Have you ever attended a live cricket match, any live sports event, or any live concert? Remember how loud the big crowd cheers in unison and how you felt while being part of the same event? It creates a magical atmosphere around you. You all will agree with us if we say that more the people, more will be the excitement. The same holds true for business events. The more people will witness your event, the more it will become successful.
So how to catch the attention of more people at once? The best answer is through marketing in a smart manner that will intrigue the audience and generate interest among them. There are many ways of promoting the event in a cool manner so that it can reach a wide audience. Read below to find out more about these ways:-
Event hashtags: Find the perfect hashtag matching your event and include it on your event page. Include these hashtags wherever possible. For example – if you are introducing or mentioning your event, remember to include the hashtags with it. It is advisable not only for the social media posts but also for the other marketing channels and even for the printed material. Doing this will keep reminding people that your event is going to happen soon.
Remember to include the event hashtags in the bios too. Is that all? Aware your event participants of the hashtags and suggest them to use them if they are talking about anything about the event. It will help you in forming the audience base.
Note: It is a well-known fact that using hashtags in the tweet increases audience engagement, but make sure that you don’t overdo it. As per a study, using more than two hashtags in one post gets nearly 32% less engagement than those posts that use no hashtags.
Sell special tickets: Selling tickets is an obvious parameter for promoting an event. But if you really want to make your event popular and raise your sales, consider mixing up a few things. Let us make it more clear:-
Early bird tickets: These are for those who avail of the tickets at the earliest possible time. Set a pre-decided number of tickets for early selling. Set their price lower than the standard tickets so that people can get the “early bird discount.”
Group tickets: Lure the customers with a group ticket discount. This way, they will bring their friends or family members along. It is also a good way to spread word-of-mouth promotion. You will get free publicity.
VIP tickets: VIP tickets are costlier than general tickets. But people buying them get several other special privileges – better seating or quicker entry inside the place. So, be creative with all the ideas.
These special tickets can rightly augment your event promotion. Thus, pay attention to this aspect.
Print advertising: Print advertising means advertisements in newspapers, magazines, or local papers. The key to success here is to choose the publication that your customers/audience reads or engages more with. Also, choose the publication that fits well with your event. For example - Suppose your event is related to entrepreneurs or something related to business. In that case, business-specific magazines are a good match.
To buy or compare the prices of the advertising space, visit the site of the publication and look for their “advertising” page. This will give you the details of how to get in touch with the advertisers. Moreover, usually, there is the option to download the media kit. It will give you the perfect idea of various advertising prices.
Banners or posters: Banners and posters are an effective way to utilize the advertising budget in an optimum way. For the local audience, it is the best option. They can be put anywhere, like public buildings, bus stops, and at the venue itself. They are permanent as well as temporary. If you are organizing a one-time event, go with the poster prints. The banner would be a great choice for an annual event as you can save it and roll it up after the event and use it next year. As per one of the spokespersons from printers in New Forest, you can't beat the durability & visibility of printed banners. It could last for many years if you properly take care of it.
Explore social media: No promotion is complete without the mention of social media. Let’s be honest! Whether people love it or not, they spend a lot of time on social media. Hence, use them to the best of your advantage. Here is how you can use the different mediums -
Facebook: Here you can share the latest detailed updates about your event. Add a “find tickets” link here and keep the interaction going with the audience.
Twitter: It is the best platform for real and quick updates before, during, or after the event. Experts suggest using this platform mainly for hashtags that will widen your reach.
Incorporate QR codes: You must have noticed QR (Quick Response) codes on various grocery items, consumer goods, or brochures. They are easy to use, that is why they are becoming popular in this industry as well. You can use your smartphone to scan a QR code. For example –
Include the QR codes on the printed tickets or printed material that you hand out to the audience. This will fetch them with the latest news about your event with just a simple scan. If you are using the billboards for the promotion, you can include the code in that too. Thus, any person can scan it and get more information.
Web analytics: Keep track of the visitors on your site with the help of Google analytics. It is a tool to measure the effectiveness of your website. Google Analytics will let you know how many visitors can actually be your paying attendees. In addition, this tool will let you make wise decisions in case of promotions.
To sum it all up
Adding interesting twists to the events by creatively planning the promotional techniques can take its success to a higher level. So, start opting for the above techniques and widen your audience base.