Event Promotion Ideas – Top 20 tips and best tactics

Event Promoting Ideas

Conducting events is a sure-fire way to make your organization more visible in the market. Hosting and conducting events may seem like a great idea, but if you are unable to promote your event effectively, you may end up with a lot of empty seats. That is why you should try your hands on different pre event promotion ideas to get people to attend your event.

Conducting various events is an essential aspect of promoting your business, and effectively publicizing your event can ensure its success before the event has even begun. It is a common misconception that you will require a large budget in order to create successful promotions.

Rather, here are some creative cost-effective Event Promotion Ideas:

#1. Create an event page or website:

A vital portion of any event is an event page or website dedicated solely to your event. In it, you need to describe the main aspects of your event such as a concise description, timing, and location.

By creating a compelling description of your event, it becomes easier to sway potential attendees to buy tickets. 

Include a brief description of the itinerary for the event, as well as some third-party endorsements that can make your event seem more credible.

Image result for sample event page facebook

#2. Create a detailed list of all your speakers:

Speakers are the main element of your event; they can make or break your event. 

A good speaker line-up can draw in crowds of people, but only if they have been properly publicized.

The speaker page should not only include pictures and qualifications of your speakers, rather, there should also be small speaker profiles curated below their picture which includes their past accomplishments as well as their prior experience:

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#3. Create an Event Image:

Creating a logo or image of the event will make it more shareable throughout social media. 

The picture could be of any previous events of a similar nature or just of your speakers interacting with the crowd.

Making this image appear genuine and friendly can really boost the appeal of your event.

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#4. Make some Event-related Videos

Event-related videos can make the event seem much more relatable. It can act as an advertisement for your event and really boost its online presence.

Your event video could simply include a small interview of some of the speakers attending the event and describing some of the aspects of it. This interview does not need to have a super high production value, rather it can just be a screengrab taken from Skype with some minor tweaks to the audio and video.

Here’s a great example for video content:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrTpwkiYv4c

VidCon is an annual convention where dozens of YouTube creators get to meet with their fans along with other events such as panel discussions. This video is a perfect example for a promotional video as it contains snippets of previous VidCon’s and also explains some minor changes to its structure.

#5. A Prominent Call to Action:

Without an eye-catching button that entices people to register, you may be losing out on potential clientele. By creating a comprehensive yet user-friendly registration process, you can gain insight into a greater range of clients.

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#6. Brush off that emailing list and get to typing:

Sending event promotion mails to your list is one of the most popular online event promotion ideas. If you have curated an emailing list then it’s best to put it to good use. 

But a mailing list is not the only thing you need. 

In order to ensure that you are effectively marketing your event be sure to create a catchy subject line that will make your reader want to open it, ultimately boosting your click-through rate.

You can extend your email invite over the weekend. It will be a relatively unprecedented move and may lead to generating more interest as receivers will be responding in a relaxed environment.

In your email, don’t shy away from showing any previous events’ success rate and be sure to make use of quotes from previous attendees.

You can also ensure that the message gets across by sending your mailing list an email more than once. 

If you are planning a huge event, then it’s better to send an email a month in advance which can include speaker line-ups or early bird discounts.

You can then extend the invitation once the early bird discount is nearing its expiry or when the event is a week away. Keep in mind that there is a fine line between promoting your event and spamming your readers, so be careful not to mail them an excessive amount.

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#7. Create some incentives for the buyers:

You should be sure to capture the attention of individuals if you are offering them rewards for purchasing tickets quickly. You can also have rewards for frequent customers, like those who have attended 5 or more of your events or even have some discounts for the new arrivals.

By doing so, you can increase your customer base and also improve customer retention.

Image result for early bird discount

#8. Social Media is your best friend:

Aside from promoting the event through your website, you can also use social media. Using Facebook is one of the best social media event promotion ideas. You can use Facebook to reach a wider audience. Facebook advertisements can be curated specifically to reach your target market.

Be sure that your ad leads readers directly to the registration page without having readers having to jump through hoops. Unfriendly interfaces can result in potential clientele losing interest in your event.

Image result for professional social media sites

#9. Create a Hashtag:

Your event should have one hashtag that you employ across all social media platforms. Your hashtag should be unique for your event and should accompany any promotional videos, images, or even emails that you send out.

Although the hashtag may seem like the most obvious step, it is often missed out during event creation. By establishing a hashtag for your event, you can allow attendees to also use the hashtag, creating free publicity for your event!

Image result for trending event hashtags"

#10. Include Event Links in your Bio:

Most social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram have a feature that allows you to add one link in your “About” section or “Bio”. 

Usually, this link should lead readers to your website but during major events, you can change this to a link leading directly to event information or registration.

Image result for link in bio event instagram"

#11. Tweet your heart out:

Unlike emails, tweets get lost in the shuffle as there is an overwhelming amount of continuous content on twitter. Also, if you are promoting an event in your school, tweeting about it with the right hashtag is one the best college event promotion ideas.

Keeping this in mind, you can go a little crazy with your tweets and do them as frequently as you want.

Your tweets could be about opening registrations, a countdown to the event itself, reminders of the location and time, mentioning and thanking your event sponsors, and tweeting at your speakers. 

Your tweets can be scheduled beforehand using different digital software.

You can also tweet testimonials regarding your speakers (which can be located on LinkedIn) or about the event itself.

Plus, you can even thank registrants or those who are sharing or retweeting your event tweets, especially if they’re influencers:

Image result for tweet twitter event promotion

#12. Thank your registrants:

After an individual has completed their registration process, lead them to a thank you page where they have the ability to share that they are attending the event on social media. By allowing a registrant to share that they are attending a particular event, they can attract other people from their social media pool to come to the event. It’s free publicity!

Image result for thankyou for registering

#13. Be Active on all Social Media:

If you are noticing that your event promotion ideas are doing well on some social media sites but poorly in others, be sure to move the conversation around. If someone shares a post on Facebook, then thank them on Twitter.

By keeping the conversation flowing, you can effectively promote your event and display a friendly and open online presence.

Image result for conversation social media

#14. Post relevant blogs:

A week or two before the event, you should publish a number of blogs on your website or event page. If, for instance, your event revolves around some sort of professional certification, then you can write a blog detailing the certification itself.

You can also have your speakers write blog posts outlining some of the main points they will be speaking on. If the speakers share these posts they’ve written, it can help expand the network of people who are aware of the event.

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#15. Build up your network:

Depending on the nature of your event, you can submit it to google and get listed in the Google event calendar. You can also get it posted on different industry trade associations, who will publish your event if they find it relevant.

For instance, if your event is an educational expo, then you can get in touch with local universities or schools, where they can boost the event to their students.

Image result for event newsletter

#16. Make use of Local Businesses:

Making use of local businesses is one of the available offline event promotion ideas you can tap into. By collaborating with local businesses, you can not only provide them with exposure during your event, but you can also gain benefits from the services they are providing. With such a quid pro quo relationship, this is among the most foolproof event promoting ideas.

For instance, you are in need of some catering for your event but your budget is limited. By looking into local businesses, you can establish a relationship with some fledgling catering business and allow them to gain exposure in your event in exchange for their services.

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#17. Be SEO friendly:

There are numerous ways to ensure that your content is SEO friendly. The first and foremost step is to find a keyword that combines the name of the event, the word “event”, and the name of the city.

Your event page should include a detailed event description, which mentions the keywords several times. 

For more details on making your event page SEO friendly, check out this guide on how to master SEO.

Image result for seo friendly"

#18. Share your Hard Work:

A lot goes into planning and creating an event. So, share the exciting behind the scenes of the event. Were there some fun times while you were setting up? Or some shareable moments during the event’s inception? Don’t shy away from the process and keep the engagement level regarding your event high, before it has even started! Sharing videos of the dance rehearsals and stage setup will be a great music event promotion idea.

Image result for behind the scene event

#19. Make your Mark… Live!

While the event is occurring, you can live-tweet the happenings! You can share pictures and videos about the event documenting the turn up and the arrival of the speakers. You can even share snippets while the speakers have the stage, just to make your event look even more inviting.

It’s almost like the saying that goes, “If an event happens, and you didn’t post pictures about it… did it even happen?” So be sure to take a ton of pictures that you can use even after the event has finished.

Attendees of the event can also share the excitement amongst themselves and share the pictures they feature online, generating more hype for future events.

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#20. That’s All Folks!

Just because your event is over doesn’t mean your work is over! After the (hopefully) successful completion of your event, there are still some event promotion ideas that are left.

You can start by expressing your gratitude to your sponsors as well as the speakers who made your event possible. By posting your event’s pictures on Facebook and Google+, you can tag attendees and have them become a part of the post-event celebrations.

Your hashtag will come in handy after the event is over, and any tweets, Facebook, or Instagram posts containing it will continue to build up your event’s portfolio. You can even share some testimonials from attendees and include them in your next newsletter.

Conclusion to event promotion ideas:

Events are the cornerstone of carving your businesses’ niche in the market. With the right event promotion ideas and some clever marketing, you can boost your business on a limited budget.

Some of the best event promotion ideas have been discussed in this post, and there are sure to be some that you have never thought of, or considered before. Don’t be afraid to dip your toes into the water and reap the most out of any events you carry out.

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