Event marketing is a critical component of any successful event, and requires careful planning, execution, and analysis to ensure its effectiveness. As seasoned event organisers, you likely already understand the importance of event marketing in generating buzz, driving attendance, and ultimately achieving your event goals.
However, in today's crowded and competitive event landscape, it's more important than ever to identify the most effective event marketing efforts that can help you stand out and achieve your desired outcomes.
Effective event marketing is not just about promoting your event to the masses; it's about creating a targeted and strategic approach that engages your audience, communicates your event’s value, and ultimately drives action.
This requires a deep understanding of your ideal audience, their needs and preferences, and the channels and tactics that resonate with them most. By investing in the right event marketing efforts, you can maximise your ROI and enhance the attendee experience.
In this blog, we'll explore some of the most effective event marketing efforts that can help you run a successful event, from pre-event promotions to during-event engagement to post-event follow-up. Whether you're looking to boost attendance, increase sponsorship revenue, or establish your event as a thought leader in your industry, the strategies we'll cover can help you achieve your goals and drive success.
Let’s dive into the specific marketing initiatives of an event’s lifecycle, which can be divided into three main stages - pre-event, during-event and post-event. Each event stage has its own set of marketing efforts you can focus on to activate your audience.
The event lifecycle is multidimensional - to say the least. There are multiple opportunities to connect with your intended audience to encourage registration, reduce no-show, and drive engagement.
Pre-event marketing efforts are all about creating buzz, generating interest, and making sure you have the right names on the participant list.
You want to focus on channels and networks that you own but consider having a marketing budget for pre-event activities to broaden your reach.
By implementing these pre-event marketing efforts, you can create a strong foundation for your event's success and ensure that your target audience is aware of your event and excited to attend.
During-event marketing efforts are crucial for keeping attendees engaged, promoting your event, and creating a memorable experience in real-time.
Make sure you have a communications plan and a way to keep participants informed about what is happening at the event. At a large event, it’s a good idea to send emails or even SMS messages. If your event is on the smaller side, the host should have a clear sense of the schedule - and a loud voice or a mic to give instructions and reminders.
Engaging attendees through interactive experiences: Providing interactive experiences such as games, contests, or photo booths and walls can help attendees feel more connected to your event and encourage social sharing.
Encouraging social media sharing and hashtags: Remember that hashtag you created before? Let participants use it now to share their experience on social media. Your participants will promote your event to an even wider audience and create content from the event for you.
Utilising event signage and branding: Utilising consistent and visually appealing branding and signage can help attendees easily navigate your event and reinforce your event's key messaging. If your event is in-person, use the venue in different ways to make the event experience stick. Think about decorations, spaces for networking opportunities and branded refreshments.
Collecting attendee data for future marketing efforts: Collecting data on attendee demographics, interests, and behaviour can help you tailor your future marketing efforts and better understand your target audience.
During-event marketing efforts should be designed to enhance the attendee experience, drive engagement, and promote your event's key messages. By utilising these tactics, you can create a more memorable and impactful event that resonates with attendees and drives post-event engagement.
Post-event marketing efforts keep the momentum going. These activities nurture relationships with attendees, and create opportunities for future engagement.
After your event you’ll have distinct audiences who will benefit from different kinds of information. Event attendees, no-shows, staff working to make your event happen and people unrelated to the event are such audiences.
Benefit from the wealth of information you’ve collected during the event whether it be content, data or even a set of questions and use it to build lasting relationships and to improve your future events.
By implementing these post-event marketing efforts you can maintain the momentum of the event, build lasting relationships with attendees, and lay the foundation for future success.
Here's a sample schedule for event marketing for an online webinar that will take place in two months time, along with some simple message examples:
Example Message:
"Mark your calendar! Join us in two months for our upcoming online webinar on [Topic]. Stay tuned for more details and registration information."
Start promoting the event through paid advertising campaigns, such as Facebook or Google Ads.
Example Message:
"Don't miss out on our upcoming online webinar! Register now and receive an exclusive discount on your ticket price."
Example Message:
"Only four weeks until our online webinar! Get ready to learn from industry experts on [Topic] and network with other professionals. Don't forget to register today!"
Example Message:
"Are you ready for our online webinar next week? Brush up on your skills and hear from our expert panel on [Topic]. Register now and join us for an interactive and informative event!"
Event Day:
Example Message:
"The day is finally here! Log in now to join us for our online webinar on [Topic]. Engage with industry leaders and learn valuable insights to take your skills to the next level."
Example Message:
"Thank you for attending our online webinar! We hope you found it informative and valuable. Access the recording and stay tuned for future events and promotions. Don't forget to share your feedback with us through our survey."
In conclusion, event marketing is a crucial aspect of any successful event. By implementing effective pre-, during-, and post-event marketing efforts, event organisers can maximise attendance, engagement, and ROI.
Pre-event marketing efforts are focused on generating excitement and awareness for the event, with a key emphasis on early-bird registration, promotional offers, and social media outreach.
During-event marketing efforts aim to engage attendees and create a memorable experience, with an emphasis on interactive elements, event branding, and real-time social media promotion.
Post-event marketing efforts are essential for extending the event's impact, with a focus on follow-up communications, social media sharing, and attendee feedback collection.
It's important to note that event marketing strategies will vary depending on the type of event, target audience, and industry. Check out the blog B2B event marketing ideas for creative options to make your events shine.
Overall, successful event marketing requires a comprehensive and integrated approach, including clear messaging, engaging content, and a range of marketing channels. With the right strategies and tools, you can create a powerful and memorable event that generates buzz and drives results.
If you want to know even more about event marketing and need help designing event assets, then download the Event Marketing Playbook below.