Creating an inclusive and detailed event promotion campaign doesn’t simply mean relying on the press release that is sent out to media outlets. Utilizing different promotional strategies can greatly increase the odds of the right people hearing about and attending a company’s event. Companies that have already hosted a successful event have an advantage because any promotional effort regarding events in the future will thus be easier. This is because in this case there has already been a history of interest for that company’s events, which can generate more event awareness.
Influencers
Companies can invite influential business leaders and other influential people to speak at their events. Even if a business can’t offer a speaking role to a business leader, they should provide a free pass for that person to attend the event. That’s because with a free pass, the business or thought leader will be more likely to attend the event and share their experience on social media platforms later. The thought leaders or influencers don’t have to be celebrities, household names, or CEOs. Companies can always work with micro-influencers that are popular with the target audience too. Micro influencers are very valuable for many businesses because they tend to have highly engaged audiences.
Social media
Companies should be promoting their events on every social media channel that they’re using, and should tag the people participating in the event. That means tagging any sponsors, events speakers, hosts, and even registered attendees. Businesses can also use branded hashtags with the posts they’re sharing about the event, as well as more general and popular hashtags that will help reach people that might be interested in the subject of that event.
When it comes to business events, email marketing is essential. Companies should be sharing their event in the weekly, or monthly email newsletter they’re sending out to subscribers. All past attendees of previous events can also be directly invited via email, going back as many years as the company has information on them. In case of a brand new event, companies can also email their entire list of email contacts, and encourage the subscribers to forward the email to someone who might be interested to attend. It’s important to remember that all the invitations should be personalized, and companies can ask everyone that’s involved with the event, and sponsors and speakers should be asked to forward the event invitation to a few people too.
Video content
Video content can bring an event to life for consumers a lot better than photos, which means companies should be using videos from their past events to showcase how exciting or impactful their events have been. During events, it’s important for companies to interview any speakers, attendees, and influencers. That way, companies can share what the past attendees liked about the event, to encourage other people to attend any new event. For those interviews, companies should remember to ask the people they interview for permission to use their testimonials in future event promotion content.
