Digital marketing offers plenty of powerful tools that make it easier than ever to promote your live events. Whether you are planning a webinar, conference, or even a custom event, there are a number of ways that you can engage attendees at every point. The trick to succeeding with this type of campaign is to think out of the box and remember that there are three key stages to events – the build-up to the event, the event itself, and the time after the event events. Each of these stages offers plenty of chance to reach out to your audience in a way that encourages feedback and participation.
Keep reading to find out how you can use digital marketing to take your event marketing to the next level.
How to Use Digital Marketing for Your Live Events
There are a few ways that you can use digital marketing before, during, and after your event to build awareness, create hype, encourage attendance, and bring in leads. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.
Before the event…
Email marketing offers a highly effective way to build hype and encourage people to start counting down to your event. The best plan is to create a launch sequence that works on a calendar basis, to send out emails in a set number of months, weeks, days, and hours before the event. Content marketing in the form of blog posts, and also social media can also both be very effective, too. Focus on what makes the event a must-attend and use USPs to encourage people to register.
During the event…
Social media is often a great tool to use once the event begins. This can be achieved in a number of ways. Live Tweeting has become standard for many events, offering short, bite-sized snippets and video clips of the event as it happens in real time. Facebook Live and Instagram video can also be used effectively to boost excitement, get event-specific hashtags trending, and encourage last-minute attendance. Focus on immediate, instant channels that can reach people in real time rather than platforms such as email or website that may result in lost connections.
After the event…
Once the event is over, you still have plenty of opportunities to keep people engaged. You could plan a post-event email sequence thanking attendees and wrapping up core points made during the event. You could target those who booked without attending. You could also do wrap-up type posts on your blog or on social media. You could share videos across your social media platforms, too. You could even go one step further and offer video access as a content upgrade or lead nurturing incentive to get people onto your sales funnel. Finally, you can also use email signups to keep in touch about future events and related topics, long after the event has finished.
Keep these tips in mind, and it should be easier than ever to get the most from your digital marketing efforts for your event.
