Marketing professional events can be tough, particularly if your brand or organization is new to orchestrating conferences. We’ve put together a list of eight great ideas that can help your brand stand out. Every idea won’t work for every event, but these are a great place to start thinking outside of the box and finding inspiration!
1. If your event needs some traction, consider posting about your conference on websites geared towards your specific audience or industry. This works particularly well if your conference isn’t invitation only or if your event’s topic is unusual.
2. For events that are open to the public, consider social media advertising . Setting up an ad through your brand’s Facebook, LinkedIn, or other profile linking to an RSVP landing page is a great way to both find a larger audience and learn more about the people who are interested in your topic or brand.
3. Audiences enjoy the chance to interact with brands, products, and industry leaders. Use this to your advantage. Conferences focused on selling a product or service are great opportunities to position your event as a chance to engage in a conversation or interaction rather than listen to a sales pitch.
4. Are there similar events happening in your area? If so, don’t be discouraged, embrace them as an opportunity to network with people who would probably be interested in your event, too!
5. Take a look at your event’s email list, and consider breaking it out into several segments like “people who have attended a previous event,” “people who haven’t attended at all,” and “people who have attended several events.” Use this to consider what each group needs to convince them to sign on for your next conference and send them more focused emails . Just make sure you have their permission to send them marketing emails first.
6. Events that have lots of great things to see often aren’t done justice by pictures alone. At your next event, take lots of high-quality video footage. You can share this with guests in a recap email, put it on your website, share it on social media, or use it in promotional material for your next conference.
7. During your event, encourage attendees to share photos, video, and social media posts as much as possible with a specific hashtag or set of hashtags. This can help your brand gain new followers and remind existing fans why they love your services or products .
8. Consider positioning your event as an opportunity to learn from thought leadership. Inviting an industry leader to speak is a great way to further interest your existing audience in your conference as well as attract followers of the speaker.
If you need more help planning your next conference or finding ways to grow your guest list, give us a call today! Our team of dedicated planners is ready to help you build your ideal event.