Event marketing is an effective means to build your brand, engage with customers, network with prospects and show off your industry expertise. Boost the effectiveness of this traditional marketing tactic by using a mix of traditional and new media to promote and plan your event.
If you're new to the concept, event marketing is a tactic that focuses on in-person interaction throughvarious venues including conferences, trade shows, seminars, webinars and business meetings.
Here are 4 tips to keep your events fresh and attendees engaged
1. Make It Easy to Accept the Invitation by Showing Value
According to a study by ConstantContact®, more than 40% of companies said getting people to respond to invites was their biggest challenge in promoting their event. Use social media, email marketing and direct mail to send your event invitations. Leveraging multiple channels ensures that you’ll reach more prospects and you’ll make it convenient for your prospects to respond and register.
Create an event microsite that includes sharable information about the event. Make sure it’s easy to find the event location, pricing, registration, schedule, speakers and accommodations. To help your prospects make the decision to register, tell them how the event content solves their problems. Create unique value propositions for unique segments of your target audience.
2. Give a Little, Get a Lot
Partner with a charitable organization and include them in several aspects of the event. Socially-centric promotions help your attendees feel good about spending because their money and time is going to a good cause. An appeal to social responsibility is an extremely effective marketing tactic because it appeals to your prospects’ humanitarian instincts and they’ll recognize your brand as one that cares about more than profits.
Additionally, socially responsible initiatives perform well in social media, which will increase shares and interactions. Start conversations around the cause and your event!
3. Integrate Social Media in Throughout your Event
Social integration is now best-practice for event marketing and should occur before, during and after your event. Be creative and mix up media to reach the most people.
Consider these examples:
Use event technology services like Eventbrite for registration. Eventbrite integrates social sharing tools for attendees to promote your event to friends and connections on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Plan social media breakout sessions during the event that benefit a charitable partner. Put attendees into groups to create 30 minute promotional videos to spread the word of the social cause. Have attendees post the videos to video-sharing sites such as YouTube for judging by a representative of the charitable organization. Then, announce the winners on social media and be sure to use event hashtags.
- Stay connected with your attendees after the event by posting surveys and custom offers for attendees only.
- Use the event to boost your marketing reach. Create in-event contests for your Facebook fans, and have prize drawings for those who tweet and post Instagram photos using the event hashtag. Offer several prizes to sweeten the deal.
4. Leave Time to Network
Your attendees are looking for new ideas and innovation, but they also find value in networking with others in their industry. Be sure to provide enough breaks and mixers for attendees to speak with their fellow event-goers. Leverage sponsors to fund the events to avoid increasing or charging registration costs.
Event marketing is a great way to establish a presence in your industry in addition to giving you the opportunity to personally reach your prospects. Making it easy to register, aligning with a social cause, integrating social media and providing time to network will make your event, and your brand, one to remember.
