According to recent statistics, “Event marketing is considered the most effective marketing channel by approximately 31% of B2B marketers.” It is a highly valuable strategy that benefits various types of businesses, including technology, education, non-profit organizations, medicine, and retail.
In another study, it was found that “52% of marketers believe event marketing generates the best return on investment”. Additionally, it promotes product and industry expertise while also improving brand awareness, among other benefits.
Now that we’ve established the significance of event marketing, to maximize the impact and reach of an event, it is crucial to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that covers the pre-event, post-event, and during event phases.
Pre-Event Marketing
Establish goals: Determine your objectives for the event. Are you trying to enhance revenue, brand recognition, or lead generation? Your marketing activities will be driven by clearly defined targets, and you can track your progress with them.
Develop captivating content: It raises anticipation for the event and conveys its value. This can be done through emails, videos, teasers on social media, and blog articles. Use narrative strategies to attract your audience and give them a glimpse of things to come.
Utilise social media: Social media platforms are effective resources for event marketing. Make event-specific hashtags, reveal behind-the-scenes shots, and drive attendees to tell others about it. Run competitions, polls, and Q&A sessions to interact with your audience and create excitement.
In this blog, we’ll look at a few event marketing strategies that can help you boost interest, improve attendance, and engage your audience. Let’s take a look at the numerous possibilities, which range from developing an attractive landing page to using social media advertising.
During Event Marketing
Engage Participants with Interactive Experiences: Make the event as a captivating and unforgettable one. Use interactive components to keep guests interested and promote meaningful interactions, such as live polls, Q&A sessions, and gamification. Encourage social sharing by setting up Instagrammable moments and photo booths.
Utilise Live Streaming and Online Attendance: In the era of hybrid events, employ live streaming to broaden the audience for your event. Encourage online involvement by using hashtags and engaging live chats. Give distant participants access to premium virtual content to make them feel included.
Promote User-Generated Content: Encourage participants to use the hashtags associated with the event to post about their experiences on social media. UGC not only expands the audience for your event but also acts as real testimonies. Consider running contests or offering incentives for the best UGC submissions.
Post-Event Marketing
Recap and Share the Highlights: After the event, upload blog posts, videos, and social media updates to share the highlights, key points learned, and unforgettable moments. This extends the duration of the event and enables others who missed it to catch up.
Follow Up with Participants: Both physically and virtually, by sending them personalised emails or messages. To maintain the relationship and nurture leads obtained during the event, offer extra resources, special discounts, or invitations to subsequent events.
Leverage User-Generated Content: Keep showcasing user-generated content that was produced during the event. This not only recognises the contributions of the participants but also promotes a sense of community and encourages further participation.
Requesting Testimonials and Feedback: Send out surveys to participants to get feedback and testimonials. This feedback can help you improve future events and provide valuable insights for your marketing efforts. Testimonials can be used in promotional materials or shared on social media to build credibility.
5 Effective Event Marketing Ideas & Strategies
Start with a captivating Event Landing Page
Creating an aesthetically devoted landing page for your event is a simple yet extremely successful method. This landing page is a significant tool since it captures the information of those who are interested in attending your event, resulting in many registrations.
Samaaro assures the availability of a wide range of templates that suit the topic of your event. Furthermore, Samaaro assists in embracing inclusion and engaging a completely new population, hence increasing your reach and effect through SEO-optimized content.
To create a landing page that efficiently converts visitors into attendees, the following things must be included:
- Highlight the host or speakers and their importance.
- Communicate the event’s aim and spirit through a well-defined agenda
- Highlight critical information such as the date, time, location, , and any other pertinent information.
- Include a user-friendly sign-up form.
- Incorporate a strong call to action that prompts visitors to act and register.
Build an Email Marketing Campaign
Email marketing is frequently considered one of the most effective methods of event marketing. Event organizers frequently utilize it to effectively interact with their target audience. Using email marketing, you may build a relationship with potential attendees throughout the registration process and nurture them until the event day. This method takes two tactics: sending informative emails to tell registrants about event specifics, or sending entertaining emails to increase excitement as the event approaches. Try using an appealing subject line that catches users’ attention. A simple headline such as “You don’t want to miss out” goes a long way and creates ample buzz.
Engage attendees in events with 360 notifications
Increase engagement potential by using push notifications, regardless of what sort of event you’re planning—in-person, online, or hybrid—it’s crucial to recognise that participants frequently have busy schedules and may find it difficult to remember every session or piece of information they meant to take in. While giving each attendee their own customised event schedule can be useful, it’s also crucial to implement push notifications via email or a mobile event app to remind them when sessions start and to encourage them to participate in wellness or gamification activities that are provided outside of sessions.
Build momentum on social media
Social media above all things is a great way to make noise about the event. Today, where more than 3.8 billion people are active on various social networks, it makes sense to promote your event across several channels where your target audience is present. There are various ways to use social media to promote an event. You may use Instagram to publish captivating videos or reels, build Facebook pages devoted to your event, use a unique hashtag for your content, and use separate marketing strategies to reach people across numerous platforms. To generate content, the world is shifting to AI models, so why should you wait. You may also cooperate with event co-hosts and speakers to cross-promote and expand your reach. Furthermore, social media offers a wide range of tools that may be used to promote your event.
Swag Bags
Lastly, consider collaborating with branded swag suppliers to boost your brand and offer complimentary gifts to your event participants, because let’s be honest, everyone appreciates freebies. When it comes to designing outstanding gift bags, the options are basically limitless. The secret is to offer a sizable variety of freebies and branded things all at once, whether you use plastic bags, tote bags, or think outside the box with unconventional containers like baskets, bowls, or crates! Who can resist the charm of receiving a high-quality branded mug or koozie?
