Without any guest, even the most over the top planned events are doomed to fail. How can you make the most of your event promotion, especially on a strict budget? There are many strategies that can help your event get noticed, but it really boils down to the promotion. Below, we will go into 5 different ways that you can help promote your upcoming event.
Use an Event Hashtag
Incorporating the perfect hashtag for your event can help a lot with your promotion. You can incorporate it into the event page, all of your posts leading up to the event, and during the event. The easiest way to get in the habit of using your event hashtag is to use it whenever you mention your event. This goes for your social media posts, but it can also be incorporated into any printed material you use. By reinforcing your hashtag, you can help anchor your event and help it stay on the top of people’s minds.
Regardless of what social media platforms you are using to promote your event, make sure that your bio includes your hashtag. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ all have native support for hashtags. It’s also important that any speakers that will be at your event also use the hashtag when promoting your event.
Make Tickets Easy to Buy
A big part of having effective event promotion is meeting your ticket buyers where they are. This means making it easy for them to buy tickets from whatever environment they are already in. This includes third-party ticketing platforms, your website, and social media platforms.
Embrace Social Media
We have already given a few ways as to how social media can help you with event promotion. People spend most of their time on social media. However, you don’t need to spread yourself thin by promoting your event on a handful of different platforms. You should limit yourself to a few key channels. Personally, we find Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram as the most effective platforms for promoting an event.
With Facebook, you can create a page for your event. This is where you can share detailed updates about your event, post pictures, interact with your audience, and include the link to buy tickets.
Twitter allows you to give quick, real-time updates before and during your event. It’s also one of the best places to use your hashtag.
LinkedIn is perfect if your event is focused on a professional audience. There are many communities for those interested in a specific topic. You can find one that fits best with your event and promote it within that. Also, your company’s LinkedIn page can promote the event, and you can have your employees share it to help reach a larger audience.
Instagram is the best place for you to share teaser images of the event. You’re also able to share photos from past events. It can be very helpful to include what attendees have said about your past events. By giving behind-the-scenes shots of your event, you are able to get your attendees excited. Also, this is a great place to promote which speakers will be at your event.
Incorporate Email Marketing
While social media is huge, never underestimate the power of a great email. If you have a list of attendees from a previous event, email is a perfect way to update them about your upcoming event. If you don’t have a list from a previous event, then make sure you send out an email to those on your normal marketing list. A great way to get people to sign up for email updates is from your event page or website. This will allow them to receive updates and announcements about your event, while giving you a direct line of communication to your guests.
Run Competitions or Giveaways
Tap into people’s competitive nature and desire to win. You can kick off a competition or giveaway across all of your social media platforms. These are very simple to start, and for the most part they require very little from your attendees.
With Facebook, you can post a picture on your events page and tell attendees to share the image or tag a friend in the comments. From this, you can choose one of multiple people to win either tickets to your event or some type of promotional item. With this, you’re able to get the word out even more about your event, which can help draw people into buying tickets.
With Twitter, you can encourage people to follow your page and retweet a tweet from your page. Similar to Facebook, you can offer the winner a ticket to the event or a promotional item.