A new year is upon us and with it comes a new set of events to plan and event marketing trends to follow. Events are a cornerstone and a staple of businesses for building relationships and fostering connections.
However, it doesn't matter how spectacular your event is on paper. Without the proper event strategy in place, your event likely won't get the attendance and engagement it needs to succeed.
An estimated 90% of marketers plan to utilize event marketing to elevate their brand in 2024. Having the right strategies is key.
Are you looking for ways to amplify your marketing strategy? If so, keep reading below to discover how you can craft an effective event marketing plan and ensure a successful event.
Define Your Target Demographic
Any event planner and even marketer worth their salt knows you don't just throw an event out there without clearly defining its target audience first. This is a necessary first step for any event whether it's a birthday party or a corporate conference.
Defining your target audience means identifying certain interests, preferences, and demographics. If you're not sure what some of these are, you can always conduct market research to identify what your ideal attendees may be.
Once you have your target demographic well-defined, you can work to tailor your marketing materials to the right groups. For instance, you can focus on crafting a more personalized invitation to pique interest.
Establish a Clear Marketing Budget
Event marketing can be tricky. You want to have the best event promotion possible but you don't want to blow your entire marketing budget in the process. A successful event strategy requires that you set and stick with a reasonable marketing budget.
Before you dive headlong into event planning, you will need to clearly define your overall marketing budget. This will help you allocate the proper funds based on their priority. It will also reflect where you expect to get the most return on investment (ROI).
You may need to regularly review and adjust the budget as needed throughout the marketing campaign as well as for any future events.
Design a Compelling Website
Having an event website is a vital event strategy. This website is the place where prospective event attendees can go to find out all the details of the event. It's also where they may be able to register or RSVP for the event itself.
You will need to ensure your website is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Include an event overview, agenda, speaker details, and a clear call-to-action for registration. Use high-quality visuals and video content to talk up the event for site visitors.
If this is an annual event, see about incorporating video footage and testimonials from past guests. This helps establish credibility for your event. It also serves to build interest.
Utilize Social Media
Social media can be a great part of your event strategy. Social media puts your event front and center in front of the right crowds in a snap. In 2024, the number of social media users is estimated to hit an impressive 5.17 billion people.
There are several different social media platforms with varied demographics and uses. You will want to verify that you are using the right platform for your event marketing strategy.
Create a social media calendar with engaging content. Use multimedia such as images and videos to capture attention. Encourage user-generated content by creating event-related hashtags.
Harness Email Marketing
Even in the modern age, email marketing has stood the test of time as a reliable and proven marketing strategy. As much as 85% of event planners use email marketing for event promotion. Based on this statistic alone, you can see the powerful impact that email marketing can have as part of your event strategy.
With email marketing, it's easy to segment your email list based on different criteria such as interests or location. You can also customize emails to address each recipient by name for a more personal touch.
Make sure to use clear and compelling subject lines that will get email recipients to open and read them. As always, be sure to include a compelling call-to-action button to encourage easy registration.
Tap into Content Marketing
Content marketing can incorporate anything from blog posts to infographics, and video content. Its main purpose is to showcase the value of attending your event to prospective event attendees.
Develop high-quality content that is informative, engaging, and shareable. Good content lends itself to being shared across a wide network of mediums and platforms. Each share has the potential to reach thousands of others.
It can be especially beneficial when used in conjunction with social media and email marketing. Share this content across social media and through email newsletters to grow interest in your event.
Leverage Event Listings
Listing your event on popular event platforms and directories can also improve your event strategy. It helps increase visibility and accessibility for those searching for relevant events. Ensure that you provide comprehensive event details for potential attendees.
There are also event functionalities on certain social media platforms. For instance, Facebook's Events feature lets you easily create a personalized shareable event page for event promotion. This page allows you to invite specific guests or lets social media users invite their friends.
Event organizers can set specific audiences to limit the event's visibility to select groups and followers. They can also gauge the level of interest in the event by viewing those who tapped on the "Interested" or "Attending" options.
Offer Early Bird Pricing and Promotions
Create a sense of urgency by offering early bird discounts for those who register early. Show how much attendees could save by booking early. Promote these discounts across your marketing channels, highlighting the savings and benefits of early registration.
Limited-time promotional pricing creates a sense of fear of missing out (FOMO) in event attendees. By not acting on this early bird pricing and waiting too long to register for the event, tickets could go up in price or sell out altogether. As a result, it can bolster event registration rates.
This is an age-old marketing event strategy that has been used by generations of marketers.
Explore Partnerships and Sponsorships
Aligning with the right brands for sponsorships and partnerships can help your event get more exposure. It also permits you to cultivate symbiotic brand partnerships which can be crucial for subsequent events.
Identify any potential partners or event sponsors with whom you can align with. Collaborate on joint marketing efforts, such as co-hosted webinars or shared social media promotions.
You can also leverage their established networking capabilities to reach a broader audience. Cross-promotion campaigns can allow you to get the word out to those outside of your normal promotional areas.
Focus on Attendee Engagement
A successful event hinges on the amount of direct attendee engagement they receive. You need to focus on every aspect of the attendee journey from pre-registration to mid-event engagement and even post-event engagement.
With pre-registration, you will need to use email to inform event attendees of the event information and the registration process. Mid-event engagement involves keeping attendees up-to-date on the schedule of events such as guest speaker panels, Q&As, special giveaways, interactive tech, and networking opportunities.
For post-event engagement, you could send out surveys and feedback forms to attendees to gauge their enjoyment of the event. For any event registrants and prospective attendees on social media, ensure that you are answering any questions they may have and responding to their comments.
Collaborate with Local Media
For local events, one of the best ways to improve your event marketing is by going to local news sources. These outlets often do no-cost and low-cost event promotion coverage for events around their area.
Consider local media sources such as:
- press releases
- interviews
- newspapers
- radio
- TV
- online media sources
Local media outlets can help you generate buzz for your events and reach like-minded target audiences. It can be an invaluable and integral part of your event strategy.
Using a local media collaboration also adds credibility and authenticity to your event promotion efforts. This helps ensure a successful event overall.
Share Post-Event Highlights
After the event is over, the marketing still isn't done. Share post-event content, including highlights, photos, and key takeaways. Those who didn't attend will see what they missed out on.
You should encourage event attendees to share their own photos and videos from the event using a special hashtag, email, or upload portal. User-generated content is a big component of a successful event strategy.
You can then use these materials to showcase the success of your event. They also make great event promotion resources to help generate excitement for future events.
Learn How to Enhance Your Event Strategy at The Event Planner Expo 2024 in NYC
Your event strategy is the roadmap you use to plan out the ideal attendee journey. Without it, it's easy to get lost in the intricacies and challenges that come with event planning. To hone your event strategy to its fullest potential, you need exposure to industry professionals and insights.
The Event Planner Expo is the premier destination for those in the event planning and hospitality industries. Experience 3 days chocked full of more than 50 professional speakers, networking opportunities, over 150 exhibitors, entertainment, and so much more.
Don't wait! Reserve your booth today and we'll see you October 15th-17th in NYC.
