Event professionals know that there's a lot that goes into executing successful events for your clients. Each has its own unique needs and challenges, and every client is different. It's amazing to look back at each of your events and think about all the creativity, ingenuity, and hard work you put into each one to make it special!
But while planning amazing events is your lifeblood as a New York Event Planner, don't forget that you also need to focus on growing your business.
To help get the right tactics on your radar so you can grow smarter and faster, let's explore 6 event marketing strategies that are perfect for growing any event planning business:
Get in the right mindset
The right mindset is critical to the success of your business. Here are some tips to help you get in the right mindset:
- Be confident in your abilities - You are an expert at what you do, so believe it! Let your confidence show through and talk to people about how awesome your services are. This can be as simple as telling a friend or family member what you offer and why they should use them.
- Be open to learning new things - If a client has a question that isn't listed on the website, answer it! Learn something new today that will improve the service for future clients (and make sure it gets added). Also consider taking classes or hiring someone who can teach you something new about event planning—it's never too late to learn!
- Be willing to take risks - Starting out small provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity for growth but being successful requires taking risks and trying new things within budget restrictions (e.g., outsourcing work). If there's something else, you could be doing better than what's currently being done by yourself, or other employees/contractors then go ahead and try it out--just don't forget about lessons learned before making any big changes--you never know when these will come in handy later down road!
Find your niche and be known for it
The first step to building a successful event planning business is knowing your niche and being known for it.
This means identifying who your target audience is, what kinds of events they attend, and what kind of event you want to specialize in (such as weddings, corporate meetings and conferences, or community events). It also means knowing who the competition is in your area so that you can understand what they’re doing that works well.
You should be able to clearly define how you will stand out from the crowd by providing valuable services/products at affordable prices while still maintaining quality service standards.
Focus on your brand and marketing message
You need to focus on your brand and marketing message. The bottom line is that if you don't have a clear idea of who you are, what you stand for, and why people should work with you, then how can anyone else?
Branding is important because it's one of the only ways for people to make an emotional connection with your business. Your brand represents what matters most to YOU as an event planner; it's not just about how others see YOU, but also how YOU see yourself and what YOUR brand means to YOUR audience.
So, let's get started! What is YOUR mission statement? How do YOU want people to feel when they interact with YOUR company? What does "customer service" mean at YOUR company? How can we create an experience for customers that makes them feel valued in every interaction?
These are all questions worth asking as part of developing a strong brand message so practice answering them until they come naturally! At the same time, we suggest taking some time out each week (or month) to really think about these questions because these are things that will help shape both personal goals and future business success so try not rush through this process but rather take time out each week (or month) until these become second nature!
Be consistent with your event marketing efforts
Consistency is the name of the game when it comes to event marketing. You want to keep your efforts consistent, because consistency helps you build credibility in your field and with clients. If you are inconsistent, then nobody will know what to expect from you or where they can find you—and that's a major problem! To help ensure consistency, create a marketing calendar for yourself that includes the following:
- A schedule for all your marketing activities (social media posts, emails sent out etc.)
- A list of all content that needs to be published on different platforms at different times (blog posts, website articles etc.)
Expand your reach with PR and media marketing
- Reach out to your network. Your personal connections and professional contacts can be an excellent source of free press. Ask them if they would be willing to promote your event on social media, in their newsletters or blogs, on their company website, or in any other way that feels natural for them.
- Use social media as an effective marketing channel for events. Create engaging content for each platform (I.e.., Facebook Live broadcasts), offer great deals through special offers, and post regular updates about upcoming events so people know when they should plan ahead!
- Create a press kit with all the information journalists need about your business including who we are (the owner), what we do at our business (our core values), how long it’s been open (the number of years since inception), key stats like number of customers served annually…etc. It should also include photos/videos taken by yours truly - make sure to include one good headshot too! You can find lots of tips by clicking here!
- Set up a Press Room page on your website where reporters can easily access all relevant materials such as images and news releases related specifically to what's happening today at this very moment - whether its launching new services offered by us or simply announcing our latest client acquisition deal recently closed between two entities which both parties involved found mutually beneficial etc.
Nurture relationships with vendors and venues you admire
A big part of marketing is working with other businesses to grow your event planning business. When you have a good working relationship with the venues and vendors you work with, they will be more likely to help you in the future. This can be as simple as being a good client or guest, but it can also mean being someone who builds up their brand in the industry by helping them out when possible and sharing their story on social media when appropriate.
In addition to fostering these relationships through your own behavior, also pay attention to how other people are interacting with each other and make sure that you include others in invitations for events or group emails if it looks like there might be room for collaboration down the road.
There's a lot that goes into being an event pro. As you focus on planning, organizing and executing your client's events, don't forget about growing your business! Keep these 6 tactics in mind to help you grow.
Being an event pro is a lot like being an entrepreneur. You have to be flexible; you have to be able to take on challenges and change your plans on the fly. You need to stay focused while also keeping your eye on the big picture. But maybe most importantly, you need to maintain a level of passion that keeps driving you forward through all those challenges!
That's why it's so important that we continue growing our businesses as well as improving our skillset: so, we can continue giving our clients better service, more experiences and cooler events than ever before!
When it comes down to it though...it's because we love what we do!
Conclusion
As an event professional, you have a lot on your plate. Between planning events, managing client relationships, booking vendors and running your business, it's hard to find time for marketing!
Still, the most successful event professionals know that it's important to focus on growth. Use these 6 tactics to help you grow your business and join us at The Event Planner Expo this year to learn how to take your event business to the next level!
