Event Marketing Strategies: The Top 13 Strategies
Effective event marketing strategies are vital for any type of event. If you fail to plan your event’s marketing strategy, then the event will most likely fail.
If you have ever run events before, the fact that they cannot sell themselves should come as no surprise to you.
Irrespective of how amazing the concept is, the tickets will not sell on their own. The event needs to be backed by smart and unique marketing strategies that effectively promote the event to the target audience.
Are you wondering how to create effective event management strategies?
We have curated a list of strategies that can be your guide in ensuring that the marketing is done right.
How to design the perfect event marketing strategy for your event?
It can certainly be difficult to present a pitch-perfect event marketing strategy all the time.
However, it is not impossible.
Every event comprises several aspects like the lead times, budget, target market and audience.
In order to bring the best out of the plan, we can break these into the following sections:
a) Pre-event
b) Event launch
c) Day-to-day marketing of the event
d) Final call before your event goes live
Pre-event
The pre-event stage is where you start setting the ground for your event in such a way that your content and marketing strategies have the maximum reach.
You can do this in 4 simple steps.
1. Social media announcements
2. Pre-event web page
3. Establishing your mission statement via blog posts
4. Ensure maximum outreach to partners
Event launch
Next up is the event launch, wherein you let the world know about your event through:
1. Launch emails
2. Press releases
3. Blogs
4. Social media
5. Partnerships and collaborations
Day-to-day marketing
In this state, it is important to gain the attention of your audience through tactics like the following:
1. Regular engagement on social media
2. Blogging
3. Mailing
4. Guest posts
5. Thought leadership
6. Early bird discounts
7. Paid promotions
Last call
This is the final call for people to grace your event, and we can accomplish this through:
1. Attendee referrals
2. Phone calls
3. Final email blast
4. Terrific social media engagement
5. Blog posts
6. Influencer outreach
Before you know it, the D-day will be approaching, and we are sure that will be an amazing time.
However, the aforementioned principles need to be backed by robust event marketing strategies that ensure that the whole plan actually works.
Tips to ace the event marketing strategies
Event marketing strategies are all about letting your target audience know about your event.
For those who already know about it, your clever marketing techniques should push them into buying the tickets and advocating about it.
Wondering how?
We are here to help. Read on to know more about such foolproof event marketing strategies.
You can use the links below to jump to the section you’re interested in:
1. Early bird discounts
2. Pre-event page
3. Blogging
4. Social media
5. Partner outreach
6. Guest posts and thought leadership
7. Paid promotions
8. Email
9. Event press release
10. Attendee referrals
11. Email blast, social, and blog
12. Influencers
13. Phone
1. Early bird discounts
Once you have surpassed the stage of initial launch excitement, it is time to give people some more reasons to register right away. This is precisely the moment where you can utilize early bird discounts to garner attention.
Early bird discounts work in such a way that the ticket sales go up as the event gets closer. Usually, event organizers conduct more than one of these offers.
2. Pre-event page
Even though all the details aren’t finalized yet, many people ignore the fact that they can create an event page and make it go live to gain the audience’s attention.
Besides creating a pre-event page, you can also create a central page and drive people to check it out. This will not only boost the popularity of your event but also help build the SEO authority with Google.
3. Blogging
How do you tell people your story? How do you tell them why you are organizing this event? Yes, you can do all of that and much more through blogs.
As well as your own blog, you need to seek out 3rd party blogs where you can list your venue for free, like Bloc Nearby.
You can also use this as the fuel to other event marketing strategies you incorporate and help rallying people to check out your idea, story, and the need for your event.
In addition, blog posts do not make your outreach look entirely sales oriented. Thus, it is a great way to attract some genuine interest from your target audience.
4. Social media
If you have been wondering about how to create the momentum for your event marketing and promotion, social media is the way to build a community of people who believe in your mission (which is mentioned in your blog posts already, and you can link them to your social media posts).
At this stage, it is also important to work on a catchy event hashtag that will be used to promote your event across social media channels.
5. Partner outreach
Partnerships are extremely crucial in helping your event succeed. Thus, reach out to potential partners and collaborators, complementary brands, media partners, etc, even before the event has been launched officially. This way, your event will be publicized right from the beginning.
6. Guest posts and thought leadership
While blogging on your website is important, you also need to reach new audiences beyond your reach so that your event finds a new customer base. One of the best ways to do this is through guest posting or creating content pieces in such a way that people will be happy to share the content within their circle.
7. Paid promotions
Irrespective of which way of paid promotions you choose, social media advertising or Google AdWords, it is time to put the cash behind your campaigning.
If you do not have enough budget to execute this plan, you can always turn these options off when you want.
Bloc for Business has an option where you can pay-per-result, which is when you only pay if someone physically attends your venue and checks in on Bloc.
In fact, you could turn them on only during the early bird offer times or a few weeks before the event launch so that it reinforces all your marketing activities.
8. Email
Did you know that email was voted as the most effective tactic by event organizers in a survey conducted by the Pulse Report?
There is no doubt about the value it will add to your campaigning strategies and boost your ticket sales.
As your event gets ready for the prime time, you should be ready to get your first major email blast out. Let the pre-registered and the potential audiences be the recipients.
9. Event press release
Another way to amplify the press coverage is by amplifying your event’s reach beyond your own network.
This process can greatly increase your ticket sales and also enhance the number of people who attend your event.
It will also contribute towards building a brand strategy for your event in the future and also increase the number of links to your website.
Wondering how to write a good press release? Here are a few tips on writing one.
a. Journalists today prefer the press release content to be present in the body of the email. Although, traditionally, press releases are sent as attachments in emails, copying the content in the body saves time and also increases visibility.
b. Customize the introductions for every journalist and publication. They are more likely to show interest in your content this way.
c. While it is good to be elaborate with details, keep things simple so that journalists can pick the key points from the given information easily.
d. Want to flaunt your story’s unique angle? Come with an interesting and compelling hook that will generate curiosity among your audience.
10. Attendee referrals
Often ignored by organizers, this can be a powerful source of getting more and more people on board.
Most of the organizers direct their focus towards bringing in a new and a greater number of attendees, but they often forget the fact that they already have a robust network of potential advocates.
Thus, it is also advisable to reach out to these existing attendees and incentivize them to promote the event on your behalf.
Did you know that word of mouth has been proven to be one of the highest and the most effective tactics that can be utilized towards promoting your event?
11. Email blast, social, and blog
Irrespective of when you started marketing, your event will eventually appear huge, and within a few more weeks, the last-push marketing will have to be done.
This is usually accomplished in the form of a series of updates on blogs, social media platforms, and email blasts.
You can also incorporate the concept of ‘social proof’ here and show the world who else will be there at the event. This way, you are giving your potential audience more reasons to be present at the event in a convincing manner.
As your marketing nears the end, your final social media updates, emails, and blog posts should take on a more serious, urgent strategy. Your posts should also contain sales-focused messages.
You have spent a long time building the relationship and rapport with your audience.
Now is the time to be super clear and transparent with your direct calls to action and convert those long-term strategies into ticket sales.
12. Influencers
Wondering how to fill a few last-minute places or get the word out in an effective way and have it reach thousands of people at once?
Social media influencers can be your best shot. It is often advised to contact and connect with them right at the start of your campaign as there is a good chance that they might not have spare time for promotions.
It is best to engage with them at the earliest possible and have them tell their followers about your event.
13. Phone
Telemarketing can be an easy way to promote your event but hiring a tele sales team might prove expensive. However, this should not stop you from using your phone as a choice of event marketing.
If you look at the list of attendees closely, you will realize that a few of the targeted audience attendees have not bought that ticket. Give them a call, connect with them, and know why. Inquire if there is anything you could help with.
Ask if they need answers to any questions. It does not and will not be a hard sell, but it is much harder to neglect that phone call in comparison to emails or texts. It might be a time-taking process, but it certainly proves effective in securing some more sales.
Summing up
The effective usage of tools, channels, and techniques at your disposal will help enhance the sales of your tickets.
Marketing is not always difficult.
You just need to plan for it and organize it efficiently so that all the aspects of the process are in synchrony with the others.
You should make your event appear so lucrative that your potential audience should be persuaded to be there on your D-day with their friends, colleagues, and family. This is how word of mouth tends to work as a steady pipeline of leads from one person to another.
Email marketing, blogging, advertising, paid promotions, and others are other effective ways to sell your event to the audiences.
You could engage in B2B marketing where you convince other businesses to attend and sponsor.
Although the channels of event marketing might be the same, the tone of voice and USPs might vary by a certain degree.
For instance, consider a consumer event where the sales techniques are driven towards showing them the array of personal benefits and interests that will be served.
However, for a business event, the rewards will vary. They are supposed to be more helpful in terms of increasing revenue, generating leads, or gaining a competitive edge for business.
Take our suggestions into consideration and let your unique event marketing strategies and position your event high in the eyes of your target audience.
Use our tips to your advantage and build the momentum. You will see a spike in the sales in no time.
Happy marketing!
