The new online systems of two way communication are taking hold which can help you find these answers. Listen to your audience, gain their trust and give them the content they are looking for.
4) Emotions. Any Oprah show targeted an emotion or emotions. It might have been sad, happy at a situation or situations. When you are planning your meeting or event pull out that list of emotions and work them into your presentations. Everyone likes the funny stuff but the other emotions can have more impact and drive your audience to your desired action for them.

What else can we learn from Oprah?

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