You’ve planned your company event. Then you organized it. Now you’re ready to unleash some serious promotional marketing to attract guests to your company event. But the best event planners know that you have to plan and organize your marketing strategy, just as you would the event itself. If you need fresh ideas to juice up your event promotion game, keep reading. These are just a few of the marketing strategies that the best event planners are using today to book their company events solid.
1. Get Hashtag Crazy, But Not Too Crazy
Every company event should have a hashtag strategy. And you likely came up with one already during the initial event planning stages. If you haven’t yet, do so now. Make it catchy and memorable. It needs to align with your event name, cause, or company. With a great hashtag arsenal at your fingertips, you can begin dropping it everywhere you’re talking about the company event.
Wherever you mention your company event, either on your website, via social media conversations, or even in printed materials, drop that hashtag. Go to each of your company profiles on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest to share it there, too, since all of those platforms have native support for hashtags.
The more audiences you can reach, the more anchored your event will be for potential attendees. But be mindful to not overdo your hashtag strategy with too many hash strings. In a recent Simply Measured study, posts with more than two hashtags associated had 32% fewer engagers than those with no hashtags, meaning no one likes a hashtag spammer.
2. Improve Your SEO Game Online
The best event planners know how to write killer copy to attract guests and promote the next company event. But as you’re writing up a tantalizing blog and an exciting press release to announce your details, don’t forget about SEO. Much of what you write, invitations included, will live on the web. And SEO will ensure that search engine browsing will put your company event at the top of the results list.
To step up your SEO game, create a library of keywords people might use to search for your company event online. Include regional specifics, too, like the venue name, city, or season-specific theme. If you’re not sure how to select your keywords, check out some of these free tools:
- Keyword ToolGoogle’s Keyword Planner
With a menu of precision keywords, you can look to naturally include those throughout every event announcement copy you draft.
3. Make RSVPs and Opt-Ins Super Easy
Whether you’re an event planner for a company outing with traditional invitations or you’re putting together a company event selling tickets, you have to make the opt-in process super easy and convenient. The best event planners in New York will often rely on third-party ticket platforms to help promote event tickets to a broader audience. At the very least, you can incorporate a ticket widget into your website, allowing guests to register their attendance and buy tickets with a few clicks on your landing page.
If you’re using social media to promote your company event, be sure to include a “get tickets” or “RSVP Now” button that takes browsers directly to the confirmation stage. And wherever you share event details online, include links to RSVP or purchase tickets directly. The key is to limit the number of clicks it takes for a potential guest to opt in. Additionally, present those quick and easy decisions in more than one place to reach your audience wherever they’re browsing.
4. Specialize Your Invites and Tickets
Don’t just sell tickets; get creative with “specialized” tickets. Get the buzz going and build a sense of urgency with time-sensitive opt-ins, discounts, and first-come, first-serve deals. Here are just a few you might feel work well with your company event.
VIP Tickets Make Everyone Feel VIP
Usually marked at a higher price point, the VIP ticket intends to represent the VIP experience. So, include privileges and perks that anyone among the general admission won’t get. Tap into your creative side and build a list of VIP exclusives to promote a premier experience, like better seating, valet parking, or VIP swag. And you’ll tap into those guests who want that exclusive access.
Early Bird Specials Attract the Deal-Seekers
On the other end of the spectrum, try discounting tickets or early access RSVPs with early bird specials. Promoting your company event to those who like deals will engage another segment of potential attendees. And they love the rewards that come with early access.
Offer Some Ticket Bundles to Get the Groups RSVPing
The best event planners know how to make the group ticket package work for their events. Don’t just attract one guest at a time. Instead, leverage the value of group discount pricing, combined with a little VIP experience, to confirm several guests at a time.
5. The Magic of Event Marketing Reminders
It’s not really marketing when you phrase it as a “friendly reminder.” And the most genius event planners use brilliant email marketing to send those reminders. In most studies, email marketing continues to be one of the most effective digital channels of them all. If you have an email list, maybe with last year’s company guest list, draft some friendly reminders and hit send!
Make those emails sizzle with incentives. Ask email recipients to sign up for your newsletter to get a discount on their access to your company event. Maybe offer a refer-a-friend perk for anyone who RSVPs or signs up someone else. Drop in some fun quizzes or surveys for feedback and dangle carrots to entice them to visit your company event page. Get creative with how you send marketing email reminders to squeeze every last engagement benefit from the inbox.
If you have a company event to promote, consider these trends for your marketing strategy. And speaking of reminders, have you confirmed your Event Planner Expo 2022 attendance yet? If you really want inspirational ideas from other savvy event planners and to talk to some of the industry’s leading professionals, come to the Event Planner Expo this October. We’re celebrating ten years of this exciting annual event. And it will be a game-changer for your event planning business.
