- « Previous blog
-
Grow My Business
-
September 21, 2020
-
September 23, 2020
-
331
-
0
- Next blog »
The aftermath of the coronavirus breakout has placed an increased emphasis on marketing online events. Businesses around the globe have begun hosting virtual events. Now, more than ever, it has become critical to market events digitally.
Marketing online events require just as much attention to detail as live events hosted at a physical location. However, there are a few event marketing basics that need to be adjusted to suit the virtual reality of your global audience.
Here are 2020’s top online event marketing tips:
Use the latest SEO-friendly Keywords
The online world is a global marketplace where millions of people are trying to promote their goods and services around the clock. If you want to market events digitally, you need to stand out by including a selected group of keywords in your event marketing material.
TheGoogle Ads keyword planner can help you find highly targeted keywords to incorporate in your event marketing strategy. Whenever someone searches for an event similar to yours, Google can direct them to your event website.
Please be careful not to overuse keywords!
Search engine algorithms are constantly improving to provide increased value to users when they search for something. For marketing online events, it is recommended that you only select the most relevant keywords to include your event’s promotional copy.
According to an article published by eMarketer, 51% of US adults are making use of social media at higher rates during the pandemic. If you want to market events online, you need to incorporate social media marketing to connect with your audience.
Social media event marketing basics involve answering two questions:
- What to post?
- Where to post it?
Share a few details about the exciting things that will happen during your online event. You could reveal the speaker lineup, event agenda, or special guest. The purpose is to market events digitally to create a buzz and build anticipation!
Your social media event marketing strategy could be used for making important announcements, doing giveaways, and offering early bird discounts to potential event attendees.
Take advantage of Email marketing
Did you know? According to Oberlo email marketing statistics, 9 out of every 10 marketers use email marketing to distribute content. That is because email marketing is a simple, budget-friendly, and timeless tool you can use to market events digitally.
Traditional as it is, email marketing is widely practiced today because marketers know that it works. According to DMA (2019), for every $1 you spend on email marketing, the return on investment is $42.
When marketing online events through email, you will want to pay attention to the following:
- Title. Use concise and compact titles. Long, wordy, and dull email titles are unlikely to be opened by recipients. Your title needs to be short and sweet.
- Email types. Note that ‘welcome emails have a much higher rate of being opened by users. Build an email campaign strategy around different types of emails.
- Personalization.Emails that are customized to the specific user that they are being sent to have a better chance of communicating information with recipients.
With several online events taking place simultaneously, your event email needs to stand out in your audience’s email inbox. Build a creative theme, use an attention-grabbing header, and include a sneak peek video to market events digitally via email.
Ask sponsors and guest speakers to spread the word
To Marketing Online Events, you need to tap into a variety of niche audiences. If you have sponsors for your virtual event, you can request them to promote your event using their contacts. Doing so works in the best interest of both parties.
If you have guest speakers attending your virtual event, then you can ask them to notify their followers about when they will be attending your event. Marketing online events are all about spreading awareness and generating exposure.
As part of your event marketing strategy, you need to get people to begin using your event’s hashtag, share your event’s promotional material, and invite their friends and family members to join in!
Build an event website
According to an article by Event Manager Blog, 60% of event planners listed having an event website as the most effective tool for marketing online events, whereas 26% listed having a registration site to be the most important aspect of Marketing Online Events.
Social media is not the only means of connecting with your audience. A professional event website gives potential attendees the impression that you care about the experience your event offers, even before it happens!
Building an event website offers you the flexibility of:
- Letting interested users buy tickets online
- Making all important announcements in one place
- Linking all your social media, sponsors, and guests
One of our most effective online event marketing tips is to use your event website to keep reminding potential attendees to buy tickets up until the last minute. According to an article by Eventbrite Blog, 14% of event tickets are sold in the 24 hours before the event!
Conclusion
Marketing events online makes use of the same principles and event marketing basics as those for real-life events hosted in a physical location, except with slight digital adjustments.
Track the results of your event marketing strategy and promotional tactics to discover what works best and what works least. Doing so will let you formulate an even stronger strategy for events in the future!
Marketing Online Events is about experimenting with different methods to see which clicks best with your audience.