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You’ve certainly been to live concerts or major sporting events. And you will agree that being a part of the crowd is a truly exhilarating experience. The cheering and chanting in unison while supporting our favorite band or team creates a unique and magical atmosphere – one that is hard to compare to anything else.
The audience is a significant driving force in the success of events. However, seamless organization, smooth flow, and high-quality content are the things that crown every event together.
How does one create a truly memorable event? Our marketing experts dive into this topic in the article below, outlining their top 8 ideas that will help you organize an event to remember!
Table of Contents
The Importance of Event Promotion
Event marketing involves using different tactics to promote your event to your target audience, sponsors, and stakeholders to boost attendance, garner more industry recognition, and expand your budget.
In digital marketing, promotional strategies can encompass various techniques, from search engine optimization and paid search ads to social campaigns, email newsletters, and more. Event promotion enables you to market the event, boost brand awareness, and expand your reach to a larger portion of your target audience. Working with an event marketing agency allows you to maximize the event’s potential and expand your brand beyond its current confines.
8 Creative Event Marketing Ideas
Just like any creative marketing strategy, the overall size of your event promotion will depend on the scale of the event itself and your budget. If you get a few big sponsors, you can choose from a wide variety of online and offline ad and marketing formats. However, that doesn’t mean you can only spread the word if you have a massive budget. You can make waves even with limited resources and a pinch of creativity.
- Double down on content
- Embrace video
- Launch email campaigns
- Create a registration page
- Run paid campaigns
- Embrace modern technology
- Order branded merchandise
- Consider influencer marketing
1. Double Down on Content
The easiest way to promote your event is by distributing content about it. Create a solid content strategy that lists your main channels and digital touchpoints. Better yet, find ways to implement your event promotion into your SEO content strategy. This approach can also enhance visibility for your event, both locally and globally, depending on the reach of your SEO efforts.
In terms of SEO content, you can concentrate on topics related to the event. Talk about the initial idea behind it, your vision, and then consider going into greater detail as planning progresses.
Introducing the keynote speakers and discussing the importance of the topics, services, or products you plan to highlight during the event is a great idea. Creating a content pillar centered on the event will help you answer all vital attendee questions and boost anticipation early on.
2. Embrace Video
Today, video is the most popular content form. In addition to sharing standard footage like preparations, and behind-the-scenes, try to experiment with more creative ideas too. For instance, consider creating a YouTube channel dedicated to the event, where you can introduce your sponsors and speakers, show footage from past events, and build excitement.
Make your promotional videos (or Reels) short and ensure that you share them across all of your social channels to maximize their potential.
3. Launch Email Campaigns
Email marketing is a fantastic way to send out timely promotions and reminders about your event. It can be a cost-effective and high-ROI channel to advertise your event, especially if your email list is highly engaged. Topics worth discussing involve the event’s vision, its importance, and the impact you’re trying to make. Use strong and catchy headlines and embrace video to make the most of the campaign.
4. Create a Registration Page
Setting up a website or dedicated page is the most powerful tool you can have in your box to promote an event. Start with a great design that grabs the attention of your target audience and optimize from there. From providing the necessary event and contact information to creating a hub for ticket payments and registrations, your event website is your first and last line of contact between your brand and attendees.
Consider the following optimization techniques:
- Usability testing: According to user experience (UX) statistics, 94% of first impressions about a website are based on its design. This means that in addition to being visually appealing, your event website should also be easy to use and navigate. You must also include all necessary information about the event (timetables, ticket prices, schedules) to spike the interest of potential attendees.
- Heat mapping: These color-coded maps represent the areas of your site that users interact the most with. Heat mapping shows which features are the most engaging, how much time people spend on your site, and more, providing valuable insights into what sections need to be optimized.
- A/B testing: This testing method enables you to test two separate versions of the same page and compare the engagement they’ve managed to generate. Several great testing tools can help you with that, but you can ask your digital marketing partners for some tips on experimenting with different call-to-actions, headlines, and design features too.
5. Run Paid Campaigns
PPC advertising and promoted social media posts can also expand your reach and introduce your brand and event to people outside your following but within your target audience. Working with an experienced PPC marketing agency can help you maximize your budget and boost attendance.
Many visitors may leave your website without taking action. The best way to reach them is by launching retargeting advertisements via your Google Ads account.
You can also retarget users through your newsletters, but it’s important to be selective — focus on those who abandoned their cart during checkout or interacted meaningfully with your site, such as subscribing to your brand’s newsletter.
6. Embrace Modern Technology
An exciting part of experiential marketing, augmented reality (AR) has gained more traction with the help of Snapchat filters, TikTok, and the infamous Pokemon Go game. It’s also made its way into event promotions, with marketers and promoters leveraging technology to create immersive experiences to boost potential attendees' involvement.
For instance, OnePlus created an entire AR event around the launch of its new smartphone, Nord, allowing users to check out the specifications and features of the phone. This was the first-ever entire event hosted via AR and it was watched by over 100,000 people.
QR codes are now a big part of event planning too, thanks to the convenience they offer. Incorporating them into your materials is a fantastic way to boost interest and make it easy for people to access your event website.
7. Order Branded Merchandise
Handing out exclusive, branded merch like tote bags, T-shirts, and caps to attendees is another fun way to promote your event. Consider handing out the free merchandise before, during, and after the actual event. It may seem like a long shot, but it can incentivize people to sign up for your event for the upcoming year, as we all love free things.
8. Consider Influencer Marketing
According to marketers, content generated by influencers receives eight times more engagement when compared to branded content. Additionally, around 60% of them said that influencer-generated content consistently outperforms branded posts.
Today, influencer marketing is integrated into every event promotion campaign. Influencers tend to have a much larger audience base than brands, so solid partnerships guarantee more credibility, trust, and loyalty, possibly resulting in more event registrations too.
That said, it’s essential to promote your event with an influencer relevant to your industry. This means they (and their followers) can identify with your brand and represent themselves as a credible event advocate.
Creative Event Marketing Takeaways
A big event promotion budget can surely help you generate buzz and reach a large audience. However, our article has proven that you can achieve excellent results with less money and more creativity too.
To get the most out of your existing resources, you can always reach out to an experienced team, who knows how to leverage every asset you bring to the table.
Event Marketing Ideas FAQs
1. Do you need sponsors to promote your event?
Sponsors can make the promotion process easier, especially if they offer significant resources. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t promote your event without sponsorships. For instance, the eleven ideas we highlighted above rarely mention sponsors but instead suggest creative ideas that can help you reach more potential leads on a tight budget.
2. Can you promote your event with organic social posting only?
In theory, you can, but in practice, that probably won’t reach enough people to make any difference. However, you don’t have to create a massive social ad campaign, even just clicking on “boost” can go a long way in reaching more people.
3. Should you only use digital spaces for promoting your event?
If you’re running a virtual or online event, then it makes perfect sense to only promote it digitally. However, if you’re promoting a small, two-day local music festival, leveraging both online and offline promotional techniques can help you maximize the turnout potential of the event.
