One of the challenges in creating a successful event is making sure you get enough people through the door.
Budget is often the main consideration when it comes to how much an event will be actively promoted. Sometimes, there is little to no budget for this and promotion gets demoted to a wish list item.
Thankfully, technology has opened the door for event promotion at little to no cost.
However, before you jump online to spread your message across every platform, think again. Just as you need a solid plan in place for every other aspect of your event, your pre-event promotion needs a strategy, too.
Here is a four-step plan to give you a good foundation to promote your event online:
- Concentrated effort – There’s no point in spreading your message across every platform when no one is there to hear it. Think about where your audience congregates. Not all demographics are evenly distributed across all platforms. Figure out who is attending your event, determine which platform they use most, and focus your efforts there for greater impact. For example, if you are hosting a fundraiser and your guest list has mostly corporate types, then promote using LinkedIn. Is your audience a younger crowd? Then Instagram might get better results. Remember that there is more to the social media promotion game than just posting about the event. It has been proven that images and video get more engagement. Create a fun and interesting hashtag that you can use across your chosen platforms and on every piece of digital communication that you put out about the event. Use keywords and phrases that will rank you higher in search engine results. Use social media ads to get the word out. Brainstorm ways to maximize this resource to make your event a success.
- Give them more – Once you know where and how you will be advertising your event, you need a place to send all those interested people. Create an event page that generates excitement and paints a picture of what it will feel like to be at the event. Add pictures and videos from previous events, anything that will capture the mood and make them want to experience it firsthand. Include all the details they could want to know – basically, you do not want to give them any reason to click off that page before they say yes!
- Make it easy – Your ultimate goal is to have a successful event and, for many events, that means ticket sales. Once they have gone through your social media coverage to the event page, you want to make it easy for them to say yes. If you are not using online ticketing for your events, then you are missing out on potential attendees. Having an online easy-to-use ticketing system is key. After you have wowed them, and they are psyched to go to your event, with your social media coverage and event page, do not let them go until they have purchased a ticket. But it pays to be mindful of the ticketing system you use. If there are too many steps required, your potential attendee will close the browser before they buy!
- Old standbys – Do not forget about email. With social media platforms getting much of the attention when it comes to digital promotion, sometimes we think of email as old-school and outdated. There is a lot of potential ticket sales to be had using the connections you have made throughout the years. Do not lose that opportunity to increase your event attendance.
While technology is a powerful tool for your event promotion remember that ultimately it is all about convenience and speed on these platforms.
You want to keep it short, but make it engaging and interesting enough that they click through so you get the end result – increased ticket sales.
Every event is different. However, if the success of yours relies on selling tickets then awareness of your event is probably one of the challenges you face.
You cannot beat online technology for promotion when it comes to getting widespread attention for your event.