101 event marketing tips to make your next event a success

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101 event marketingtips and tools

Identify your event objectives and the ‘why’ behind your event. I.e. why are you holding this event and what is the ultimate goal? For example: to connect your customers, inspire your staff, launch a product or increase sales?

#2 Once your objectives are identified you need to determine how they will be measured.

ResearchInternally – has your company held an event like this in the past? What worked / what didn’t. Externally – what are your competitors doing?

#4 Develop a detailed project plan that clearly identifies key milestones, the steps required to achieve those milestones and an allocated time frame.

For more complex events with multiple stakeholders, use a project management software.

Forum Group Events uses TeamworkPM but there are countless options that will keep you organised, aware of deadlines, and keep your project on track.

Learn to delegateGet some help-there is no I in team for a reason! Events are never the result of one person’s effort’s alone. Ensure you have a great support team to assist you and your event will be better off for it.

Have regular WIP (Work In Progress) meetings with all participating parties including clients, suppliers and your events team.

#8 Create a budget and be sure to include a 10% contingency. Unexpected costs are guaranteed to arise!

Be realistic about your capabilities. It’s better to under promise and over deliver.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Before a conversation with a vendor or supplier, make a list of everything you need from them, determine your budget and then give them a number that is 5 – 10% lower.

Develop a sponsorship prospectus and recruit sponsors who can add value to your event either through cash or in-kind sponsorship.

#12 Utilise your existing resources. What can be managed in house?

#13 Call in the professionals where needed. Use trusted suppliers for key areas of the event that you know will do the job right. Even if they are more expensive – you are paying for quality.

#14 Always be one step ahead in your planning. What are the things your client, suppliers, or delegates are going to be thinking / asking you when you tell them X? Have an answer or solution prepared...think of all possible outcomes.

When looking at your venue location, always consider parking /

transport – how will your guests get to the event? This is an important

factor. If it’s too hard, people won’t attend.

#16Wherever possible, complete a site inspection. It’s important that you see a space for yourself to ensure it is suitable and meets your requirements.

#17 Create 3D artist impressions or renders. This is the best way to visualise your event and will become a useful resource for briefing others involved in the event.

When contracting minimum numbers with venues, always give a lower number so you’re not stuck paying for extra seats should you not reach your target attendance number.

Choosing an appropriate date. These may be fixed beyond your control but if you do have a choice it will help obtain the best attendance/response from your target audience. Check whether your event will clash with other events competing for your audience’s attention as well as public holidays.

For free corporate events such as educational seminars it’s best to hold the event either first thing in the morning or after work – i.e. it’s hard for delegates to get away from the office in the middle of the day.

Incorporate a point of difference. Try to offer something the attendees are unlikely to have encountered before in the entertainment, theming, food, etc. so that you can create a talking point that will leave a lasting impact. The ‘WOW’ moment.

#22Walk through the whole event from start to finish as if

you were attending the

event. Make sure you are creating

the best experience

possible. Ask yourself, how easy is the registration

process? Is the program allow for sufficient breaks?

Is there enough catering? Create

an event that you would want to

attend.

Event Marketing and Promotion

Market towards the right people - identify your key demographics and target them through the appropriate mediums. For example younger generations respond to social media invites through facebook, however business professionals are more likely to engage through linked in and / or email marketing.

Use more than one method for marketing your event to gain maximum exposure. E.g. email marketing, telemarketing, social media and / or press releases.

#25Make sure that your branding is

consistent across all event communications and that you are

adhering to your company branding guidelines.

#26 Develop a detailed marketing plan with a timeline for communications.

Send your invite out at least 6 weeks prior to ensure optimum response rate.

#28 Ensure that all pre-event communications include a call to action.

Regardless of how big or small your event may be, create an event website.

This can be through Eventbrite (for the smaller ones) or Etouches (for larger events). In today’s world everyone seeks more information online, so it only makes sense to offer an event website (or at the very least a page with the event details on your website).

#30Further to the above point, make your website responsive - i.e. adapts to users on a mobile device such as tablets or mobile phones.

To capture registrations, use an online registration site such as etouches.

You can completely customise your registration process & questions, provide automated confirmations as well as web-based real time reporting.

#32Let your audience

do your marketing for you by incentivising the process so that they are encouraged to bring more people along to the event. For example, tell a friend offers for 20% work really well.

#33 Offer an early bird registration rate.

Combine a catchy teaser with a QR code to the event website if you are marketing your event to the public.

Use tools such a Hootsuite to manage your social media posts all in the one platform.

Make use of Social Media advertising, such as linkedin and facebook ads. For a small cost, there is opportunity for mass exposure.

Create a twitter hashtag and include it in all pre-event communications. Build hype in the lead up to the event.

Telemarketing for the event both pre and post is a great tool to gather feedback and understand exactly what your customers are looking for.

Promote your event on related blogs, forums or event listing sites targeted at your demographic.

Track the statistics from your marketing communications. The size of your database, what percentage are opening it and how many are registering. By knowing how many people are opening the emails or unsubscribing, and comparing with statistics from social media, you should gain a good understanding of what is working, what to do more of, what to do less of.

#41 Have a dedicated email address or phone number for any event enquiries in the lead up to the event.

#42 Send a final confirmation email a day or two prior with all of the event details – timings, venue, dress code, parking information, etc.

Send a reminder SMS the day prior with event details like location and start time. It makes it easy for the attendees to find the venue without having to search for the email confirmation to find the address.

Be prepared! Failing to plan means planning to fail.

#45 Regularly refer to and make updates to your project plan.

#46 Re-visit your budget weekly to ensure that costs are within the allocated amounts at all times.

Create briefs for all suppliers involved with an event and be very specific. Don’t leave anything open to interpretation or allow for any oversight. Make sure you schedule a final briefing meeting as well to talk through the brief. Either face to face or over the phone.

#48Have contingency plans in place. E.g. wet weather contingency. Speak to your suppliers about what they suggest.

Ensure that you have all the necessary paperwork from your suppliers including public liability

and work cover.

Make sure that all agreements and conversations are documented in writing or via email, in case any discrepancies arise.

Make sure you have all the required permits. E.g. lottery permits for competitions.

Always consider your demographic when booking speakers and or entertainers. Be conscious of cultural sensitivities. You don’t want to offend anyone or make them uncomfortable.

#53 Consider factors such as disability access, translators or any other services that may be required for attendees.

#54Have a clear agenda for the

event. Have this on the event website and have print-outs available including maps for customers upon registration. Make it clear exactly what is happening when and where.

Ensure that sufficient time for breaks / walking between sessions has been allocated.

Incorporate the use of a mobile app to share event information

and engage with attendees.

Theme it up.

Theming isn’t

applicable

for every kind

of event

#58 but for the events it does apply to, it sure makes them more fun. Select a theme that fits your participants and the purpose of your event.

#57 but for the events it does apply to, it sure makes them more fun. Select a theme that fits your participants and the purpose of your event.

Play good music. Good music is different for everyone though so if you will be playing music, make sure it resonates with target audience, and is at an appropriate decibel level.

Hire a good photographer and videographer; they provide countless opportunities to extend the life of the event too.

Incorporate the use of event apps. iSurvey (good for feedback forms), iLead (lead capturing) and iBanquet (table seating allocations) are a few examples of apps that are useful for event planners.

If there’s a networking component to the event, another great app is CardMunch.

CardMunch enables you take a photo of any business card and then finds the person on LinkedIn for you so that you can send them a request straight away.

Always ask about attendee’s dietary

restrictions if there will be food served. There’s

nothing worse than going to an event and not being

able to eat anything.

#63 Always have coffee, tea and water available to delegates.

Have room temperature or lukewarm water for

speakers. Cold water is not as good for the vocal

chords.

Test microphones beforehand during sound check. There’s nothing worse than listening to the loud screech of microphone feedback during an event.

#66 If learning is a component, share knowledge through different mediums to cater for different learning styles. E.g. visual, audio or kinaesthetic. Graphic artist drawings of the sessions projected on screen are a great way for visual learners to recall information.

#67 Ensure you provide a thorough briefing to all staff onsite. They are the ones who will be connecting most with your attendees - they need to know everything about the event - where are the toilets, what time is the session, the names of the rooms, who is speaking during this session, when will the event finish. Let them impress attendees with their knowledge!

Include images of the

staff/speakers. People like to see pictures of other people. They like to know who they are dealing with and who they will be listening to. Include headshots where appropriate.

Understand the flow of people through a room. If you are unsure how the layout of the event will work, do a run through yourself by pretending you are a customer. If you cannot see something properly - move it. If something is not set up correctly - fix it. You need to see the event through the customers eyes.

#70If you have a small budget for entertainment, reach out to local dance schools.

Make the most of your AV. Never underestimate the effect that lighting and projections can have on theming a room.

Schedule a rehearsal with speakers prior to the event to run through their requirements and check their presentation.

Develop a delivery schedule.

List all items that are being sent to the venue and tick these off as they arrive. Have return delivery labels handy so they can easily be couriered back to the office at the end of the event.

Be creative with the way you serve your catering through unique catering stations & unconventional serving platters – tie it into the theme of the event. E.g. if your client is related to a particular product, use that product to serve the food.

#75Contrast – mix contrasting elements for a striking look with your theming. Old building? Add in elements of crystal and modern glamour. Steel city building? Add in organic, natural elements of grass and fresh flowers.

Book your accommodation room blocks and flights / travel arrangements well in advance to get the best rates possible.

Read the fine

print! Always check your contracts including

cancellations clauses.

#78 Make use of work experience students or volunteers for

cost effective onsite assistance. However make sure that these people have basic roles such as greeting people, directing people. Nothing with too much responsibility.

Create a detailed cue sheet for the audio visual /

production side of the event. Make it very clear what is

happening at all times with the lights, music, stage wash,

etc. Have a production meeting before hand and a rehearsal to ensure the av crew know exactly what is

happening. The more detailed, more prepared you are. The more seamless the production will be and less

work for you onsite.

Reserve the back rows of a room to encourage attendees to fill the front seats

first.

#81Always make sure there is enough food! There is nothing worse than hungry guests. It will be the thing they remember long afterward.

As you think about hiring your entertainment talent, find out where and for whom they’ve previously performed. Make certain that you view a demo video or check their references with a couple of phone calls.

Save the phone numbers of key staff and suppliers in your contacts on your mobile phone so you can quickly call people if needed onsite (rather than having to search through emails or documents to find their contact details).

#84If budget permits, hire walkie talkie headsets so that you can communicate with key staff onsite (it saves you from running around to multiple places throughoutthe day).

#85Prepare a detailed run sheet for onsite that outlines exactly what is happening, when, where and at what time.

Make sure that you give yourself enough time for bump in. Liaise with suppliers to find out how much set up time they need.

#87Prepare a well-stocked

event kit containing every item you might

possibly need, such as tape, stapler, extra nametags, scissors,

pens and pencils, first-aid kit, camera and batteries. Create a

checklist incorporating these items.

Put a smile on, while keeping a positive and cheerful character. Attendees can tell if you look stressed so make sure you maintain your smile at all times and keep calm, cool, and collected no matter what happens. Always remember that managing an event is all about interacting with people to deliver the best results.

Provide delegates with a freebie or giveaway that will be of use post event and will have them be reminded of your brand for a long time to come. This could be abackpack for example. Use subtle branding (consider having your logo in the lining of the bag as opposed to on the outside) and don’t include any dates – youwant delegates to actually use the item again in the future.

#90Send follow up emails. Thank your customers for attending the event and include some points as to where they can go for more information. Where possible send personal follow-up emails.

#91 Ask attendees to complete a post event survey with a prize incentive.

If an objective of your event was to increase sales, make sure

that any attendee leads are forwarded to the sales team in order for them to follow up and

close the deal.

Continue engaging with attendees post event via social media. A great way to do this is to post the event photos online and enable delegates to tag themselves and share with their social networks.

Turn the recorded content from your event sessions into formatted videos that can be used

as a resource post event – for example to train

staff or share with customers who couldn’t

attend the event.

Hold a sub event on the backend using the left over collateral and content. For example, if you have a major conference in Sydney or Melbourne you may then hold a mini conference or road show in rural areas.

Hold a post event webinar or multiple

webinars utilising the content from

your event.

Offer a hybrid event – expand the reach of your event by engaging delegates who may

not have been able to physically attend the event and share resources post event.

Live stream sessions that can be re-played and shared post event.

#99 Write a case study or post event press release and submit to trade publications.

Take time to evaluate the event with all participating parties and create a detailed

debrief document which you can refer to in the future.

#101 Celebrate the success of your event and thank all involved.

101 event marketing tips to make your next event a success

Marketing

Transcript of 101 event marketing tips to make your next event a success

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