From small businesses to big businesses, many will be running events in 2023. This may be a one-off event or an event series like a workshop; either way, you may need to produce a marketing plan.
Marketing for an event is not something to be taken lightly unless you already have an extensive waiting list of people ready to go. It differs from marketing a service or product and should be planned accordingly.
Details
- Is it in person, online or both?
- How much will it cost to attend
- Where will it be?
- Are you filming, so it is available after or for future marketing?
Audience
- Who will be most likely to attend?
- Who do you want to attend?
Objective
- Why are you having this event?
- Why is marketing important for the event?
Strategy
- What is your marketing budget?
- Where will you market the event?
- Which channels will you use to reach your audience?
- What is the value you are providing your audience?
Sponsors
- Do you have sponsors for the event?
- Which sponsors could have similar audiences to your preferred audience?
Success
- What will a successful event look like?
Setting event goals
Are you looking for a certain number of attendees? You may need to create a broad marketing strategy to attract a wider audience. Offering in-person and online attendance can help you to provide your event to people based almost anywhere.
If your event is purely for your existing customers, you can limit your marketing to your specific database. You can let them know the benefits of attending your event via email, in person or by phone.
Promotional incentives
Will you offer incentives to register? Why is attending the only choice people have so they do not miss out?
- Early bird discounts
- Flash sales
- Gift bags to the first xxx who register
Creating content for marketing your event
Regardless of the goals, you will need to create content.
This content may be:
- Paid advertising
- A landing page for registrations
- Blogs and articles
- Photos/videos from previous events
- Testimonials from previous events
- A press release
- Organic posts on social media
- Email campaigns and more
- Speaker bios
Emailing your database
One of the most successful ways to market your event is direct to your database. They may have attended an event previously with you or signed up for your database out of curiosity. Either way, you now have the opportunity for them to attend your next event.
Ideally, your database should be segmented so that you can provide the right messaging to the right people. This messaging can be timed before your event, so you have time to create awareness.
Social Media for your event
Love it or hate it, social media remains an essential tool for existing followers and broadening your reach to new potential attendees.
You can attract people to your event by utilising paid and organic posts on social media. Make sure that you are choosing the platforms that your ideal attendees are also using.
Your paid ads and organic posts should lead people to your event landing page so they can register. If you have testimonials from previous events, these are a great way to illustrate how unique your events are.
Getting your event attendees to engage
Do you want your attendees to engage with each other? If so, you may want to set up a Facebook group just for attendees. Within this group, you can have conversations to get your attendees excited. You can create polls, share a surprise and more.
Event sponsors
Not all events have sponsors, and if they do, they may play a small or big part in the event. Plus, they also can provide access to their database. Co-marketing opportunities can enhance your event and help you to reach a wider audience.
Or your sponsors may be as simple as providing products for a gift bag for your attendees.
Your event planning success
What do your success metrics look like, and will you be sharing this data with your sponsors?
- Number of registrations
- People who attended
- Will it be profitable, or are you creating brand awareness?
Conclusion – planning an event in 2023
Creating and marketing an event is hard work, and it may not be successful every time you try. Just because you think your event is a good idea, others may not agree. You may not have the marketing budget to share it with enough people; instead, you don’t get enough registrations to run the event.
Make sure you have a contingency plan just in case things don’t work out, and ensure that your attendees are kept in the loop.
Are you marketing an event in 2023, and do you need assistance marketing your event? Contact Kelly @ My Sassy Business.
