You’ve put in the work. Set the date. The venue is booked. All the details are polished. Now you’re left with the last bit of work – market your event. A little worried? We’ve got you covered.

We have listed eight of the most effective ways to market your event so you can easily encourage people to show up and fill up the venue with the buzz and chatter – leaving a great impression on your guests and making it an ultimately successful one.

1. Optimize your Event Page or Website

The basic and yet the most powerful tool to help you promote any event lies in your event page or website. Whether it’s a page hosted on your website or listed on a different platform, a compelling and well-optimized website will immediately grab the attention of page visitors, converting them into guests.

A well-optimized event page or website should include the full and necessary details of your event. Write a compelling event description on why guests should attend alongside event photos and videos, speakers’ bios, a registration button, and a payment link for tickets.

Use usability testing to know whether the design of your page is relevant enough to users to make them engage with you. Leverage analytics to help you decide whether your event page is effective and analyze how many of your page visitors might turn into attendees.

2. Leverage the Power of Social Media

An event is a social occasion, so why not use social media platforms to help you generate the buzz you want?

With their massive user outreach, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn can benefit event promotion.

You can try doing the following on social media:

• Include the event page on your social media bios to send visitors straight to your event site.
• Creating a short, catchy, and unique event hashtag to use on all your social media posts would prove valuable. It allows users to find content related to your event easily. You can use this hashtag for pre-event promotions such as contests or promotions, real-time event posts, as well as post-event roundups. The use of hashtags will also allow for user-generated content from your guests. What a great PR move, right?
• Join different groups on Facebook and LinkedIn to promote your event. There are tons of groups on these platforms, but make sure you find the relevant ones to attract the right audience.
• Generate compelling social media content. Dynamic and exciting content apt for different platforms will help you reach the right people. Depending on the nature of the event you’re hosting, play around with it to help you create the content needed to boost your event.
• Lastly, don’t forget to post updates. Let users know how and where to register, when the registration ends, how much the tickets are, etc., right on their social media accounts.

3. Use QR Codes

Quick Response (QR) codes have been around for some time now and are famous for their ease of convenience. And since most smartphones have built-in QR code readers, you can utilize this technology for some incredible and fun event promotion stunts.

You can include QR codes in all the promotional items you print, like traditional billboards or digital banners. Allowing users to quickly get the details of your event by just a simple scan.

4. Hand Out Branded Merchandise

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Hand out exclusive, branded merch to help promote your upcoming event. These can include branded caps, tote bags, pens, or even digital kits like cable organizers.

If you are promoting a regular event, hand out the merchandise after every event to help guests remember to sign up for the next ones.

5. Create Dynamic and Exciting Content

Pull in attendees by generating photo and video content relevant to the people you want to attract.

Try creating infographics to help people understand the value of your event and why they should attend.

Video forms of content work well when done right. They have the potential to go viral hence it’s vital to create videos that work to your advantage. You can try creating short and subtle videos to pique the interest of users in your event. And then create a long-form one to explain why this event will be beneficial to them.

You can also share photos or videos that include previous event highlights, trivia related to your event, or even feedback quotes from previous attendees. Just make sure your content uses the same branding to ensure consistency and is all visually attractive so you can take your event to the spotlight it deserves.

6. Put up Banners and Print Outs

As much as digital promotion works, the traditional form still holds power. There is nothing like putting up a printed banner and handing people printouts in high-traffic areas to generate the buzz needed for an upcoming event.

Banners and leaflets are robust and are highly effective, especially when promoting a local event if the venue allows a banner to be displayed, put up one leading up to the event.

7. Utilize Influencer Marketing

A truly effective marketing tactic, influencer marketing should be on your event promotion to-do list. A study suggests that it provides 11x higher ROI than usual banner ads.

Strong partnerships with the right people who have loyal followers can put your event in front of a massive audience. More people seeing your event, more attendees are most likely to sign up.

Collaborate with a relevant influencer, like an industry expert or an advocate identifying with your brand.

8. Use Email Marketing Tactics

Email marketing is an effective digital channel to use when you want to directly reach people and a great way to market your event.

The power of a great mailing list plus promotion can never go wrong. Here are a few ideas to help you:

• Special group rate for people signing up together
• Announcement when special tickets go on sale (early bird, last chance, etc.)
• Exclusive previews of event speakers and activities

Event promotion can be a little daunting if you don’t know where to start. But with the help of these eight proven and effective techniques, you are sure to get on the right track to market your event. Start promoting your event and get ready to fill in those seats in no time!