Event Planning: Leveraging Event Marketing for Optimal Impact

Consider the most recent event you attended.

• Was it a trade show or a conference?
• Is it possible to do a small lecture or a start-up launch party online?
• What about a fun, socially distant 5K or golf outing?

These events were all quite different, but they all had the same goal for the firms or groups who hosted them: to amuse and engage attendees.

Event marketing is very effective for many businesses, from technology and education to non-profit, medical, and retail. Events benefit not just their hosts and sponsors but also enrich the lives of people who attend. Unlike most other marketing initiatives, events inspire, teach, captivate, amuse, and bring people together.

There appear to be a million different approaches to event promotion. In reality, event marketing may take many different shapes depending on your position within your company. Promotion is crucial for events, whether they are live, virtual, or hybrid. Because of technology, data, and analytics, event marketing is relatively simple to deploy across events and at scale.

This event marketing guide will walk you through:

• What event marketing is
• How to create a winning strategy
• How to implement that strategy to improve your event program

What Is Event Marketing?

For many businesses, events account for a significant portion of their marketing budget. Given the strength of in-person and virtual experiences and the capacity to form one-on-one interactions, many marketers feel that events are the most successful channel in their "marketing stack" after a website. Events are effective in various ways, from advertising to incorporating them into your marketing plan.

Benefits of Event Marketing

We've already established that event marketing helps businesses succeed. So how do they go about doing it? Why should you put money into this company strategy?

Here Are a Few Key Advantages of Event Marketing:

Event Marketing Generates Business

Companies engage in event marketing because events naturally generate new business and income prospects. Over 95 percent of marketers feel in-person events may help their firm achieve its core business objectives. The registration process alone provides a list of people who are already interested in your product, sector, or at the very least fall inside your target demographic as an event organizer. In addition, you may collect leads by using an email list, a demo offer, or a competition if you're attending or sponsoring an event.

Event Marketing Provides One-On-One Customer Engagement

Many software and e-commerce companies nowadays never encounter their customers or clients in person. This is when event marketing comes in handy. In an increasingly digital environment, 93 percent of marketers say in-person events give guests a valuable chance to make relationships. At events, engaging consumers and potential customers lead to personal contacts. These one-on-one conversations help clients personalize your business and establish brand loyalty. Events also provide a break from the daily grind, allowing you to capture a client's attention better than a phone call or in-office pitch. As a result, you have a chance to sell or upsell your products and services with that kind of attention.

Event Marketing Builds Brand Awareness

Companies may create and grow their brands by hosting or participating in events. Through event marketing, you may link a physical identity and appearance with an otherwise digital business. Events like pop-up stores allow a fully immersive experience for consumers and customers to get a true sense of your brand and how it appears in person.

The most excellent thing about using events to raise brand awareness is that they are free. People discuss current events. Consumers, journalists, bystanders, and influencers talk about events in person, on social media, in the press, etc. This makes events an excellent opportunity to educate and alert people about your brand and goods.

Event Marketing Encourages Product and Industry Education

There is almost always an educational component to each event your firm sponsors or participates in. Event marketing is effective. It's not just focused on a brand or product. Instead, they concentrate on informing and entertaining a specific population or sector while promoting items and services.

Types of Event Marketing

The phrase "event marketing" encompasses a wide range of activities. Some people refer to an event's promotional plan, while others refer to the strategic use of events to sell efficiently. If you design a calendar of events to complement your marketing plan as part of your event marketing, your strategy and planning process will be more involved and detailed. Others see it as a promotional strategy for a particular event that may be split down into smaller chunks.

• Email Marketing
• Event-based strategy
• Event website
• Advertising
• Social media

The Event Marketing Process

Because events are costly, deciding on an event plan is critical. Your budget, goals, and other factors will determine what events you organize and the style of promotion you do. The event marketing process begins with recognizing an event can assist your organization and achieve a goal.

For example, events may help:

• boost sales
• boost morale
• advertise a product

The event marketing process boils down to the aim of the event. You may plan promotions and objectives depending on what you want to achieve.

Event Marketing Plan

Let's speak about how you can put your next event together. A marketing plan for your events should be separate from any other marketing efforts you make for your company. Although you can cross-promote, it's best to treat event marketing as an individual campaign approach.

Here are some questions to consider while developing your next event marketing plan:

• What Are Your S.M.A.R.T. Goals?
• What's Your Budget?

SMART goals are:

• specific
• measurable
• attainable
• relevant
• timely

Keeping your goals SMART helps you avoid running with vague goals like "bring in leads."

SMART goals have a dual purpose:

1. to guide you as you plan and organize your event
2. to assist you in determining whether or not your event was a success

For example, "Grow our potential leads list for our new product by 100 names by the conclusion of the event" is a SMART event marketing target.

This goal is:

• specific (prospective leads for only the new product)
• measurable (100 names)
• attainable
• relevant (assuming the event is relevant and there are more than enough attendees to get 100 names)
• time-bound (assuming the event is relevant and there are more than enough attendees to get 100 names)

Finally, set aside time to determine your marketing budget for your event. This is crucial as it'll likely be the deciding factor on everything from the venue to the entertainment to the website.

What's Your Event's Theme, Brand, and Schedule?

You must know what information and material to advertise to market your event. Establish your event's name, topic, brand, and goal before going on.

• What are the benefits of attending?
• What will they get out of it?
• Is your event a subsidiary of your firm or a separate entity?

Next, decide on the location and timing of the event. Attendees are likely to ask these questions the most.

Then, look into and plan your event's agenda, including:

• keynote speakers
• workshop sessions
• entertainment
• gathering
• networking periods

You don't have to have all of them before marketing your event, but you should have a good sense of who will be attending and what you'll be offering them.

Who Are You Marketing to and How Will You Reach Them?

Define who you want to reach.

• Who would benefit the most from your event?
• What kind of individuals would be interested in attending your seminars, learning from your speakers, and interacting with your sponsors?

Establishing your target audience will assist you in identifying and investing in the most appropriate marketing channels. In today's technologically crowded market, social media and your event website are provided outlets. If your event is local, consider paper ads.

Event Marketing With Email

Another popular and successful approach to promoting events is via email. Email addresses are easy to acquire upon registration, and because most participants check their email, they'll be aware of any updates or confirmations. In addition, companies frequently develop different email addresses and newsletters for their events to keep communication and promotion separate from the rest of their marketing activities. This is also advantageous to your attendees, as they do not want their inboxes to be swamped.

What's Your Content Creation and Management Plan?

Promoting your event needs a lot of information:

• what
• when
• where
• why
• who
• how

To effectively handle all of this data, you'll need to devise a strategy for generating and controlling it. You'll be faced with publishing, updating, and modifying information for months leading up to the event because your event specifics are unlikely to be available all at once.

• Will you send out a newsletter?
• Who will be responsible for keeping the website up to date?
• Will you invest in an event app like Eventbrite so attendees can access this information at all times?

What's Your Event Marketing Timeline?

Publicizing your event in the weeks and months preceding is ideal for keeping your audience interested. It's a good idea to plan a marketing schedule, so you know when and what to release. As you disclose additional names or information at different periods, a timeline like this helps stimulate your attendees' interest. It's also a good idea to put together a multi-touch promotion.

To reach the most people, use various methods:

• email
• social media
• direct mail
• phone calls
• print advertisements
• sponsored commercial

Simply spreading the word might result in a significant increase in registrations.

How Will You Promote and Market During the Event?

When it comes to marketing your event, it doesn't have to end once it starts. Devote some time and resources to publicizing your event while it takes place. Attendees may learn something new about the services provided during the event, and those who did not register will be intrigued as to what they are missing out on. Most businesses utilize social media to keep people informed about their events while they are taking place.

During the event:

• 73% of firms use social media for advertising specific events and features
• 55% use it to publish images
• 35% use it to highlight product announcements

Consider using Facebook or Instagram Live Video or Live Tweeting during your event.

How Will You Measure Your Event's Success?

It's easy to glance around and feel good about your attendance and participation while in the middle of a crowded event. Is this the best approach to determine whether or not your event was a success? Most likely not. Setting some key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess and analyze your event's performance is a good idea, just like any other marketing effort.

Here are some common event marketing KPIs:

• Registrations and check-ins
• Revenue and cost-to-revenue ratio
• Attendee satisfaction
• Social media mentions/engagement
• Lead acquisition and customer conversion

Wrap-Up

Events can fuel organizational success. They foster relationships and educate attendees, whether held in person, virtually or in a hybrid format. Event marketing is critical to attracting your guests and increasing registrations. It's also made easier with the help of event management software. If the event was not publicized, no one would know about it. Thanks to event technology, promotion is now easier than ever. As you arrange your next event, you can take the time to build an event marketing plan using this guide. If you need more support to have a successful event, don't hesitate to contact our team of experts at gardenpatch.

We are always here to help! Talk to one of our growth specialists at gardenpatch today!

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