Event Planning - Event Marketing (Part IX)

Promotion of the event during the event

Throughout the event, there are numerous chances for you to generate excitement and interest. Your marketing responsibilities continue even after the event has begun.

Ensure to post live updates on social media during the event. Encourage both attendees and participants to use the event's hashtag. Consider organizing a social media contest, such as sharing post-event photos for a vote on Twitter or in your Facebook group. This strategy will encourage increased event sharing and promotion among participants' followers, potentially attracting interest in your future events.

Another option is to actively listen for noteworthy quotes that arise during the event and share them on social media in real-time. For instance, if a participant shares something intriguing, consider posting it online and mentioning them in the post. This gesture could prompt them to repost, comment, and value the additional exposure you provide.

Additionally, capture moments from the occasion and post them on social media in real-time, tagging the participants and utilizing the event hashtag. By featuring attendees in the images, there is a chance they will share the posts, thereby expanding your audience reach.

Social media contests

As mentioned in a previous blog, organizing a contest or raffle at the event is an effective way to showcase a sponsor by offering one of their products while also gathering email addresses from attendees. Additionally, conducting online contests on social media platforms can yield similar outcomes to traditional contests and provide extra promotion.

Some examples of online raffles or contests are:

• Best photo posted with your event hashtag

• Choose a random winner from all the people who use your hashtag on social media

• Have quizzes or trivia that people can answer for a prize

When the prize is a digital item, it can be duplicated at no cost, allowing you to distribute numerous copies for various purposes. Hosting these small contests will enhance the attendees' sense of importance and boost your social media exposure.

Event video, live-streaming, and YouTube promotion

Another effective and clever method to publicize events is by capturing your events (if feasible) and sharing or streaming those videos on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

You can easily have consistent new content on YouTube with just a little extra effort, which will help drive traffic and promote awareness of your events through that popular platform.

Live streaming can be more captivating than pre-recorded videos, and platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram facilitate the discovery of live streams by new audiences.

After the livestream on YouTube concludes, it will be saved as a regular pre-recorded video. One benefit of posting pre-recorded videos on YouTube is that unlike on other social media platforms, where older content may go unnoticed, YouTube videos have the potential to continue receiving views over the long term, even years after their initial posting, provided the content remains relevant and is effectively promoted on the platform.

Consider YouTube as a search engine. If you host a business workshop on creating mobile apps and your video from the event is titled "How to Create Mobile Apps," there is a possibility that the video will appear in YouTube search results for "how to create mobile apps."

While this is a simplified explanation, being discovered by new people through YouTube search is a great additional marketing strategy whereas Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not platforms where search is used as much.

Genadinik, Alex, Event (2014) Planning: Management & Marketing For Successful Events, Kindle, ISBN: 1519178204, 

HYBRID PRO 20FT MODULAR BACKWALL KIT 25

Buy Now