Event Marketing
Successfully Market Your Event and Increase ROI
By Chris Largent, Marist College Intern
Why Have Events?
Because events are fun! They are a good way for customers and potential customers to get to know your business face to face. Engaging on a personal level with customers is essential in today’s buyer-driven marketplace. Earning trust and building a good reputation are good ways to grow a customer base and maintain loyalty. Customers that come to events can learn just what your business is all about and how you stand out from the crowd. By hosting events, you give the customer something fun and exciting to do that will display your business and brand in a positive, entertaining light.
Secrets of Successful Events
An integrated market event manages is all about managing many details so that they all come together at the same time. Successful event planning starts with a great space.
Number 1) Leverage Other People’s Audiences (LOPA) Bring a celebrity or thought leader to speak or be honored at the event. Find leaders within your community, either online or in person and share your story with them. You should have something in common with those you look for. For instance, if you are hosting an event to bring awareness to a certain cause or issue, make sure the people you reach out to show an interest in it. Those who follow these leaders are sure to have similar feelings. Establish a relationship with them so that they will share your story with their followers. Invite them to your event so that they may spread the word to their own customers.
Number 2) Speak to the Right People Events can be expensive and ROI can be difficult to maintain. Make sure that the people you are targeting have an interest in the event and want to learn more. Sending out a broad message on any social media platform will surely lead to low attendance. Look for demographics such as:
- Age
- Location
- Employment
- Shared Values
Craft your messages to align with your core stakeholders targeting the hyperlocal channels where your audience lives.
Number 3) Social Media Social media is a solid solution for marketing to your core stakeholders.
Twitter is a great channel to engage with thought leaders as well as the press. Identify thought leaders that will have the most influence for your event. Tweet updates about your event and answer any comments or questions that your customers or potential attendees might have. Be sure to create a #hashtag to generate more buzz about the event as well. It will also be helpful to live tweet during the event as well for those that could not attend.
Use Facebook to create more visual content for your event. Make inforgraphics about your event to catch the eye of potential customers. Be careful not to overload the amount of event posts, limit your posts on Facebook to a few times a week. Switch up the content with fresh new images, don’t say the same thing. Don’t just blast out the same message, we are all bombarded with spam. Make it smart, make it sing and the phone will ring.
Google+ is a useful social media tool because it allows synchronization with Google Hangouts which helps to promote your event to potential attendees (Marketo, 2015). Create groups and customize invitations.
Number 4) Stay Active Be sure to follow up with any and all attendees and non attendees. This shows that you are an active participant in this event that you take seriously. Be sure to include valuable information in all follow up messages, but do not be redundant. Also, follow up with attendees after the event. Make them aware of any further events or promotions coming up for your business. Remember, the event is as much a networking opportunity for you as it is for them.
The most important part of event marketing is the event itself. It doesn’t matter how many people come to your event if it doesn’t go well so take all precautions to make sure the event runs smoothly. Keep in mind the number of staff that will be needed and make sure to meet all deadlines (Marketo, 2015).
To learn more about event marketing and social media planning visit our website at: hudsonvalleypublicrelations.com or give us at call at: 845-202-7087.
Sources:
Photo Credit
Patel, N., Taylor, B. (n.d.). The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking. QuickSprout.
Marketo. (n.d.). Event Marketing. Marketo. Retrieved from: http://www.marketo.com/event-marketing/
