Event marketing ideas are essential for successfully promoting and marketing a live event. This can include promotion before, during, and after the big day.
In today’s online noise, effective event marketing could cut through the clutter, reach more people, and increase attendance to your event.
There are three main types of marketing events. All of them need the best promotion power you can muster.
Another idea is to use CoSchedule’s Event Promotion Idea Generator or to craft captivating and effective marketing emails!
1. In-Person
Remember attending these, pre-COVID? You may have been to conferences, trade shows, customer appreciation parties, or product launches.
In-person events are great for meeting customers and partners face-to-face, building relationships and generating leads. They also offer a great opportunity for networking with other industry professionals.
Recommended: Event Name Generator
Fuel your conference’s success—use our Conference Name Generator to create a name that captures attention!
2. Virtual
Virtual events are held online and allow people from all over the world to attend. They can include live webinars, teleseminars, online conferences, panels, or other creative get-togethers.
While in-person events may be hard to organize because of physical limitations, virtual events are borderless. For a smooth experience, ensure to have reliable webinar software.
3. Hybrid
A hybrid event is a live event that also has a digital component. Attendees can participate in the live event or watch it online. This could mean conferences, launches, or even lunch and learns.
While it needs more resources to set up, this type of event is still a great option. It allows for a bigger reach while taking advantage of the benefits of both in-person and virtual events.
Now that you know what type of event you are hosting, it’s time to start promoting it! Here are some pre-event marketing ideas.
4. Brand Your Event
Branding your event means that everything from the name to the brand voice and the visuals reflects your company’s values and style. This will help create a consistent look and feel for prospective attendees. According to research, consistent presentation of a brand can increase revenue by as much as 33%.
From the logos to the visuals and the choice of words — all reflect Red Bull’s energetic brand.
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5. Define Your Event’s Positioning & Value Proposition
What’s the angle of your event? Create a positioning statement to communicate your event’s unique selling point. For example: “The only place where you can learn about ________.”
Your value proposition can pop up as a catchy tagline. For example: “The event that will help you succeed in your _____ business by helping you ______ and stay up to date with __________.”
This will help people understand the full benefits of the event.
Have a hard time nailing the right message? Revisit your general brand positioning strategy for ideas and better alignment.
MOZ’s brand tagline is “There’s a smarter way to do SEO.” Their event positioning is in a similar vein.
6. Consider Increasing Prices As Your Event Nears (FOMO)
Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO, is a powerful motivator. You can use it to your advantage by increasing prices as the event date gets closer. This will create a sense of urgency and encourage people to buy tickets sooner rather than later.
AdWeek brings attention to both the full price and when that rate expires.
7. Publish A Microsite For Your Event
A microsite is a separate website that’s devoted exclusively to your event. It gives you a bigger real estate to communicate all the details of your event, as well as a place to collect registrations and track attendance.
A microsite is also a great way to drive traffic back to your main website.
Source: B2B Marketing Conference by MarketingProfs
8. Publish A Creative Signup Landing Page
Your signup landing page is the first thing people see when they click on your event registration link. It’s important to make a great first impression by creating a landing page that’s attractive, easy to navigate, and most importantly, ready to convert.
Get creative by using interesting visuals, video, or catchy copy to persuade people to sign up.
Talk about creativity! On the Creative Cruise event page, you can even spin the landscape.
9. Offer Early Bird Event Registration
People love getting a good deal, so offer early bird registration to entice them to sign up sooner. This gives registrants a discount for signing up early and can be a great way to generate excitement and more leads.
Most marketers set early-bird registration to close 4-10 weeks before the event.
10. Write Blog Posts About The Event
People like to see that there’s a considerable effort being put into an event because that means that it’s worth the value. Interesting blog content is one way to show that. The more information you can provide about your event, the better.
Write blog posts that introduce attendees to the speakers, discuss the topics that will be covered, or highlight the benefits of attending. This will not only enthuse potential attendees but will also help with your event’s SEO.
11. Create An Infographic To Illustrate Why Your Event Topic Is Important
Infographics are a great way to communicate complex information in an easy-to-digest way. Create an infographic that illustrates why your event topic is important and why people should attend.
Careful though – avoid being too self-promotional. Your infographic should be informative first and foremost.
This infographic for a breast cancer walk provides the perfect combination of topic and event information.
12. Launch Retargeting Ads On Social Media To Those Who Visited Your Microsite Or Landing Page
In other words, squeeze every last drop of marketing potential from those who have already shown an interest in your event. According to Dr. Jeffrey Lant’s concept, the ‘Rule of Seven’, people need at least 7 touchpoints before converting.
Enter retargeting. You can use it to display ads to people who have visited your microsite or landing page.
13. Email event Details To Your List
You may already have a goldmine on your hands. Email marketing is an effective way to reach potential attendees. Since they’re already on your list, there’s a good chance they’ll be interested in your event.
Start by sending an email announcing the event and providing all the details. Then, send regular updates leading up to the event. And finally, send a recap email after it’s all over (more on that in a bit!).
Salesforce’s email focuses on the impressive lineup of speakers.
14. Include The Event In Your Company Newsletter
One-off emails are great but don’t forget about your company newsletter, either. It’s another opportunity to promote your event.
Feature a story about the event, highlight some of the speakers or topics that will be covered, or give people a sneak peek at what they can expect.
15. Post Physical Signs At Your Business
If you have a brick-and-mortar business, post physical signs advertising your event. This is an old-school marketing tactic that still works!
If you run an online business but have an office, put up some signs there, too. This will remind employees to mention the event to their customers, clients, or industry partners.
16. Offer Event Flyers At Your Business
Flyers are tangible items that people can take with them. Place them in strategic places near your business so people can easily grab one.
17. Post Pre-Event Behind The Scenes Content On Social Media
Everyone loves behind-the-scenes teasers! People will feel like they’re part of the event before it even starts.
Share photos and videos of preparations on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or Snapchat. Got someone famous attending? Show them getting ready, too.
If you don’t have famous people in your lineup, you can always pester your CEO for behind-the-scenes footage.
The below promo video is the perfect example that difficult niches like steel construction can be made interesting with a little creativity.
Source: SAISC Steel Construction.
18. Create A Facebook Event
You never know where you’ll catch people’s attention. Since Facebook still has a “tiny” circle of 2.89 billion active monthly users, creating an event page can increase the odds of prospects finding you.
Make sure to include all the important details about the event, such as date, time, location, and a registration link. Brand it the same way you branded your other event pages.
19. Post On Event Discovery Websites
There are websites out there that exist specifically to help connect people with events. Post your event on these sites for maximum exposure and SEO link juice.
Some of the most popular event discovery websites include Eventbrite, Thrillist, and Meetup.
20. Share A Press Release
Press releases are not only for big companies. You can use it to communicate your upcoming event.
If you’ve got additional announcements to make (such as a new speaker or a special feature), you can even put out multiple press releases.
21. Seek Out Event Sponsors
Sponsors come in all shapes and sizes. If you’ve got a tight budget, start small by reaching out to local businesses or industry partners. You can also add a call-out for sponsorships on your event website to attract passive leads.
The day of your event has arrived. Continue your event promotion with some of these same-day promo ideas.
22. Create A Day-Of-Event Social Media Hashtag
Hashtags help put your event on everyone’s radar with just a single word.
They also make it easy for attendees to follow the conversation about the event on social media. Come up with a clever hashtag and include it in all your major assets (social posts, email communication, landing pages, and even physically at the event venue).
23. Share Event Video Snippets On Social Media
Video is the best way to convey the vibe at your event. If you’ve got some cool footage, share it on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or Snapchat.
You can string together a few establishing shots or go the authentic way and show behind-the-scenes moments, snippets of keynote deliveries, or do impromptu interviews with attendees.
@porschecentercy Snippets from our Porsche GT3 event in Limassol #PorscheCyprus #PorscheGT3 #PorscheCars #Limassol #PorscheCenter ♬ swing lynn – lovdfilmz
Source: Porsche Cyprus.
24. Hire Artists To Sketch Speakers’ Keynotes
Keynote speeches ranging from simple to complex can benefit from visual aids. Some event organizers hire artists to sketch the key points of a speaker’s talk in real-time, which will help people follow along and make notes.
The result is usually highly striking and can be turned into social media posts, blog graphics, or even physical prints to hand out.
This sketch was created by Linda Saukko for UNICEF’s Global Forum on AI for Children event.
25. Create A Virtual Filter For Social Networks Like Snapchat
Social media users are always seeking cool, new filters to show off. Snapchat filters can be a fun way to get people to share photos and videos of your event.
People don’t like to be walking ads, so make sure to design a filter that represents your event well without being overly branded.
26. Interview Attendees & Speakers For Post-Event Content
It’s time to start thinking about your post-event promotion plan. Plan and shoot interview videos with attendees and speakers.
You can later edit these videos down into social media-friendly snippets or turn them into blog posts. Doing this will help keep the conversation going long after your event has ended.
27. Hire A Professional Photographer
Authenticity is great but there’s no need to skimp on quality either. If you’re looking to capture the essence of your event in HD, hire a professional photographer.
They’ll be able to take great shots of your event venue, the speakers, and the attendees in action. Plus, you can use these photos in your post-event marketing materials or even next year, if your event repeats annually.
The post-event phase is just as important as the rest. Keep the momentum going with these post-event marketing ideas.
28. Recap Blog Posts
You can create engaging recap blog posts of your event. This is a great opportunity for some content repurposing while giving people a glimpse into what happened at your event.
Include photos, videos, and quotes from attendees and speakers to give readers a feel for your event.
29. Make A Highlight Reel
What were the top moments on the big day? Create a highlight reel and share it on social media (Instagram reels is a good start). This type of content is extremely engaging and can help you drum up excitement for future marketing events.
30. Recap Email
Lastly, use your best email marketing tactics to wrap up the event with a recap email. Use this touchpoint to entice them to stay involved and to gather valuable feedback.
31. Registration Page For Your Next Event
Your next event is a year away? That’s no reason not to set up the registration page and start building anticipation, not to mention gathering email addresses.
Plus, this is also a great way to keep your branding top of mind and your SEO ranking high.
CMW starts gathering leads well ahead of time.
