Thirteen Great Ideas For Marketing Your Next Event

Do you host webinars or events? If so, then using social media, online marketing techniques, and good old fashioned print are essential if you are looking to get bums on seats!

After many years of running a whole range of events, from workshops that run weekly, to monthly webinars and quarterly seminars, we now have a recipe for success for promotion and marketing any event. In this article, I will share with you thirteen ideas to help you market your event.

Did you know that you should start marketing your event at least 6 weeks before the live date?

Tip #1 — Make registration easy for the customer

Your event needs to be hosted online, somewhere you can take payments easily and set auto-responders for your delegates. It is important that you keep in contact with your delegates in the build-up to the big day. Please DO NOT simply add an article on your website with an email address that says “email me if you would like to book”.

Use software such as Eventbrite to register your event. It is easy to use, has built in templates and integrates with email marketing software such as MailChimp or Constant Contact. We also use the Eventbrite Plugin for our WordPress which creates a calendar on your website easily.

Tip #2 — Add your event to your Facebook Page

You can achieve this in six ways (please complete at least four!)

1. Go to your Facebook page and click “add event” — complete the relevant information, including the link to your Eventbrite page and share with your audience.
2. Change your cover photo to a nice design promoting your event (ensuring that you have added a link and details in the description).
3. Add your event as a Facebook note for additional exposure.
4. Post the event as a status update, with a link to either the event on your website or on Eventbrite. Make sure that you have included an image.
5. Pin your post to the top of the page.
6. Consider sponsoring this post as an advert. Make sure that you target the advert (don’t just click boost!)

Tip #3 — Share your event on Twitter in a unique way

1. Post to Twitter and pin the post to the top of your account.
2. Schedule (using eClincher) future Tweets in various ways. For example, perhaps create a looped video using an app called Legend.
3. Create different images for each event to grab attention. (Using stock photos from Pexels or Pixabay)
4. Schedule your tweets at optimised times. Use the free software tool called www.tweriod.com to find out the best time to Tweet.
5. Promote your event during a relevant hashtag hour. For example, if my event was in Birmingham, then I would schedule a few tweets each week during #BrumHour — here is a directory of all hashtag hours for the UK.

Tip #4 — Pin your event to your LinkedIn company page

Did you know that you can also pin any status update to the top of your page on your LinkedIn account? Simply go on to your LinkedIn company page, click manage page, post your update and then click the three dots on the top right-hand corner.

Tip #5 — Add you event to Instagram, Pinterest and SnapChat

Adding your event to other social media channels is a bonus, especially if this is where your audience hangs out. We have found that videos have the best traction on Instagram.

Tip #6 — Promote your event within your blog articles

Create banner adverts, or use the embedded code that Eventbrite supply to promote your event within your future blog articles.

Tip #7 — Host a pre-event using live streaming

Consider using live streaming on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to tell the world about an upcoming event or webinar. We all know that the best form of exposure nowadays is live streaming. If you have not yet embraced this technology then I urge you to dive in and get your event out there to the big wide world.

• For the best Facebook live streaming results try and talk for a minimum of 10 mins.
• Perhaps get someone to ask you some questions about the event to get the conversation going.
• Give away some golden nugget takeaways when broadcasting so that people have a taste of your event.
• If you have not live streamed into YouTube, then make sure that you record the live stream and then upload the video to YouTube afterwards.

Tip #8 — Offer a Facebook Private Group for Attendees

To generate buzz around the event, think about setting up a private group on Facebook. Registered delegates can get to know each other online. You can add additional support documents for the event, ask poll questions, introduce new attendees and you also have an audience for future events!

Tip #9 — Create a HashTag for your Event

Do you have a hashtag for the event? Using this hashtag in every tweet, Facebook post and Instagram update leading up to the event.

On the day of the event, use a Twitter wall to gain additional exposure. Encourage your audience to use your hashtag in their tweets, then display them on the big screen during the event. I would recommend using Everwall. (https://everwall.com/) With Everwall you can brand the wall to your chosen colours and add your logo, etc. I particularly like the leaderboard that is displayed on the right or the bottom of the wall. Watch your event exposure increase as your delegates become competitive as they try to achieve first place on the leaderboard!

Example Twitter Wall

Tip #10 — Promote your speakers

If you are running an event that includes guest speakers then use this as leverage.

• Tag your guests in the tweets
• Ask your guest speakers for tips about their topic and create images around these
• Ask your guests to use their own social network to promote your event — create messages and images for your speaker so that they have very little work to do
• Perhaps interview them in video or podcast format
• Live stream the interviews

Tip #11 — Email Marketing Solutions

Are you using your email list to market your event? Don’t oversell the event in the email, keep it simple. The email should be written in customer-focused language. Look at the content; are you using words such as “we”, “our”, “us”? If you are, then consider using words such as “you”, “your”, etc. What’s in it for them? What are the learning objectives? What emotion will they have after the event? Will they be inspired, motivated, excited?

Always add social sharing tools to your email, along with an embedded countdown timer. One of the best free tools to use a countdown timer is MotionMail.

Tip #12 — Ask for feedback

After the event, always ask for feedback. You can do this in a number of ways.

• For a physical workshop, ask your delegates to complete a feedback form
• Email your delegates a survey (using a service such as Survey Monkey)
• On the day, ask if any delegates are open to a recording a video testimonial
• Request a recommendation from each delegate via LinkedIn
• Email your attendees with links to your Google page or your Facebook review page

Tip #13 — Printed leaflets

Traditional media is not dead! If you often have visitors to your premises then showcasing a nicely designed printed leaflet with a little sign that says “please take one” always works a treat.

Conclusion

There is never any “one solution fits all” for marketing an event, and there are hundreds of possibilities and options available. You certainly do not have to incorporate all of these tips into your marketing efforts for your event. Choose your favourites and start testing them with your audience. If one strategy worked well, then rinse and repeat. If another strategy was a disaster, then ditch that method for the future. We all know that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again but expecting different results!

So which tip is at the top of your list? Do you have extra tips to add to the list? Please share by commenting below.

Originally published at www.green-umbrella.biz on March 28, 2017.