Imagine a Brazilian chamber of commerce that scheduled its first online business round for the following month. The page is live, the sign-up link went out to the members' WhatsApp group and, a week later, almost nobody has signed up. The few who replied asked the same question: "but how does this work?". The problem was not the date or the audience. It was the invitation, which asked for a decision without showing what the company would actually go through. The simplest fix is to put a link to the Round Simulator in the invitation: guests go through the screens they will use on their own, with no camera, and reach the sign-up form knowing what to expect.
This article covers promotion only: who to invite, which channels to use, what to write in the invitation and how to take each registrant all the way to the conversation. To set up the round from scratch, from planning to the final report, first read the guide on how to run an online business round at your association.
The right audience: start with people who have a reason to talk
Promoting the round to your whole membership looks like the fastest way to fill the spots, but it usually does the opposite. A generic invitation reaches everyone and convinces no one. Before you think about channels, decide who this edition is for and why these companies would want to meet each other. Start with companies that sell to other companies: distributors, manufacturers, service providers, accounting firms.
Who is buying and who is selling
A full round depends on both sides. If every registrant sells the same thing and nobody buys it, you end up with conversations that have nothing to talk about. Think in natural pairs: packaging suppliers and food manufacturers, print shops and retailers, maintenance services and offices. The clearer the match, the easier it is to explain the invitation. The platform suggests conversations with people looking for what each company offers, with no repeated conversations, and the page on B2B matchmaking shows what this gives participants.
Members and outside guests
The round can be open to the public or limited to invited guests. Inviting companies that are not yet part of your base helps complete the side that is missing, and it shows what your organization offers before any talk about membership. The page on business rounds for associations shows how the round carries the name and brand of your organization.
Channels: use the ones your members already read
Your organization does not need a new channel to promote the round. It needs to use the ones it already has well, each one for what it does best. Every round gets its own public page, with a sign-up link you can share anywhere you like.
| Channel | What it is for | What to send |
|---|---|---|
| Email invitation through the platform | Inviting a list you already have, imported from Excel | An individual invitation, with automatic confirmation |
| WhatsApp group | Quickly reaching people who already follow your organization | A short message with the sign-up link |
| Newsletter and mailing list | Explaining the format more calmly | A paragraph about the round, the link and the simulator |
| Social media | Reaching people outside your base | One post a week until registration closes |
| Direct contact from your team | Winning over the companies that bring others along | A call or a personal message, with the reason for the invitation |
Importing from Excel
If you already have the list of people you want to invite, do not rely on the link alone. Import the spreadsheet, or add participants one by one, and send the invitations through the platform. Each guest receives the invitation by email, with automatic confirmation, and you can see who has signed up without keeping a separate spreadsheet on the side.
The personal touch
Every membership has companies that bring others along. When the owner of a well-known manufacturer confirms attendance, their suppliers pay attention. Before you open general promotion, call these companies, explain the goal of the edition and ask them to confirm.
The invitation: what it needs to say
The guest decides in a few seconds whether the message deserves attention. A good invitation answers four questions, in this order: what it is, what the company gets, how long it takes and what happens to the company's details.
- What it is: short one-to-one video conversations on a set date and time, inside the platform, with pairs formed on the spot. Nobody exchanges links or installs anything.
- What the company gets: conversations with people looking for what it offers, with no repeated conversations. Say what kind of companies were invited on the other side.
- How long it takes: the date and the start and end times. A business owner needs to know how much of the morning to block.
- What happens to their details: contact details are only shared when both sides mark interest. If only one side wants it, neither gets the other's details.
Template for WhatsApp
Hi, [name]. On [date], from [start time] to [end time], [organization] is holding an online business round for [audience of this edition]. These are short video conversations with companies looking for what [guest's company] offers, with pairs formed on the spot among those present. Contact details are only shared if both sides want it. See how it works in one minute: [simulator link]. To sign up: [sign-up link].
Template for email
Subject: [organization] invites you to an online business round for [audience of this edition]. Hi, [name]. We are bringing together [who offers] and [who is looking] in an online business round on [date], from [start time] to [end time]. At the end of each conversation, each side marks whether there was interest, and contact details are only shared when both mark it. Before you decide, take a look at the screens of the round: [simulator link]. To sign up: [sign-up link].
Replace the brackets with the details of your edition and keep the rest short.
Confirmation: from registrant to participant
Signing up is not showing up. Between the click on the link and the start of the round, the guest forgets, books another meeting or leaves the profile blank. Confirmation is the moment to turn interest into commitment.
The profile is part of the promotion
The platform confirms each registration by email and, later, sends reminders with the date and time. There is no list of conversations beforehand: when the round starts, pairs are formed live from what each company writes in its profile, what it offers and what it is looking for. A vague profile produces weak suggestions, and a conversation with nothing to talk about discourages whoever showed up. Along with the confirmation, ask each registrant to complete the profile and explain why it matters.
Send preparation material
Registrants who have prepared tend to show up and make better use of each conversation. In the confirmation message, include the guide on how to prepare for a business round and the Preparation Checklist, with what to do before, during and after.
When there are seats left
If your base does not fill all the seats, you can open the remaining seats to the platform's subscribers. Subscribers from other cities can join, and your members get conversations with people they would not meet through your own channels.
Reminders: from the week before to the day itself
The platform sends email reminders before the event. What they do not do is remind the guest why they signed up, and that is your organization's job.
- One week before: in the group and the newsletter, share what kinds of companies have already signed up, without naming anyone without permission, and repeat the request to complete the profile.
- Two or three days before: remind people that pairs are formed on the spot, among those present, and ask everyone to get their own side ready: a complete profile, a one-minute introduction and a question to open the conversation.
- The day before: a short message with the time, a request to test camera and microphone, and a reminder that each conversation starts exactly on time.
- On the day: a welcome message in the group shortly before the start. Anyone who forgot still has time to join.
After the round: promoting the next edition
The best promotion for your next round is the previous one. A few weeks later, ask participants what came out of their conversations: who sent a quote, who scheduled a visit. With permission, mention these cases in the next invitation, without promising they will happen again.
Use the organizer report, with attendance and connections, to see which segments responded and which ones were missing. Adjust the audience and the channels of the next edition based on that. The article on online rounds as a member benefit shows how to keep that rhythm throughout the year, and the guide to business networking explains why short, timed conversations tend to achieve more than loose gatherings.
Where to start
Choose the audience of this edition, list the companies that bring others along and call them before you open general promotion. Then adapt the invitation templates, include the simulator and plan the messages for the week before. Learn about the sign-up link, the Excel import and the reminders on the page on business rounds for organizers, and test everything in the Lab before you invite your base. And, to write the invitation knowing what it feels like from the inside, first join an open round as a company: your company's first online business round is on us, all you need is an active CNPJ (the Brazilian company registration number), once per CNPJ, and contact details are only shared when both sides mark interest. See the upcoming business rounds and experience, from the guest's side, what you are about to promote.