In the past, preparing for an event meant pulling together your best promotional materials and setting up shop. Although having a healthy stock of customized mugs, drinkware, pens, and giveaways is still a vital aspect of making your event a raging success and making a lasting impression, many companies fail to harness the power of the Internet before the event even starts.
While in attendance, you’ll undoubtedly notice that there is a wealth of people walking around checking their laptops, cellphones, and tablets. These days, people are more plugged in and tuned in to social media and email than ever. Search engines have quickly overtaken our lives as the go-to directory to find others to meet, mingle, and work with.
As you set up shop at your next event, you’ll want a flood of traffic coming your way. Getting people through the doors and to your table is not easy. Here are a few tips to market your event online so your hard work, planning, and executing pay off.
Get people talking on social media.
People follow what others do in their network. To encourage attendance, you want those who have signed up to spread the word about your event. Make this as easy as possible. Get people talking by creating a promotional video they can share, or host a contest. The more content you have for people to share and engage with, the easier it is to create a buzz before your event begins. Related Class: How to Find and Engage Social Influencers
Land an exclusive interview.
Give attendants a taste of what they can expect when they show up at your event. Land an exclusive interview with a speaker, the event promoter, or a sponsor giving away an incredibly valuable prize. Use audio and video to make your interview come to life. Then, create a blog post on your website to drive traffic to your pages and promote your event to your audience.
Start a hashtag conversation.
Events are overwhelming for many people. If an attendant does not know anyone there, make it easy for him or her to connect with others. Create a hashtag for the event to get people connecting online first, so that they can connect offline at your event later. By using a hashtag specific to your event in your marketing, you spark conversation and encourage natural engagement online and offline. Related Class: Twitter Marketing 101
Be smart about your advertising methods.
There is a sea of content, promotions, and advertisements out there. In order for your advertising to stick and make an impact on your event’s success, you have to be strategic about how you go about it. With targeted advertising on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other channels you can reach the right people — the ones who are most likely to attend and engage with you at your event. Be strategic about who sees your advertising and how you promote to the online audience for the maximum impact. Related Class: Facebook & Social Media Advertising
Use specific landing pages.
Treat your event like a product. Whether you’re the one throwing the event or participating at the event with a booth, create a specific landing page for your presence. Get people engaged on the landing page by using the above tips — videos, social media connections, hashtags and more. Add a “register” button if you’re hosting the event, or offer exclusive updates by signing up for an email list. Use your website to get found and get people more involved.
Make connections effortless by creating a stir online and sparking conversation on the platforms your audience already uses to connect. With online marketing, you get people talking in cyberspace and then engaging offline face to face.