Event Marketing

A press release is a preferred way to get free advertising. Newspapers and trade magazines try to provide current information on events so if they have room they will include you.

This often happens close to publication deadlines, so that's a good time to check with them to see if space is available. Any means of disseminating your event information is a marketing tool. Distribution of your press release is accomplished easily through sites like PRWeb.com.

Networking with personal contacts and exchanging business cards and flyers can be powerful marketing tools. Trade Ezines and magazines which also provide their publications online are also good approaches to attract quality prospects to your event.

Marketing Software should be highly automated, gathering information connecting sales and finance. It needs to delivery concise data containing best performance information in order to forecast accurately, track results, and manage your overall campaign.

It should also serve as a single source for inbound/outbound communications for hands on control, before, during and after your event.

Because the planning of events involves dealing with every segment of industry, you need to be able to compile the various data into a useful report to optimize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. This will result in a better experience for your participants.

Following up with your attendants after the event is yet another important marketing strategy.

Whether your direct marketing is online or offline, it needs to strongly convey a strategic message.

Some examples of direct marketing include gift cards, post cards, door hangers, emails and banner ads. If your customers are seeking convenience, play up the convenience factor with phrases like "hassle free" and "user friendly".

Defining your type of attendee is a key element to direct mail marketing. When your type of attendee is identified, you can approach "lead" companies who supply lists in the form of adhesive labels or can even handle the mailing.

They also provide CD's containing not only postal information but phone, website, and email information as well. Then all you have to do is send your marketing material which includes a response form, sending the potential attendee to a specific web page or other method to track response rates, so you can track performance and create strategies for your direct mail campaign.

Be careful how you lay out the rules. The Federal Trade Commission states "when a free offer is tied to the purchase of another product, the price of the purchased product should not be increased from its regular price."

When you invite people online, or through marketing material to interact with your site, you'll not only know they visited, but for how long as well. Not only that, but you will have actual demographics of the people interested in your event.

Give people an incentive to talk about your event to their friends. Your promotion can be set up to reward registrants for inviting their friends and having them register as well.

Pay attention to how long people spend with your offer and the kinds of people your site attracts. Contests draw new clients like a magnet and create product and brand awareness.

Give away awards and trophies or promotional products with your logo to create a lasting impression and keep your event or company in front of the attendees long after the event is over.

Alternative strategies include collecting names and addresses for leads and discounting items to create a "loss leader" in order to accumulate a larger customer base.

According to research, 76 percent of event participants come with a particular agenda. You need to determine how spend your budgeting dollars in order to create a program that will make a lasting impression.

To help you determine who your target attendee is, think of who you would want to walk into your office and do business with you. That's who you need to reach.

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As internet usage becomes more and more common among the masses, more and more blogs, virtual communities, and content sharing sites are going up. These are quickly becoming the very tools that boost traffic and drive conversions to sales or other desired actions.

Marketing your event on social networks is a very effective way to get people involved, not only as attendees but in helping you spread the word in a viral way.

Social marketing as a whole has become the tool for conversion optimization. Supplying people with the information they are seeking from a personal contact or through relationships, with a link where they can purchase it, produces more qualified traffic and in turn, better conversion rates. People are more apt to 'buy' when the recommendation is coming from a friend, etc.

The stickiness of your blog page or website is an important factor in improving conversion rates. This can be achieved by offering desirable return policies and multiple payment options as well as welcoming feedback.

Blogging is a very effective method for event marketing, because it is a platform that allows for instant updates, comments and feedback, and quick indexing by search engines due to the timeliness and relevance of the content that Google loves.

Event Sponsorship can come in many forms, including donations of money, goods and services, or even ticket reservations to increase attendance.

There are many creative arrangements that can benefit both your sponsors and your event, such as co-producing marketing materials and commercial ads which display both of your logos.

Buy one, get one free. Whatever you produce, whether it's a brochure or a postcard, it should be duplicated online on your website and in your email campaign.

When you have figured out who you're trying to reach, you can then look for creative ways to promote your event and how it can benefit your prospective attendees.

A recent technological development allows streaming voice messages in mp3 format directly to your cell phone or computer via email or text messaging.

Whatever you do, be sure and double-check your invitation or other promotional material to be sure that it is perfectly accurate before releasing it. Failure to do so can be both time consuming and expensive.

The easiest way to help customers become more involved in your business is to treat them as equal partners. The bottom line is, every company's success depends on how well it serves, supports, and interacts with its customers. Every customer's experience must be weighed on the scale of success or failure.

Event marketing is no different - give them what they want, and service them during and after the event to insure success.