7 Important Tips For Event Marketing Plan

Which steps do you usually take when you decide to do an activity? We can say that everyone is aware that we have to be subject to a plan at first. How far can an event go without a plan and how well can it produce results? No matter how magnificent the visuals may look at your event, which you have spent a long time and effort, any event without a specific plan and schedule is doomed to fail. A lot of things can go wrong at this stage and rest assured they will. You may face many foreseen or unforeseen problems. For example, your exhibitors may not be able to design the booths on time, the speakers may suddenly disappear, and the booth representatives may not be managing their booths well. That's why event planners always use an event management plan and agenda. A small part of that flow is the event marketing plan because if people don't come, how will they do what you want them to do? How will your event continue successfully without participants? Here are some important tips for developing a perfect event marketing plan:

1. Define the Goal for Your Event.

The first thing you need to do is to determine why you are organizing the event. There are some questions you need to ask yourself. Do you want to connect buyers and participants? Do you want to generate sales for them? Or do you just want to train attendees and help them connect with others in the industries?

Determining your event goals and key measures will help you scale your marketing efforts. If you want to increase your sales, consider what level of sales will be a success for you. Then calculate how many participants you will need to get those sales. All of these steps are important tips to help you get started in the right place. Also, don't forget to ask yourself these questions:

• What participant needs should I target in my marketing efforts to engage the right audience?

• What kind of marketing budget do I need to set aside for my goals?

• How will I scale success?

2. Choose Your Channels.

The next step will should be where to find your target audience. Let's imagine you're organizing a job fair, the right channels to market it would be your website, social channels, and more focused channels like Google Ads as well as job listing websites. Given how quickly digital marketing is changing and evolving these days, you need to research the channels that are most relevant to your target audience. Here is a list of possible channels you can add to your event marketing plan:

• Facebook: B2C companies targeting millennials, Gen-Z, and Boomers

• Facebook Groups: Niche communities - There's a Facebook group for every interest, profession, and hobby.

• LinkedIn: Business professionals

• LinkedIn Groups: Business professionals with specific interests and niche communities

• Twitter: The public is interested in what's trending

• Instagram: millennials and Gen-Z

• Email: Your current lead list

• Google Ads: Paid search for anyone searching for your keywords

• Company blog: Organic search

• Press releases: Publications

3. Design Email Marketing Campaigns.

No matter which channels you are targeting, the persistent email should be one of them. It's also a great way to target your existing listings, as they're already interested in your brand and operations. To plan these, create an email marketing plan specific to your event. Read the items below carefully.

• Specify the number of e-mails to be sent. It will also include the number of reminders you will send.

• Choose the lists to target. Make sure you only have contacts and they choose to receive email from you.

• Determine the content of each e-mail. Include the date and time with each communication, along with a sign-up link.

• Set the time for each email sending.

• Track listings, registrations and click-through rates.

4. Design Visuals and Copy for Social Media Promotion

Perhaps we have come to one of the most important stages. There's no arguing about the power of social media and how it will help you reach people. So create marketing collateral for your social media posts. This will include both the titles of your posts and the images that accompany them. Design UTMs for each of the posts so you know which channels get the most engagement. This will also help you optimize your promotional efforts.

Don't forget to create a unique event hashtag and use it in your promotional events, including social posts. A catchy hashtag isn't just for branding, it's also an easy way to engage in social listening. Tracking your hashtag across platforms will help you see what viewers are saying before, during, and even after the event.

5. Get All Partners on Board

If you are partnering with other organizations for your event, such as attendees of a trade show, you will want to coordinate with them and collect marketing collateral. You can also ask them to promote you through their marketing channels to create a ripple effect. Speakers and attendees can give your event a rating for evaluation and inform their audience that they will be attending the event.

6. Design Marketing Collateral to Be Displayed at the Event

You will need banners and booths to be placed in various places for your virtual events. While you get some of these from your partners, you also need to promote your own brand. After all, as you know, you are the organizer. The welcome banner in the main lobby makes your brand and conference stand out. You will also need to place any logos or advertisements in the halls or booths depending on the design of your virtual space. You can also host videos and PDF resources at your event.

Assign all these resources to your graphics and marketing team. Set a deadline for your event to be delivered on time. Remember, you will need time for revisions as well.

7. Measure Success

When this whole event process is over and everything is gone, knowing what works and what doesn't will provide you with future gains. Watch the performance of each of your channels through UTM links, click-through rates. You should also see how many recordings you have received from each of your channels. Create a spreadsheet for this purpose and update it regularly until your event goes live!

An event marketing plan will help you align your marketing needs with your event needs. It will also help you strengthen your brand, make your event stand out more, and set your event up for success.

Make sure you start with well-defined goals, then choose the right channels for your marketing efforts, design all your email marketing campaigns, get your images on track, ask partners to contribute, design relevant marketing materials, and monitor their performance closely. Stay tuned to Endless Fairs' informative blog posts to learn about this and more helpful tips.