Event Promotion Ideas to Help You Attract More Attendees

You already found your venue, your schedule is almost set, and you have a couple of keynote speakers in mind for your event. Even if you have it all planned out, you still need to make sure people attend.

Meetings, events, conferences and trade shows are more fun when they are buzzing with people networking, learning, and just having a great time hanging out together. The most difficult part of an event is often getting people to attend.

Promoting an event can be overwhelming and making sure there are attendees who will benefit and cover the costs is stressful. Here are a few tips for promoting an event in a way that attracts more attendees.

Event Promotion Ideas to Increase Attendance

1.    Know Your Goals

It may be a boring place to start, but it is totally necessary. Successful event promotion requires that you know what the point of your event is to begin with. What looks like a successful event for your organization? In most cases, it’s all wrapped up in the number of registered attendees. But it’s more helpful if you can break it down into more specific categories like:

·  Total registrants

·  The number of early bird discount vs. late full-price registrants

·  How many virtual vs in-person registrations

·  Number of registrations from each marketing source

·  ROI or cost per registration

Think about your goals and what your stakeholders would consider a successful event. This can help you adjust your marketing strategies as well as assess the success of your event. Information like this is invaluable when you start planning your next event.

2.    Nail Your Event Branding

Branding your event is a very important aspect. If you plan on it being an annual affair, you want a brand that will stick in people’s minds. The brand should be recognizable and stick around in your industry for years to come. Event branding can involve a lot of elements which may include (but not be limited to):

·  Designing an event logo

·  Choosing two or more colors to feature on your logo and other marketing materials

·  Choosing a specific font to use in your logo and marketing materials

·  A tag line that captures the spirit of your event (this will be featured on your website, event name badges, and on other marketing materials

Once these decisions have been made, make sure all the team members are on the same page pertaining to your brand. Consistency is key for successful branding efforts. Your brand information will be used on everything from emails to social media to messaging, and more. Successful event branding will send the message that your event is professional and organized.

3.    Create an Optimized Event Landing Page

You do not have to create an entire website about your event, but you need at least a landing page for it. Most popular content platforms offer the choice of including a form on your page, which allows people to register for your event or sign up for your email list. Your emailing list is beneficial for sharing updates and other event information such as lodging, speaker announcements, and registration.

4.    Use Social Media to Promote the Event

Social media is not every business professional’s cup of tea, but it can make a huge difference in an event marketing strategy. Social platforms are helpful before, during, and after the event. Create a hashtag using your event name or its tagline and use it on all your social media posts. You may want to designate one person or a small team to handle your event’s social media marketing campaign. It’s important to post often and consistently to help get the word out and create a buzz around your event.

5.    Use Traditional Marketing as Needed

Depending on the nature of your event, you may want to invest in some traditional marketing strategies. You may put an ad in a local paper, including local free periodicals. TV spots or radio commercials can also be used effectively. Using these along with online advertising can help provide more coverage about your event and reach a broader audience.

6.    Keep Promoting Your Event During the Event

Don’t stop promoting your event once it has started. You can keep posting on social media and encourage user-generated content by providing opportunities for attendees to post to their social media profiles. A feature wall or booth with your event logo in the background can be the perfect place for attendees to share the event on Instagram or TikTok while they are in attendance. Also make sure to put someone in charge of engaging with attendees on social media in real time during the event.

7.    Start Promoting Your Next Event as Soon as It’s Over

Your event promotion efforts should extend past your event. Send out a post-event email or thank you to attendees to express your gratitude. This is a good time to thank all the people who made the event a success, include a post-event survey, and announce next year’s event.

Full-color Logo Event Name badges from Name Tag Pros

Name Tag Pros can help you design the perfect name badge for your event. Using the right colors, contrasts, and font styles can make your name tag grab attention for all the right reasons. You also have the option of including your full-color logo. Call us today and let’s get started on your event name badges.