Organizing events is a great way to advertise your company, bring in new consumers, and increase revenue, and a great deal of preparation must go into holding a successful event. After you have all of the details ironed out, the next step is to figure out how to fill those empty seats.
How exactly does one go about formulating a strategy to boost attendance? Before you start, remember to stay on top of emerging and trending technologies that will help you organize better and more immersive events. Begin by managing your time correctly, an event management software is a must for planning your event to help you organize your event before, during, and after your event.
Now, let's get started!
How to Utilize These 6 Marketing Tools To Boost Event Attendance
Just like an event, having the right marketing strategy is vital for the survival and growth of your event. This is more so in the corporate and business worlds, where your reputation will always precede you. Here are a few methods you should use to promote your event.
Networking
Networking is one of the most influential and productive methods of marketing your event. It doesn't require a lot of capital but involves a lot of time. Start by connecting your business with the closest associations around you.
Engage potential, current, and former clients who might refer your business for future collaborations. Always stay in touch with your networks and stay on good terms with them.
Why it works?
Networking is one of the most effective marketing methods in the business world. You and your business should be well-recognized and reputable within your circles. Not only do you get most of your referrals from clients you've already worked with and had a positive experience with, but it also increases demand for your business.
Offline and Online Advertising
The greatest mistake event planners make is relying on just one avenue to market their events. Although this may yield results, you might be foregoing more business on the other hand.
Make sure your business is in front of as many eyes as possible. If anyone is thinking of your specialty, your name should be the first one that comes to mind, or they see. Work on blending multiple online and offline advertising options to maximize your exposure.
Advertise online through social media and other online platforms. Also, ensure you have a responsive, information-packed website where users can get more details about your services and how to contact you.
You can also place ads on print media or have your website featured on other blogs for a company with adequate cash flow. You may need to stretch your budget a little, but they help you cast your net wide and generate interest from clients that would have otherwise never gotten to know your business.
The simple rule here is that the more people who know about your business, the higher the chances of getting new clients and creating new networks, which will eventually increase your event attendance.
Why it works?
There are over 5 billion people with access to the internet giving you access to many potential clients in a short time. There are benefits of offline marketing, which is why you shouldn't overlook it. With offline marketing, you have a higher conversion rate. You can reach your clients directly wherever they are, and you can use offline media for online conversions.
Use Digital Business Cards
Printed business cards have been around for the longest time, but they are slowly and steadily giving way to digital business cards. Digital business cards provide a fast and effective method of sharing contact information online. The cards are easy to create and can carry more information than traditional business cards.
One of the reasons digital business cards make an excellent marketing tool for your events business is that you can customize the card for the person you're giving it to. You can enrich the card with clickable links and your business contacts most applicable to the recipient.
With a digital business card, you can have as much or as little information as possible. The card also allows you to promptly add information, making it easier to keep the card updated with the latest information.
Why it works?
This approach works because you don't have to meet people physically to give them your digital business card. You can also pack the card with valuable information about your event interactively and enticingly.
Unlike most methods of marketing, making digital business cards is cost-effective. With minimal knowledge, you can design the card yourself or even download a template, and fill it with information. You can pass the card to as many people as possible without any cost implications to maximize your visibility.
Social Media
Social media has emerged as one of the most powerful promotional tools of the modern era. There are tons of features you can leverage to build the visibility and reputation of your company.
When advertising your event on social media, focus on the benefits your potential clients can enjoy from engaging with you.
One of the tips for marketing on social media is to use relevant hashtags to drive traffic. The same way you can use social media to create awareness for an event is how you can use the same platform to drum up support and increase engagement and interaction with your brand. Some of the features on Superevent, like the Social Wall, draw inspiration from social media sites to increase engagement and keep event attendees interested in your content.
You can create interest in your company on social media by running social media contests, using original hashtags, and sharing photos from your latest events.
Why it works?
With social media, you have the opportunity to mold public opinion, get customer reviews, and produce viral content. These are the most powerful marketing tools with the enormous potential to get your event for years. Another reason marketing your company on social media works is that it's cost-effective.
Email Marketing
You shouldn't overlook email marketing when coming up with a marketing plan for your event. Email marketing starts slow, but the emphasis here is on progress. Once you begin creating newsletters, only the subscribers interested in you will join. That gives you a golden opportunity to upsell the subscribers because they already have an interest in the field.
The secret to email marketing is to always provide your list with new and exciting newsletters to keep them engaged and interactive. You should also make a point of emailing your current and former clients who might pick an interest in your services.
Don't forget to throw in a discount or a freebie now and then for a limited period to get clients to take an interest in your services.
Why it works?
Email is an opportunity to interact with most people who don't fancy sending work messages to their colleagues via Facebook or other social media options. Emails provide users with a platform where you can get information, updates, and more and keep it accessible when you need it.
When using email marketing, don't forget to include a call to action at the end of the newsletter. You will be surprised by how many people will get back to you with follow-up questions or bookings.
SEO, Content Marketing
Earlier, we mentioned the importance of having a website and some of the crucial features to have on that website, like responsiveness. However, you can only reap from the website and grow your event if it is easy to find. This is where SEO and content marketing comes into play.
SEO and content marketing are not a quick fix but a long-term option that could have far-reaching benefits for your company if done the right way. There are many aspects to SEO and content marketing. You will need to start by determining which aspects will yield the most benefits and growth for your website.
Why it works?
SEO and content marketing helps you focus on organic traffic, which is an opportunity to network and work with new people. The goal is to bring your company to the top of the search ranking, where most people can view and potentially visit your website for more information and queries.
The Bottom Line
Setting your event up to reach your target is not a simple process. It requires hard work and, most importantly, consistency. On the road to success, you need to partner with a reputable corporate and business event software provider that can deliver the experience that your clientele is looking for and has the right features for an interactive and immersive experience.
You can contact Superevent for all your event management needs. We provide budget-friendly app and software solutions that incorporate messaging and Q&A features to guarantee your attendees get the most interactive and engaging experience. With our event solutions, your job is almost half done.
Learn how to run the perfect event with our free email course
Packed with great tips on how to organize events that engage your attendees. The course is short, actionable and super interesting to implement on your event!