5 digital marketing tips for your event planning

5 digital marketing tips for your event planning

Before the event

Remember, the key is to keep the momentum, anticipation and followers going. If you bait attendees with a false representation of what they can expect, it will backfire.

1. define key data points

According to Skift, Inc, 55% of event professionals believe they do not measure the success of their events well enough, 18% believe they measure the success of their events accurately, and 10% believe they measure it in great detail.

Many event planning teams are trying to collect too much data, which hampers their ability to gain meaningful insights and, worse, puts them at risk of not complying with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). To limit data collection efforts, define the following:

What data do you need to plan a successful event?

What data does your leadership team want?

How will you collect the right data points?

Skift, Inc. reports that event planners cite social media as the most effective tool for event marketing (74%), followed by email marketing (66%), their website (60%), and the event registration page (26%).

Optimize your website

Aside from decent branding, your website should offer an exceptional mobile experience and provide resources that encourage attendees to engage - for example, online registration and payment features, interactive maps, latest event updates, surveys, and vendor or attendee support tools like chatbots.

3. plan your social media activities

Start with a review of your profiles. Maintain consistent branding on all channels and update information, images and banners. Next, create an event page.

According to Eventbrite, 96% of event planners use contests on social media and consider them an effective strategy. You could incentivize registration with a contest or promotion.

Consider social advertising (target people who have interacted with your current or past events, or use demographic data to target a specific industry or demographic).

Create an event hashtag and ask your followers to use it.

Point out exciting details, such as high-profile speakers

4. use influencers for your promotion

"63% of event organizers use influencer marketing as part of their social strategy." - Eventbrite

From well-known speakers to industry-leading sponsors, your event partnerships are a key asset that can connect you with new audiences. Take advantage of them! Most importantly, make promoting the event as quick and easy as possible. Create a media kit and distribute it to your speakers, vendors and sponsors. Encourage them to use branded content and images through their personal social media channels.

influencer-marketing-event-planning

Pro tip: Ask the keynote speaker to talk about the event online or, better yet, record a short video inviting followers to sign up for the event.

5. improve your email marketing

"78% of event organizers say email marketing is their most effective marketing tactic. For those that follow this, 45% of ticket sales are due to email." - Eventbrite

There are several ways to improve your email marketing. One of the most effective ways is to test different subject lines. A length of around 41 characters or 7 words seems to be the way to go. Personalization is a must.

Create a sense of urgency:

"Last call. Tickets are selling fast!"

"Discounted tickets, today only!"

Arouse an emotional response:

"We need your support, [name]"

"[Name], you can make a difference."

Make an intriguing announcement:

"Guess who we have landed as a guest speaker?!"

"Have you heard the big news yet?"

Pro tip: Have all employees use their own email signature that promotes the event. A visual call to action in your email signature can be an effective way to build customer loyalty.