Event Marketing: How to Promote Your Events
Events are a fantastic way for an entrepreneur, small business, or large business to connect or reconnect with past, present, or future clients or customers. However, what are the necessary steps for not only creating an event, but knowing who to invite, and how to market to them?
First of all, we now exist in a day and age where social media is our best friend. Social media has the capacity to do far more for your business than any other type of marketing ever before. By now, you've probably created a brand and have some sort of following online on Facebook or Instagram. It is vital that you reach out to those who follow you and let them know your event is taking place. However, a simple post might not be enough. Have you considered asking people to come to your event? If you're a small business, you probably have a few loyal customers or clients who are either close friends, family, or contacts you've met along the way. Sending personal invitations sent through the mail or through their digital inbox might be a great starting point for ensuring the backbone of your local network is at your event.
Half of an event is attracting new customers or clients. The big question is, how do you do that. One simple thing is to simply refer back to our previous point, but this time ask those close friends, family, and contacts to bring or invite people along. This will help organically increase your audience and help bring in people in your local community.
One of the trickiest parts of event marketing is the fact that to reach out to new people, you need to provide some sort of bait. When it comes to close friends, they're there because of your. When it comes to friends of friends, they're there because of their friends. When it comes to the rest of the crowds, you need to ensure there is something noteworthy to gain their attention. Simple solutions include free catering, coupons, giveaways, exclusive discounts, and more. By providing something unique for the attendants of your events, you can help create an engaging and inviting atmosphere that entices visitors to come to not only learn more, but to receive something in return.
It is important to note, that hosting an event is rarely ever going to make you money in the short term. In fact, you will probably lose a good chunk of change hosting your first event. However, more important is the connections and relationships you build during the event itself. This will help solidify yourself in your local area in a way that will allow for a return on investment in the long run.
At the end of the day, there is still so much to prepare, and where do you even start with trying to reach out to those larger general audiences to market your event? One solution may be contacting an event marketing expert such as Virality LLC. We can help with creative solutions to help inform, promote, and educate others on your local event! With years of experience and a full team working to promote your business, we can help ensure your business event is a success! Contact us today to learn more about how Virality could help your small business.