Successful event marketing requires strategy, consistency, and personalization. No matter what type of event you are marketing for, one thing remains the same — you must create a connection between your brand and your target audience. According to a report done by Aventri, 95% of marketers agree that live events provide attendees with a valuable opportunity to form in-person connections in an increasingly digital world. This means to nurture and grow your brand’s community and impact, you need a successful event marketing plan. Here are our recommended dos and don’ts for event marketing.
Don’t Oversell to your Audience
Have you ever received an email or seen a promotional post on social media that screams desperate? This is exactly what you should avoid doing. In 2021 organic engagement is more important than ever so you should refrain from pushing your audience to purchase tickets for your event at every turn. Instead, focus on educating and relating with your audience. Testimonials and video content are an excellent place to start. After all, 70% of people would rather gather information from an article or blog post instead of a traditional advertisement — so the more you diversify your content the better.
Don’t Miss Opportunities for Collaboration
Partner amplification is a key tool for growing your brand awareness and converting more ticket sales. Now you may be asking yourself – what types of partnerships should I be amplifying? And the short answer is — every single one. From stage designers, caterers, and venues, to event planners, security, and entertainment — all partnerships matter and can help you raise awareness for your event. Also, it doesn’t hurt to showcase your partners because it expresses how valuable they are to your event which nurtures relationships and can help with future networking opportunities.
Do Take Advantage of Direct Marketing
By definition, direct marketing is the business of selling products or services directly to the public, and in the case of event marketing, we are talking about email and texting campaigns. For example, for an upcoming music festival in Miami we partnered with called RETROSPEKT Festival, both drip campaigns (via Flodesk) and text messaging (via Simple Texting) were utilized when direct marketing to their audience. When using these tactics consistency is key, make sure you are frequently updating your subscribers but avoid over-selling to them. Your content should focus on combining education and engaging content about the event as well as the promise of exclusive content to draw in new subscribers.
Do Pay Attention to Data
Especially when running ad campaigns, paying attention to data can not only help you restructure your strategy for success but can also help save you money. When analyzing data, you have the ability to see what is working and what isn’t — which can be a game-changer for selling out your event. We primarily use Data Studio, Google Analytics as well as Facebook for Business to collect and visualize our data. Every week we re-analyze our data to make sure our content is performing well and adjust accordingly.
Event marketing is becoming increasingly more important as the world is beginning to open up again. Given that events have been mostly virtual for the past year and a half, you’ll have to focus on why people should attend your event in the first place. Hone in on what your mission and value are and follow our event marketing dos and don’ts to sell your event out. To get started on the right track you should focus on these main takeaways:
- Don’t Oversell to your Audience
- Don’t Miss Opportunities for Collaboration
- Do Take Advantage of Direct Marketing
- Do Pay Attention to Data
For more customized help with your event marketing, schedule a free consultation with us.
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