13 Steps to Create a Successful Event Marketing Campaign in 2018
In a world chock-full of material promoting one thing or another, event marketing has risen to fore as a handy channel of efficiently cutting through the marketing noise. Event marketing is simply promoting an event which in turn drives the end goal of generating leads or getting people to buy into a value proposition. The 13 steps below will enlighten you on the best path to take to market your event for maximum results.
Set event marketing goals
These should be aligned with the event’s goals. For instance, if you intend to get 100 leads from the event, your goal should be to attract 500 attendees or thereabout. Your goals should be ambitious yet pragmatic; to the point, and above all, measurable. Everyone in the undertaking should know exactly what to work towards.
Determine your budget
Just as money largely determines where you live, where your kids go to school, etc., the depth of your pockets will also instruct the most feasible event marketing strategy for optimal results. Your budget will limit certain marketing activities and illuminate where you should leverage out-of-the-box creativity.
Determine how to measure success
With your goals handy and the marketing channels you will use in focus courtesy of a fixed budget, explore the best way to measure success. Bear in mind that some goals can be measured in different ways. Thus, the determining factor for selecting a metric should be accuracy and relevance.
Develop an agenda with deadlines
Event promotion is essentially a project with many moving parts, and to have everything of importance in focus at all times; it becomes necessary to formulate a plan of attack. Aspects of the undertaking such as creating goals, defining success metrics, content creation, and more should be captured priority-wise. Also, Attach a realistic timeline to each activity.
Create content
Come up with event related content to use in the marketing. It could be the invited speakers, the benefits, the topics to be discussed, the schedule, etc. In short, generate attractive copy to have an easier time attracting attendees. Furthermore, embrace timeline flexibility in the knowledge that content creation is a never-ending process given the dynamics on the ground.
Leverage a content management plan
Not all content will be accessible at once which necessitates a smart content management plan to ensure efficiency. Otherwise, you will find yourself bogged down with labor-intensive, manual tasks of updating the event’s site, the app, landing pages, etc. Software tools can greatly assist in this regard through automation.
The venue
Choose your venue wisely and ensure that you book early since some locations require lengthy booking periods. In selecting a venue, factor in accessibility to your target audience, alignment with your brand image and relevance to the event’s purposes in terms of size and facilities.
Source for sponsors
If you already have presence, with some effort, you can land a sponsor who can significantly increase the potential of your undertaking by injecting more firepower. Adopt the sponsor’s perspective to craft an appealing pitch that incorporates the event’s goals and how meeting them can help the sponsor.
Plan the data collection
Ideally, you should manage event performance in real time, and to do this, you may require other tools in addition to the content management tool you may have already chosen. The tools you select should be able to collect data efficiently and serve insightful results in a user-friendly manner.
Exploit integrations
Advisably, it should be possible to integrate all event management tools chosen such that you obtain a final product that is bigger than the sum of its parts. For instance, you might find that you have content management software, event management software and a customer relationship management system. Integrate them to impel efficiency, boost performance and obtain richer insights.
Build an event website
Build a site that highlights the event as an opportunity one cannot afford to miss making sure you offer a sneak peek to rouse people’s interest. Go for simplicity, elegance, and clarity. The site should encapsulate exactly what attendees will get from the event. Consider hiring seasoned experts, such as runrex.com, to help out.
Targeting
Develop a profile for the person most likely to be interested in the event. This way, your marketing ammunition will be directed towards the right quarters which will increase your event’s chances of success.
Advertise on social media
With a live website, you can now advertise on social media and direct traffic to your site. Alternatively, you can get people to commit to attending the event directly on social media such as by creating a Facebook event. Be very creative and encourage those who show interest to reach out to others who might also benefit.
After the event, take time with your team to audit and analyze the process, singling out areas that you can improve on in the future. Assess the results in view of the goals set beforehand and use the event content for further promotion of your brand.