Planning an event for your business, hosting a trunk show, or a pop-up shop? One way to generate traffic and buzz is to promote it through a variety of outlets in order to expand your reach.
You should start planning your promotional messaging in advance for several reasons. The more time you have, the more creative you can be with what you publicize. For example, types of inventory, sponsor information, and teasers build intrigue. Another reason to start early is to give attendees and press enough time to fit your event into their calendar. Also, if you’re planning on using a third party outlet to spread the word, they require advance notice to get events listed into their system.
Consider promoting your events these ways:
1. Add it to your email signature.
2. Create a free Splash page to act as a dedicated homepage. This is good if you have multiple partners, want to collect tickets, or have created an event that is different from your brand name.
3. If your event is large enough and open to the public, list it on Eventbrite. Eventbrite offers a great online registration solution and is really hard to beat for functionality and add-ons, especially for seminar or workshop registration.
4. Add a page to your website specifically for events and be sure to update it so your brand always appears relevant. Even if you don’t have events going on, it’s okay to say that but having outdated information doesn’t look good.
5. Create an event listing on your Facebook fan page and share updates periodically. You can also add multiple hosts so leverage brand partners and friends to spread the news.
6. Use your Twitter profile description to let others know about the event.
7. If your website has a carousel that allows for multiple images on your homepage, create a beautiful event image to get people excited.
8. Add it to your blog with a written description of your event. Also consider creating a category for events and use appropriate tags that you will consistently use over time like a trunk show and pop-up shop.
9. Share it with your local community and media outlets as many newspapers and online magazines have an event section. For example, Time Out New York has their own submission form for shopping events.
10. Include it in your email marketing through a dedicated message and if you want to keep it intimate or curated with a special list of people, consider using Paperless Post.
11. Get social with your event! In addition to posting it on all the social platforms you are on, engaging with others about it. You can also create a custom hashtag that’s proprietary to your brand that will allow you to search for conversations surrounding it pre and post event.
How are you filling up your guest list? Let us know in the comments!
