Virtual events are the new reality as we continue dealing with COVID-19. Many event organizers have been forced to postpone, cancel or take their events online. Virtual tools have made it possible for companies and attendees to connect, share ideas and create meaningful experiences with the convenience of internet connectivity and a computer or mobile screen.
If you are experimenting with virtual events and you want to learn how to get word out about your event, you are reading the right article. Here are 5 ways to market and get attendees registering for your next virtual meeting.
Come up with a great event concept.
Before organizing any event, be it virtual or a physical, there’s a need to have a goal. One way to quickly come up with an event concept is by asking yourself the three W’s.
- Who do you want to attend the event?
- Why would they attend your event?
- What is the event about?
Answering these questions will help you plan for the event and also come up with better marketing strategies that can captivate potential attendees. Let’s face it, not everyone is willing to give up their time for a webinar or video conference unless there’s something in it for them. Tailoring your marketing content by creating value to a specific target audience can guarantee you new registrations fast.
Leverage on speakers.
Your speakers play a huge role in getting people to attend your event. Great speakers automatically draw numbers to any event. Plus they possible have huge followings that want to listen to the content that they have to offer. There are several ways speakers can do the heavy lifting in promoting your event. This could be by
- Including them in all your marketing material
- Asking them to share with their followers that they will be speaking at your event and,
- Create an event website with speaker profile and give short descriptions about them
Use mail marketing
After working with your creative team to generate amazing graphics and content about your event, why not leverage this artistry on your email to get content out. There’s a lot of benefits you can get from using a mailing list and here’s is our top three reasons why you should try it:
- Measurable – Get statistics from your mail marketing campaigns by monitoring the click-through and responses.
- Actionable – Optimize call-to-action button to compel your attendees to register for your event.
- Personalized – Statistics by Campaign Monitor, personalized email messages improve click-through rates by 14% and conversions by 10%.
Leverage social media platforms
According to Statista.com, nearly 50% of the world’s population uses social media. That’s the number of people waiting to connect with you on social platforms.
- Facebook enables you to create an event page that is shareable which can drive registration
- Twitter makes your event discoverable your event through hashtags and short tweets
- LinkedIn helps promote your event among like-minded people in your industry
Get creative with content
Content is king when it comes to getting word out about your event. In addition, content helps build engagement and create a sense of community with your audience. When it comes to content creation, there’s no one way of going about it:
- Build hype about your event through videos from past events, or what the attendees can expect from the event.
- Create blogs or newsletters with brief descriptions about your brand and event.
- Share short videos about event partners like sponsors, speakers and exhibitors
- Create podcasts sharing information about the event.
Remember the key to successful engagement is consistency, providing value and building a community.
