How to Market Any Event
When you think about marketing events, you probably think about conferences, seminars, or workshops. But what about job fairs? Open houses? Grand openings? Each of these events depends on having a good turnout to be successful. How do you get lots of people at your event? You market it smartly.
The Secret? Advanced Planning
People are busy, so for those who don’t plan events for a living, they might start planning a given event just weeks before. Don’t do that. While certainly the bulk of your promotion should be right around the event, you actually need to start months in advance, depending on the event.
Start by developing a marketing plan that includes:
- Specific blog posts you’ll write about the event and topics related
- Content calendar of social media updates. Get heavy in promotion in the weeks before event
- Press release
- Advertising
If you lay everything out so that you know exactly what you need to focus on each week, you should be organized and be able to market for several months before the event.
Offer Limited Time Discounts
If you charge for your event, land on a price per ticket that will help you recuperate costs and build in profit, but then offer discounts. Just make sure to put a time stamp on them so that people feel it’s urgent that they buy that Early Bird months out. If you need to sell more tickets after a promotion, offer a different promotion so that people don’t feel like you’ll continue to offer the same savings right up until the event. Try:
- Buy a ticket, bring a friend for free
- Discounted savings based on how far out they purchase ticket
- Flash sale with substantial discount for very short period of time
Offer Giveaways
Sometimes you just need warm bodies at your event. Give away tickets on social media and encourage people who enter your contest to spread the word on their social accounts. This is a good way to have your audience do your marketing for you.
With a bit of advanced planning, you can effectively market any event and make it a smashing success.
Image: Photospin
