Wondering how you can increase the attendance at your next event? Event marketing may very well be the key component missing from your event strategy.
Event planners often send an invitation and assume they can put their marketing hats away—not so. Planning an event should always include a marketing plan. But don't worry, it's not as difficult as it sounds. Here are a few tips to get you started with your marketing strategy for your next event:
• Spend some time thinking about an event title. Good titles have been proven to increase attendance. A good title should clearly state the event's value. Also, keep in mind that seminar titles beginning with "How to..." have been shown to get higher attendance than "Learn to.."
• Don't send your event invitations too early. Some planners send invitations too far in advance. If you're inviting people to an hour-long seminar, send out invitations two or three weeks in advance. For bigger events, such as a multi-day conference, send invitations a few months prior to the start date.
• Send reminder messages. Always send a follow-up email to those invitees who did not respond to your initial invite. Studies have shown reminder messages are significantly more likely to be opened. Perhaps the first invitation got lost in an inbox or arrived at a bad time. A reminder catches the remaining segment of your target audience that, for whatever reason, didn't respond the first time.
• Create and submit press releases. Press releases create buzz and interest in your event. Reach out to industry and trade publications, local media and other sources to create event awareness. Use multiple press releases for one event, covering various topics such as early registration and confirmation of event speakers, or announcing when the event is close to capacity. And don't forget to do some PR after a successful event so those who missed it want to attend your next affair.
• Use the Internet to your advantage. As we mentioned in a previous post on online event marketing, the Internet has a wealth of avenues for promoting your event and gaining exposure. Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn are just the beginning.
• Create a customized event web pages. Customized event web pages give you more space to tell potential attendees why they should attend and what they will gain from your event. These pages do not need to be static either—you can keep adding information as you solidify an agenda, book speakers and more.
A key to a good event marketing plan is to continuously reach people through different channels. With a little time put in to marketing your event before and after, you can reach the event attendance numbers you're after.
Event planners often send an invitation and assume they can put their marketing hats away—not so. Planning an event should always include a marketing plan. But don't worry, it's not as difficult as it sounds. Here are a few tips to get you started with your marketing strategy for your next event:
• Spend some time thinking about an event title. Good titles have been proven to increase attendance. A good title should clearly state the event's value. Also, keep in mind that seminar titles beginning with "How to..." have been shown to get higher attendance than "Learn to.."
• Don't send your event invitations too early. Some planners send invitations too far in advance. If you're inviting people to an hour-long seminar, send out invitations two or three weeks in advance. For bigger events, such as a multi-day conference, send invitations a few months prior to the start date.
• Send reminder messages. Always send a follow-up email to those invitees who did not respond to your initial invite. Studies have shown reminder messages are significantly more likely to be opened. Perhaps the first invitation got lost in an inbox or arrived at a bad time. A reminder catches the remaining segment of your target audience that, for whatever reason, didn't respond the first time.
• Create and submit press releases. Press releases create buzz and interest in your event. Reach out to industry and trade publications, local media and other sources to create event awareness. Use multiple press releases for one event, covering various topics such as early registration and confirmation of event speakers, or announcing when the event is close to capacity. And don't forget to do some PR after a successful event so those who missed it want to attend your next affair.
• Use the Internet to your advantage. As we mentioned in a previous post on online event marketing, the Internet has a wealth of avenues for promoting your event and gaining exposure. Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn are just the beginning.
• Create a customized event web pages. Customized event web pages give you more space to tell potential attendees why they should attend and what they will gain from your event. These pages do not need to be static either—you can keep adding information as you solidify an agenda, book speakers and more.
A key to a good event marketing plan is to continuously reach people through different channels. With a little time put in to marketing your event before and after, you can reach the event attendance numbers you're after.
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