Top 5 Virtual Event Marketing Strategies to Make Your Next Event Pop

Listen, it’s time to go big or go home when considering event marketing strategies. Placing an ad for an upcoming event in the newspaper might have been effective in 1980, but it’s certainly not the most productive event marketing strategy being used today. Where will you find your audience – sales leads or potential donors or event participants – in modern society? Online. You got it. So put your event there and reach your intended audience more effectively than ever before. Here are some best practice tips to make your next event pop.

Get Social

Engage your desired audience via social networking by utilizing the tools available via your company’s or brand’s social media channels.

Best practice: Event owners, promoters and supporters should follow-up the initial event share with posting their own version of why they feel it’s important for attendees to make the commitment to attend. Adding a personal touch to every social media post not only helps promote the actual event itself, it also fosters a sense of community which, in turn, creates brand loyalty and excitement for future events.

Even better? Social media posts allow for user polls and RSVP responses – it’s a win-win and it’s usually free. Who can beat that?

 

RSVP Online

Forget wasting money on stamps and licking a million envelopes, try creating an event page on Facebook. It’s free, easy to share and helps keep track of RSVPs! Facebook boasts over 1 billion users so event promoters have the ability to reach markets they wouldn’t have been able to connect with before.

Also, by creating a Facebook page for your event, you can share news and announcements about the upcoming event, link to sponsors, and chat with other guests before, during and post event (an added benefit – every time you post to the event page on FB, your invited guests are notified via the FB app, so your audience is getting frequent reminders).

Want an added bonus? Invest in a targeted Facebook ad to spread the event page like wildfire. The best practice here is to engage your already established network. For more tips on how to create an event on Facebook and use Facebook ads to promote your event, click here.

 

 

The Power of the Press Release

Creating an event is all fine and dandy, but what good is an event if no one knows it’s actually happening? That’s where the power of the press release comes into play. This event marketing strategy works best when you start with an event template and tweak it until it matches the message you’d like to convey. Press releases can be shared to news desks and media outlets directly by conducting a quick Google search, or you could opt to post them on free press release sites, like PR Newswire. Then, just wait for the responses to roll in! Best practice here: make it a little personal and follow-up.

Create Original Content

A really out-of-the-box event marketing strategy is to create original content that can be viewed outside of just presenting the event invitation itself. For instance: develop a video showcasing the event and share widely. This can be done via an embed code on participating websites, social media link sharing, through email to your contacts, or on various video heavy platforms, like YouTube or Instagram. Also, speakers and presenters at the event should use best practices and make sure they’re sharing the video with their networks, too. Make your event come to life with a video!

Here’s an example of how Drift has been sharing short video interviews with the scheduled keynote speakers to promote their upcoming HYPERGROWTH event. Advanced tip: include a special offer or discount code with your original content for added excitement.

 

Update Email Signatures

Since you’re already sending out a million-ish emails anyway, why not promote your event at the same time? It’s hassle-free (you only need to update the settings in your email program once), relatively fast and free. Every email client is different so consult your specific tutorial on how to make this happen when you’re ready, but here’s the Gmail guide for example.

A line or two should suffice. Even a few words will do. Anything. Best practice here: send a lot of emails once your signature has been updated and let the success roll in, my friend.

 

Tell us some of your most memorable virtual event marketing strategies that have worked for you in the comments below.