Virtual events are growing not only in popularity, but in necessity. In 2020, the number of businesses hosting virtual events doubled. The significant shift to online that 2020 has brought us means that more and more businesses are hosting their events online. In this blog, we share some useful considerations in order to help you get the best out of your virtual events.
Grab Attention with Event Branding
Brand your event so that it grabs attention and increases your number of potential attendees. Other than the promotion itself, you’ll want to consider the channels you will use to promote.
Everything about the event, from its tone to its energy to origins, should be included in promotion. Utilise all relevant channels to get your message across and increase attendance.
Consider your Marketing Plan
This includes your website, your social media channels, email, and paid media.
Website
On your website, your content can be used to promote your event, In your blog pages, add CTA’s relevant to your event. Add messages to your home page explaining to visitors about your upcoming event.
Social media
Do you know which social media platforms your desired attendees use most? These platforms are where you should publish promotional content. Use hashtags on your shared content and posts to increase awareness.
Social media is simple and cost-effective when it comes to event promotion. In fact, almost 90% of event organisers engage audiences on social media before the event date. Be consistent with posting to keep your event in the minds of your audience members.
Your email subscribers are an easy-to-target audience that can be used to significantly increase your reach and the number of event attendees. Regularly promote your event through email newsletter and even offer discounts on tickets to entice potential attendees.
Paid Media
If it is within your budget, promote your event through paid media advertising, not only does this widen your reach beyond your existing audience, it also allows you to re-target those who already follow you. Focus on the platforms where you know your audience is to instil awareness about the event.
Create an Event Landing Page
To help people find out important information about your event, such how to register, ticket prices, and relevant, preparatory resources, create a landing page for your event.
Landing pages allow you to deliver key information in a way that is concise and comprehensive. The name of the event, the date and time, and leading CTA’s can all be included on your landing page and make the journey from target to attendee smooth.
Here you can also highlight your agenda – this will be one of the key deciding factors for audience members to register and attend. Highlighting your agenda lets potential attendees know what to expect from your event, and what benefits they will receive from attending.
Essentially, creating a landing page with comprehensive information about your event will save time for you and your attendees by eliminating the need to ask a lot of questions.
‘Save the Date!’
Following your event promotion across your website, including landing pages and blogs, remind your potential attendees about the event with a ‘save the date’ email. This creates a buzz around your event and instils awareness in your audience.
This is a simple yet effective promotional tool. All you need to do is send your audience an email, or series or scheduled emails, including the name of your event and any relevant details. Here you can highlight the value of the event and add CTA’s to drive traffic to your event pages.
Focus on Social Media Marketing
As mentioned earlier, social media is a powerful tool that is easy to use and makes a huge difference to your overall marketing plan. Use your social channels to inform your audience and beyond about the date and time of your event, and share consistently. You can highlight discounts, share relevant content, and use live streaming, video, and photos to increase awareness of the event and get people engaged and excited.
Highlight your Agenda
Let people know exactly what your event involves so they don’t have to make any blind purchases. Keep your audience and other potential attendees well informed by making announcements about what to expect. This could include announcements about and introductions to guest speakers, topics that will be covered, and the reason the event is happening in the first place.
Essentially , you want to give your audience a good reason to spend their time and money on your event.
Find and Leverage your Speakers and Ambassadors
Those who will be speaking at your event are an excellent marketing resource. Ask your speakers to contribute to your marketing plan by sharing and announcing their involvement and excitement about your event.
Reach out to influencers and offer promotional discounts in exchange for shout outs and shares. These are useful tactics even for businesses working on a tight budget!
Keep Promoting on Event Day
Your event marketing plan isn’t complete just because the day of the event has arrived! Promotion should still be happening, and can be best done through social media live streams and shared content.
But, even if you’ve hit your ticket goals and your event is about to begin, your marketing isn’t done.
Give those not in attendance a peak into what’s happening. While they may not be joining this time, they may join next time if they can see that your event is one worth attending. Share quotes from your speakers, screenshots, and comments, making use of relevant hashtags, to let people know how the event is going.
In Conclusion
Virtual events offer a new, exciting approach to business growth and awareness, With the above considerations you can ensure that your event gets seen and gets people engaged and interested. Social media, as outlined throughout this blog, is one of the best ways to increase awareness and drive ticket sales, so make sure you optimise your socials for event promotion.
