10 Conference Marketing Tips That Will Help Your Event Stand Out
Marketing a conference effectively really means the difference between good and bad, and eventually a successful and a non-successful event. Considering the stiff competition in the events industry, it is improving the efforts put in event marketing strategies that is favorable to the consumers. Regardless of whether you’re looking at an intimate targeted audience convention or a broad industrial expo, here are ten potent conference marketing tips to assist.
1. Leverage Social Media Influencers
As the world goes social, especially in the event of a conference, influencers continue to help in marketing the event. Event coordination can benefit from working with influencers relevant to the event since it will increase your engagement. It has been recognized that such influencers have devoted fans and are, therefore, believed when they recommend specific brands or products. Through the posts, stories, or even any content that is created and posted with reference to the event, the influencers can inform the potential attendees about the event and set the tone of the event.
Tip: Influencer marketing is best done with an audience that is similar to the target market to get the best results. Give them privileges including tickets, VIPS, or even the opportunity to speak during the event.
2. Create a Specific Event Hashtag
The hashtag can be considered the conference’s online avatar; a short and memorable tagline that will appeal to Conference attendants. People attending the event or giving speeches can also actively participate sharing their stories and views under this Hashtag. It does not only give a community feel to the event, but it also assists in monitoring conversations or other information created by users regarding the event.
Tip: Advertise the hashtag before every marketing platform you use and at least a week before the event. Engage in the hashtag during live conferencing and even after the conference has ended as it will help in continuing the discussion.
3. Pre-Event Content: Make the Audience Engage
It is important to build people’s expectations prior to the event so that as many as possible turn up for it and participate actively. Establish a set of promos prior to the event that would make a viewer feel what it is to be in the event. Such content could be in form of blog posts, video interviews from the speakers, or teasers for what the attendees are likely to see at the conference.
Tip: It is advisable to use this content whenever there are specific speakers, that the organizers wish to be pulled out or new exciting sessions already programmed, or activities that will happen at the event. Promote it to your subscribers in their email inboxes, as well as through their social media feeds.
4. Offer Early Bird Discounts
People will always look forward to getting the best deals and this is why early bird prices will help in encouraging early sign-ups. This way the organizer is able to get those prospective attendees to confirm early and set the pace for those who were reluctant to attend.
Tip: Timing of the early bird promotions should however be very well timed to coincide with relevant marketing events. It is also important that your customers save money when you give special discounts for teams that come from the same workplace.
5. Utilize Email Marketing Campaigns
Email continues to be one of the best ways through which to convey information on conferences’ convening. Email by its nature has the capability to educate, convince, and even remind potential attendees about an event in progress. For instance, send messages to people who have attended previous sessions, the industry they are from or their interest depending on the campaign you are conducting.
Tip: Always incorporate among them information on how to attend, some of the previous participants, new features or new sessions, and all the other calls to action that may be needed. Manage your email list by updating it as often as possible to be sure that you are getting to the right people.
6. Host a Webinar Series
Speaking of preparation, probably the most effective way to reach out to the target audience is through webinars held before the said conference. Webinars are great for potential attendees since they can get a sneak peek of what is present in the conference; also, they get a chance to engage with the speakers and other professionals from the field.
Tip: Capture these webinars and present them in case someone opts into your event as a recorded stream. It’s not only about enhancing the value of the ticket for the conference but also about expanding the group of interested people.
7. Collaborate with Industry Partners
It is possible to increase the conference's popularity by involving organizations, associations, or companies that operate in your industry. They can assist in advertising and marketing your event in their circles, facilitate sessions together, and sponsor.
Tip: First, seek out affiliates that have the same client base as you but do not offer services or products that are similar to what you offer. Anything from co-branded promotional offers to combined content production, or even social media promotions can work for the advantage of all the entities.
8. Engage with Content Marketing
Being informative, content marketing is one of the most effective ways to create interest in your conference. Write blog posts, white papers or case studies thus going deeper into the areas of discourse that would be touched on at the event. Besides, it creates bragging rights to your event as it is hosted by a thought leader in the space and draws the audience who seeks to know more.
Tip: Maximize each of your content elements for SEO optimization with an aim of driving organic traffic. Search for and include specific words within your articles that best relate to your conference topics so as to increase your search engine visibility.
9. Create a Compelling Event Website
Your conference website is one of the major touch points where the attendees engage with, usually for the first time. Always make it bright and sounding, intersperse and merged full of all the information that you want your audience to get. Make it contain information about the agenda, speakers, different possibilities to register, and accommodation.
Tip: Adding success stories and stories from previous events, plus the use of a timer to make the offer more enticing. The issue of interaction design of the website for the desktop version and for the mobile version is also important for gathering the audience’s attention.
10. Leverage Paid Advertising
Although using unpaid methods is crucial, going for paid means would be of assistance to reach far a comparatively larger group of users. There are other services like Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram which have some advertising features that will help you promote your event to the desired audience depending on their interest, company, and location.
Tip: You should also start with the least amount of money you want to spend and tinker with the creative and targeting options available. In case there are visitors who have accessed your event website and did not register, consider using the retargeting campaigns.
Conclusion
Thus, marketing conferences involve the application of certain creativity, feasibility analysis, and marketing implementation. Therefore, it is crucial to implement these ten marketing ideas for you to have a detailed approach toward registrations, as well as for your audience to cultivate a relationship with your business. Do not forget that you need to always assess how effective your marketing strategies are and modify them if they are not going to help you deliver the needed outcome for your event.