10 different ways to promote your event

If you have an event to promote, it can be difficult to find the best way to advertise it and make it stand out amongst the noise of other events also being promoted. Here are some unique ways to approach advertising.

So, if you are looking to make this a focus for your next event then here are some eco-friendly event ideas.

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1) Make use of your event content

Identify what will make your event stand out and utilise that. Think of it as identifying your event’s unique selling point. It might be the subject content, a speaker, accessibility, or entertainment. So, for example, when advertising a festival you could focus on a specific artist or entertainer who will be performing.

2) Use conventional methods in a new way

While conventional advertising methods should not always be ignored, these can be used in a way that makes them more memorable.

Press releases, speaker statements, invitations, posters, badges should all to follow your event theme and make the experience for anyone attending the event as coherent as possible.

Communicate don’t advertise. As tempting as it can be to bombard with advertising messages through a variety of channels, providing information and building trust is a proven way to ultimately get buy in. For example, include relevant and informative Facebook posts as well as promotional ones. So, if you are advertising an exhibition you might want to include some posts with some interesting facts about the artist.

3) Targeted mailing list

Communicate with previous attendees through a mailing list and email an invitation to the event to them. But rather than emailing hundreds or thousands of people in your database, your message will be more effective if you can segment your database so that you can target your emails to smaller groups with specific events relevant to them.

You can also target people through Facebook using the ad building tool which enables you to create custom audience lists meaning that your message will reach the right people.

4) Utilise social media in a new way

Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram can all be great ways of getting your message to a targeted group of people. There are lots of ways to utilise social media for event promotion.

Use the channel best suited for your audience and encourage attendees to get involved. If engagement can start before the event has, then you can build interest and excitement helping to promote your event and make it a success.

5) Use material from previous events

If you are organising an annual event then hopefully you already have plenty of promotional material in the form of images, videos and previous attendees.

You could create a media reel of images and video which has a great visual impact and makes for fantastic content on websites and social media. You can ask previous attendees to provide testimonials helping to provide an insight into what your event will offer.

If this is a new event then you can still create a media reel using images connected to your event, quotes from speakers or attendees who share your excitement about the event!

Make sure that your reel isn’t too lengthy, includes all the important contact details and information about how to get tickets and encourage people to share it!

6) Create excitement

A teaser campaign can be a great way to create some intrigue and help promote your event. You could include a clue about a yet unknown act to appear as entertainment, a quote from a speaker or hint about a topic or activity to be included at the event.

This can help to create mystery and interest about your event. You could encourage people to register their interest in the event and then reward them with revealing details about the day to encourage them to pursue their interest and buy tickets.

7) Exclusivity

We all love the thought of exclusive access or content so you could create VIP areas at the event and advertise a package for attendees wanting to make use of that area. If you have separate sessions, talks or symposiums, you could hold ticket only sessions for specific topics. Another way of creating this feeling of exclusivity is to have a limited number of tickets available to giveaway. This can also generate coverage in local press or radio, helping to promote your event.

8) Get people talking

We all love the thought of exclusive access or content so you could create VIP areas at the event and advertise a package for attendees wanting to make use of that area. If you have separate sessions, talks or symposiums, you could hold ticket only sessions for specific topics. Another way of creating this feeling of exclusivity is to have a limited number of tickets available to giveaway. This can also generate coverage in local press or radio, helping to promote your event.

9) Make your event shareable

Create impactful content which will be much more shareable than text. Infographics, videos and other visual content are much more intriguing and ultimately shareable.

You might be able to create some of this content yourself if you have the experience. Alternatively, you can brief an agency to design something for you.

10) Complementary content

Why not develop some elements which will complement your promotional activities and the event itself? You could release a podcast, a series of post-event videos or ask a speaker to provide some bonus content. This content can be used to enhance and extend the experience.

You might find that not all these methods will work for your event, instead find the best ones to complement your event. Make sure that you measure the success of each technique that you use so that you know if they are worth repeating in the future.

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