In today’s digital world, audiences are bombarded with more events and activities than ever before. Marketing an event successfully means reaching wider audiences, engaging potential attendees, and creating unforgettable experiences. At Showpass, we believe that with the right strategies, any event can become a standout success. Here are some essential marketing tips for event organizers!
When creating marketing materials, keeping your audience top of mind is always important. Just as you considered who would attend, why they'd want to come, and why the venue makes sense, similar questions should guide your marketing strategy. Who will see this content? Why would it interest them? Where do they prefer to consume content? While writing or designing, take a step back and consider how someone unfamiliar with your event would interpret the information.
Avoid making your event’s thumbnail image or title too vague. While it’s tempting to showcase beautiful artwork or a fantastic event poster, make sure it not only grabs attention but communicates something. A clear, compelling title is also key. Instead of something generic like "Freaky Friday," give it more context, like "Freaky Friday: Y2K Dance Party," so potential attendees know exactly what to expect.
1. Think like your audience—make event details easily accessible. Consider what people will ask and provide that information upfront, everything from location, to dress-code, to parking. 66% of all customers seek out answers on their own before reaching out. Imagine the time, energy, and money you’ll save by reducing these inquiries—and the frustration you’ll spare your customers in the process. Making details easily accessible reduces uncertainty and hesitation, encouraging faster conversions
2. To reduce friction in the customer journey, choose a ticketing platform with integrations tailored to your needs. If your website already attracts visitors, opt for a provider that offers a seamless, easy-to-integrate widget. This ensures customers won’t have to jump through hoops when purchasing tickets, delivering a smooth, frustration-free buying experience. On the flip side, if you’re just starting out, choosing a ticketing provider with their own event discovery platform—where your event will be listed—can give you a significant boost by exposing your event to a larger audience actively seeking things to do.
3. Whether your event is new or well-established, attracting new customers is key. The formula is simple:
more eyes on your event = more ticket sales
With Showpass' new integrations: Google Events and Google Things To Do your event can appear directly in search results, boosting exposure. This makes it easier for people searching for local events or specific experiences to discover you. With billions of daily searches on Google, your event is just a click away, streamlining their journey from discovery to purchase, and ultimately, attendance.
Digital marketing is going to be the most cost-effective and critical tool. Social media platforms are a powerhouse for event promotion. With 5.17 billion social media users worldwide, it's an opportunity you can't ignore. Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn to create engaging content that sparks interest. Share behind-the-scenes footage, teaser videos, and live updates to build excitement and anticipation. Strategically target audiences who are likely to attend your event.
Email marketing remains a highly effective way to reach potential attendees. Create a compelling newsletter campaign that includes exclusive offers, sneak peeks, and reminders leading up to the event. This is also a great way to maintain connections with prospects when your next event comes around.
Overlooking consistency and personalization. A scattershot approach with inconsistent posting can confuse or alienate your audience. Additionally, failing to personalize email campaigns can lead to a lack of engagement. Address attendees by name and customize content to their preferences and past behaviours to increase connection and response rates. A staggering 72% of consumers claim they will only engage with personalized messaging.
Use every tool at your disposal! Lots of social media platforms have event capabilities. Use countdowns, groups, and reminders to keep followers engaged and excited. You can also add links to your Showpass tickets directly in your bio or as tagged products in your Instagram posts. This feature makes it easy for potential attendees to purchase tickets or learn more about your event, streamlining the path from discovery to attendance.
High-quality images and videos can capture attention quickly. Create visually appealing promotional materials that reflect the vibe and theme of your event. These will be the most effective in conveying what your event is about.
Share the story behind your event. Whether it’s a unique theme, a renowned headliner, or a special cause, storytelling can create a personal connection with your audience.
One of the most common pitfalls in digital marketing is a lack of consistency, which can confuse your audience and weaken the overall impact of your marketing efforts. While it is important to consider the nuances of each platform and tailor your messaging to it— you should still maintain a consistent overarching theme. Jumping between different styles or tones can make your event seem disjointed and less professional. In fact, consistent branding tends to yield greater growth and up to 33% higher revenue than a brand that struggles to keep a consistent voice.
Inconsistency is especially detrimental to event marketing because attending a new event can be intimidating for potential attendees. A cohesive voice reassures them by setting clear expectations and building trust through familiarity with what your event is about.
With Showpass’ Google Analytics integration, you can easily track and measure the success of your cohesive marketing efforts across platforms. By using these real-time insights, you can refine your strategies to ensure your cohesive voice is reaching and resonating with your target audience, driving engagement and ticket sales.
Partnering with influencers who resonate with your target audience is a powerful way to amplify your event’s reach. Influencers can share your event with their followers, provide authentic endorsements, and create buzz. Their recommendations carry significant weight, 69% of consumers trust influencers, friends and family over information coming directly from a brand.
Collaborating with other brands can also enhance your event by offering sponsorship, cross-promotional opportunities, and additional resources. A brand partnership adds credibility and can open doors to new audiences who may not have been aware of your event.
Failing to research and select the right influencers. Many organizers fall into the trap of focusing solely on the number of followers, without considering whether the influencer’s audience aligns with the event’s target demographic. This can result in low engagement or mismatched promotions that feel inauthentic. Forced endorsements or overly scripted promotions can backfire, leaving your audience skeptical about the authenticity of the partnership.
Leverage micro-influencers in your event’s niche. These influencers may have smaller followings, but they often boast deeply engaged, highly loyal audiences. If you can find a micro-influencer who aligns with your event's theme and is local to your area, you’ve struck gold. Micro-influencers can help you reach the right audience at a lower cost, while delivering more authentic and organic promotions.
Showpass' tracking link capabilities, give you the tools to measure the performance of influencer campaigns. By tracking how each influencer’s promotion converts into ticket sales, you can optimize your partnerships and understand which collaborations drive the most value.
Sponsored posts can be a game-changer for boosting your event’s visibility. By investing in paid advertising, you can extend your reach far beyond your current followers and reach new, untapped markets. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer highly targeted advertising options that allow you to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviours. This ensures that your event is seen by the right audience, increasing your chances of higher ticket sales.
Failing to properly target your sponsored posts. Many organizers overlook the importance of narrowing down their audience when setting up ads. Broad targeting might seem like it would get more eyes on your event, but it often results in low engagement and wasted ad spend.
Another common pitfall is not setting a clear goal for your sponsored posts. Are you looking for ticket sales, brand awareness, or engagement? Without clear objectives, it’s difficult to measure success and optimize future campaigns.
Take your digital marketing to the next level with Showpass’ robust pixel capabilities. By using tracking pixels, you can tailor your advertising to people who’ve shown interest in your event but didn’t convert. Tracking pixels—small snippets of code or images placed on your site—track user behaviours like page visits and checkout actions, allowing you to deliver tailored ads that create urgency and encourage conversions. This helps you re-engage potential attendees with personalized messaging, resulting in higher conversion rates and maximizes the return on every advertising dollar spent. With Showpass, you can easily integrate this data into your campaigns to make your remarketing strategies more effective.
Additionally, not testing different ad creatives and formats can result in missed opportunities to improve your ad performance. Experiment with different formats and continuously refine your strategy. This can get especially interesting when you set up retargeting campaigns to reach users who have previously interacted with your event pages or website but didn’t complete a purchase. These ads serve as gentle reminders and can significantly boost conversion rates. Sometimes, even a slight variation in your ad can do the trick.
Even if you’re not selling tickets directly on your website, every touchpoint is an opportunity to reach customers, so a website can be vital to your event’s success. Using relevant keywords, compelling meta descriptions, and high-quality content can improve your site’s visibility on Google. Ensure that your site is easy to navigate and includes all the important event details—such as location, date, time, and ticket prices—so attendees can easily find the information they need.
One major oversight is not optimizing the website for mobile users. With mobile devices accounting for 61.95% of all website traffic, a website that doesn’t load properly or is difficult to navigate on mobile can cause potential attendees to drop off. Another frequent mistake is using overly complex navigation or burying important details like ticket prices or event dates deep within the site, making it hard for users to find the information they’re looking for quickly.
While optimizing your website is key, don’t forget about reaching your audience directly. Utilize Showpass’ SMS functionality to retarget your previous audience effectively. Send updates, exclusive offers, or reminders about upcoming events directly to their phones. Coupled with our robust email functionality, you can engage attendees with tailored messages that keep them excited and encourage them to participate in future events. By leveraging these tools, you can build stronger relationships with your audience and boost event attendance.
Engaging with your community is essential for building excitement and a loyal following around your event. Create interactive content such as polls, contests, and Q&A sessions to involve your audience actively. This not only boosts engagement but also fosters a sense of belonging among attendees. Additionally, encourage participants to leave reviews and feedback after the event. Positive testimonials can serve as powerful endorsements, influencing future attendees' decisions.
One common mistake is neglecting to follow up with your audience after the event. Failing to maintain communication can result in missed opportunities to nurture relationships and gather valuable feedback. It’s crucial to keep the conversation going by thanking attendees for their participation and inviting them to share their experiences.
Showpass makes it easy to engage with attendees post-event by enabling automatic thank you emails. These emails show appreciation to your guests while also gathering reviews and ratings. Once enabled, thank you emails are sent after an event concludes, offering attendees the chance to leave a review or share their experience. You can customize the message and include information about upcoming events. These emails are a great way to build stronger relationships, get valuable insights, and improve future events.
Utilizing data and analytics is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. By tracking performance metrics, you can gain valuable insights into what strategies resonate with your audience and what may need improvement. This data allows you to refine your approaches and make informed decisions moving forward.
Additionally, seeking audience insights is essential. Understanding your attendees' preferences and behaviours enables you to tailor your marketing efforts more effectively. Use this information to personalize your communication and offers, enhancing the overall attendee experience.
A common mistake is failing to regularly analyze data and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. Many event organizers collect data but neglect to act on it, missing opportunities to optimize future campaigns. It’s important to make data-driven decisions rather than relying solely on assumptions.
Our platform provides event organizers with robust data analytics, helping you better understand your attendees’ behaviours and preferences. With insights from our analytics tools, you can identify trends and make adjustments to enhance your marketing efforts and optimize your strategies, ensuring your events are a resounding success. By leveraging these tools, you can create targeted campaigns that effectively engage your audience and drive ticket sales.
What began as a local favourite is now expected to draw 450,000 attendees across seven cities in 2024. With this rapid growth, Pumpkins After Dark faced the challenge of maintaining effective marketing strategies for multiple simultaneous events. Setting the standard for exceptional event marketing fuelled by engaging User Generated Content (UGC) and influencer buzz, they have cultivated a loyal community that eagerly returns each year.
Discover how their partnership with Showpass enables them to adapt their marketing strategies in response to ticket sales trends in the full case study here.
Successfully marketing your event in today’s competitive landscape requires a multifaceted approach. By understanding your audience, embracing digital marketing, crafting compelling content, and leveraging partnerships, you can significantly enhance your event's visibility and engagement. Additionally, optimizing your event website, actively engaging with your community, and utilizing data-driven insights will allow you to refine your strategies and create unforgettable experiences for attendees.
At Showpass, we understand the power of effective marketing and the role it plays in the success of any event.
Ready to take your event to the next level? Chat with Showpass today!
