Event marketing is a niche within marketing where you focus on promoting your business at events. These events can be for charities, to raise awareness, for sales, or just for fun.
Events can be as simple as handing out flyers and brochures to attendees and including your business in the event’s advertising and marketing.
More involved events can include setting up a booth or exhibition space, giving presentations or talks, or even providing some kind of service. Any form of participation or contribution to the event is great!
Event marketing can be very effective since you are targeting an audience that is specifically there to receive information about something. In return, they will learn about your business and possibly purchase from you.
There are many ways to spot advertise at events.
Who should use event marketing?
Event marketing is a great tool for businesses of all sizes. Even small business can host an event to introduce their business to the community, gain new customers, and build brand awareness.
Major corporations often host events to launch a new product or to promote a new initiative or campaign. For example, Apple launches its latest iPhone at a special event where customers can get their phone early and try out all the features.
As mentioned before, events can be targeted towards existing customers, potential customers, or the general public. Depending on your goal, the event can be targeted to a specific group of people or open to everyone.
Event marketing is a good way to spend money if done correctly. Spending money on an event only works if people come out to participate in the event.
What types of events are there?
Event marketing takes place at almost every type of event there is. Events include social events like birthday parties, fun gatherings like games or movie nights, and educational events like lectures or book clubs.
Businesses pay professionals to attend these events and gain new customers through their presence. In return, they provide some form of compensation, usually advertising or sales.
The most common events that businesses pay for attendees at are seminars, conferences, and exhibitions. Seminars are one-time events where experts in a field give information to a limited audience. Conferences are similar but involve many experts presenting information to a larger audience.
Exhibitions take place in a venue where companies set up booths to advertise their products and services to the public.
Can I plan and market my own event?
Yes, you can plan and market your own event! In fact, you should try it at least once. Event planning is a great way to gain event marketing experience.
You will need to put in some serious effort and time, but this can be a way to promote yourself and your business by putting all of your skills to use.
Even if you are not a business owner, you can still organize an event and market it. You may even get paid if you do it for a good cause.
The most important part is ensuring that people come to the event. Marketing the event is also crucial, so let us talk about both of these now.
Organizing an Event
The first thing you need to do when organizing an event is decide what type of event to plan. There are many different types of events, so pick one that appeals to your target audience.
What should my event website include?
A well-designed and informative website is the foundation of any event marketing strategy. Even if you do not have many resources to create one, there are some easy ways to create a nice looking one!
Designers are usually willing to make a free portfolio site for you, or at least at a reduced price. You can either ask your sponsors or volunteer groups to sponsor your site design, or pay a designer yourself.
How can I get sponsors for my event?
Getting sponsors for your event is a great way to get funding for the event itself and to gain more visibility. Companies love to put their names out there and give back to the community, which is why they sponsor events.
You can seek out companies directly via social media and their websites to ask if they would like to sponsor your event. It can also be easy to make it cost effective for them, as they will get visibility through the number of people attending your event.
With hosting an event, you can offer vendors spaces or advertise on fliers for a fee to get more revenue. This helps with expenses that may arise during the event planning process.
The hardest part about getting sponsors is letting them know about your event! Make sure to spread the word and do not be shy. There is nothing wrong with asking for help or sponsors.
What are the different types of sponsorship?
Traditionally, sponsorships have taken two forms: direct and indirect.
Direct sponsorships put a sponsor’s name or brand directly on an event. For example, if an event was called “Joe’s Bar & Grill Fish Fry,” the restaurant would be the sponsor.
Indirect sponsorships put a sponsor’s name or brand behind an event in a few ways. For example, if an event was called “Spring Fling Dance Festival,” then the spring fashion line would be the sponsor because they paid for the festival.
By paying for an event, sponsors get their brand exposure and marketing value. Depending on the price of a sponsorship, companies can get different levels of exposure. Unfortunately, there is no formula for how much exposure a company will get; it all depends on how many people attend the event.
Which social media sites should I use?
As mentioned before, it is important to manage social media accounts in a professional way. You do not want to showcase your brand in a negative way by having employees post inappropriate things or poor quality content.
LinkedIn is a great place to connect with potential leads and clients. You can post your new positions and company updates on your profile, which is searchable by recruiters and potential leads.
Since it is designed for professionals, it is easy to post professional content that promotes your company.
Twitter is another good site to use for event marketing. Using hashtags on your posts will pull in more viewers, and doing some advertising may bring more people to the event.
Using pictures or short videos on Twitter or Instagram may get more views and engagement, which brings more attention to the event.
What are some creative ways I can promote my event?
There are so many ways to market your event, it is the best time to dive into your creativity. You can spread the word through social media, print and online advertisements, word of mouth, and more.
Social media is a great tool for event marketing due to its versatility. You can post on your event’s page, create fun and eye-catching ads on Instagram and Snapchat, use FaceTime or Skype to announce the event, and more.
With so many users and the ability to post about your event in different ways, it is easy to spread the word. For example, you can post fun pictures from past events or create a fun graphic with info about the event.
Print advertisements may cost some money, but they can be very effective at informing people of your event. You can put them in local newspapers or hand out printed flyers at nearby businesses.
Word of mouth is always very effective! Tell all of your friends, family members, and co-workers to come out to the event.
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