How to Energize Event Marketing

Published on May 1, 2018 |

In a business world consumed with metrics, spreadsheets, and digital marketing, the power to connect in person can be a challenge for many companies. Live events can boost public awareness of your company and create connections that last.

Every day, potential customers search the web, watch videos, stream music, and stay in touch with their friends and family. How is your company standing out among the endless sea of other businesses? Your latest digital ad may not grab their lasting attention, but curated live events appeal to customers’ needs on a deeper level.

Start with Strategy

Successful event marketing has the potential to resonate with consumers in real life and online. When planning your event, try to think outside the box and beyond the basic tradeshows and seminars. A sponsor or event cohost could broaden your reach in the community and online. Create content online that sticks with your audience and draws them in. Connect with members of the press who could cover the event and spread the word even further.

Go Digital

Use advanced technology to drive the message home—would augmented reality, location check-ins, or a specialized hashtag resonate with your audience? Don’t forget to live stream the event for interested parties who were unable to attend in person, and plan to post video highlights online to keep engagement high after the event is over.

Listen Up

A live event has the power to connect your product to the people, but it also offers opportunities for the people to provide crucial feedback. These events are a perfect time to capture what the public thinks about your business. Photo booths, filmed interviews, custom Snapchat filters, and an event hashtag show people’s personal thoughts and feelings about the event. Don’t be afraid to take the compliments—and the criticism—in stride.
These extra efforts can easily help secure more customers and a broader public reach.

Promote, Promote, Promote

Putting on a live event starts with planning but definitely doesn’t end there. Once a plan is in place for hosting a live event, you now have a bigger goal: attracting attendees. Although your live event is bringing awareness into a physical setting, digital marketing will go hand in hand to get people in the door. Use these tools to connect with potential attendees:

• Email invites
• Online event sites like Eventbrite, Meetup, Eventful, and local event pages
• Facebook events
• Promoted Facebook posts, Instagram ads, and sponsored tweets
• Incentives, such as prizes, giveaways, and swag bags