relevent/ marketing ideas
Thanks to social media, promoting upcoming events has made things a whole lot more convenient. “Clients want to know that their event is being seen by the right people in the right places to ensure maximum visibility and registration,” says Rachel Stephan, President of sensov/ event marketing. “That’s why it’s not enough to simply promote their event; we need to analyze the results of our efforts as well.”
So if you’re planning your next event, here are some of the best event marketing tips that will knock your event right out of the ballpark.
One of the best event marketing tips is all about planning ahead. Even if you don’t have a year to get started, a few months can also work well, given that your event is not taking place in a remote part of the world. Use this time to plan your editorial and promotional calendar, and ensure that you have the right amount of time to start creating it.
If you want everyone and their brother to attend your event, you need to prove that the numbers don’t lie. From client testimonials and videos to stats about attendees from your events in years’ past, you need to show the world that your event is the place to be.
You’ve certainly heard that content is king, but did you know that content marketing is queen? Creating a blog that focuses on the upcoming event will drive traffic and new registration. “If your event is new or old, starting a blog that puts the focus on the purpose, goals, and educational aspects behind your event can prove to be very beneficial,” according to Event Marketing Maven Michelle Bergstein.
So what kind of content should you be creating? Focus on the purpose of the event, interview speakers, talk about the venue, and even talk about what there is to do in the city the event takes place in. Event marketing can work well if you have an editorial calendar to work with.
Promotional content is still content and you can certainly leverage it for your event marketing efforts. From guest speakers themselves to the content of their presentations, you can create serious interest and start a dialogue on various social platforms.
Like I mentioned before, talking about the city the event is taking place in can certainly drive guest interest. If someone had planned on visiting Montreal, for example, and your event is taking place there, then mentioning what there is to do in and around the city can boost interest and drive registration.
Never underestimate the power of community. It bodes well for you to put the spotlight on your sponsors and speak to their contribution. This will help you to perhaps retain them as sponsors in the future and can lead to reciprocal mentions and links.
If you want attendees and followers to share your social posts, they need to be interesting enough to warrant it. Sharing the content you create is not enough; you need to engage with followers and give them something interesting to share and discuss.
Creating buzz is an important part of event marketing, according to social media and content strategist Jay Baer. So make sure that your keeping your audience interested.
With social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn offering super affordable ways to reach your targeted audience, now you can hone in on your intended audience and pay only when they take action (i.e., click on a link, like the post, etc.).
Too often, I see great social execution only to discover that the landing page is all over the place and there are no clear calls to action. You want to make sure that when attendees and prospects land on your page, they understand immediately what the offer is and how they can take action.
The beauty of online advertising and content strategies is that you can figure out quickly what works and what does not. This allows you to do constant A/B tests and make quick changes to measure what works best for your campaigns.
After every event or media campaign, it’s important to have an in-depth meeting to go over the numbers and figure out what you should put more effort into the next time and what may not require so much focus.
Event marketing can be a major undertaking and if you don’t know where to start and need some guidance, contact sensov/ event marketing and see how we can help.
Rachel Stephan is the owner of sensov/ event marketing. She has over 18 years of experience in marketing, advertising and creative direction in the event space.
