Remember how we sent out invitation cards for official conferences or exhibitions? Back then, the physical events called for physical campaigns to promote sales events, send the word out, and get people on board. With the rise in online and digital events, businesses opt for online promotion and marketing strategies to reach a larger audience. But, getting the word out to a global audience is no child’s play. It seems like there’s so much to do in so little time.
Let’s say an organization schedules the annual conference through a virtual events platform. They now look for ways to gather the interests of online audiences who would join in the event from different parts of the world. At this point, event planners, organizers, and marketing professionals come together to promote their event.
If you are still confused about promoting your virtual conferences or exhibitions to score a larger audience, then you landed on the right platform. Let us walk you through our well-established and practiced ideas on how to promote digital events!
IDEAS TO PROMOTE SALES EVENTS
Before stepping into the process, know that you are doing this to grab the attention of your target audiences, so they register or sign up for the event. Therefore, do your homework with where, when, and how to reach the potential audience. Knowing the audience is the first step towards reaching them. Digital events already help you score a global audience base, so use this to your advantage and get your message across borders.
Since the audience is reaching you digitally, it is important to reach them through similar means. To simplify, your message or invitation should find the audience right on their mobile or desktop device. So, using online and digital means is the best way to begin.
USE AN EVENT LISTING PLATFORM
When going digital, remember to go big as well. If you wish to reach a larger audience, consider using an event listing platform rather than traditional methods. Event listing platforms are online portals for corporate, educational, and medical sectors to reveal their event with relevant details. With listing, you put the word out on display for a global audience base.
To begin with, create stunning digital event promotional videos or images with eye-catching graphics, 3D animated virtual space, keynote speaker profiles, top sponsorships, event leaders, and entertainers joining the event. You would notice that people are more likely to click on the event and purchase a ticket when all the relevant information is shared right at the listing. Make sure you add buttons to WhatsApp, website, and phone so that potential leads do not miss out on the chance to engage with you.
Here’s a heads up on event listing platforms;
- Google Events
- Evvnt
- Facebook Events
- Youtube
- Spotify
- Vimeo
- Eventbrite
- virtualopendays
- LinkedIn Events
- B2C Event listing websites
EMAIL MARKETING TO DRIVE REGISTRATIONS
Email is considered the most effective way to reach out to potential audiences individually. To promote digital events, businesses prefer running email marketing campaigns. The pre, post, and mid-event email marketing campaigns prove much more effective than any other marketing approach. For instance, scheduling the mails three weeks before the actual event and an hour before keeps your audience engaged and interested in the event.
Wondering how you’d get hold of the email IDs of your potential audience base? Well, there are a lot many ways to increase your email marketing audience. For instance, use IDs of your previous clients, previous event attendees, visitors at your website, registered IDs, or interested individuals from social media platforms. However, if you run the campaigns through a marketing company, they would maximize the potential of your email marketing to a multiplied number.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO CREATE HYPE
Most of the audience follows businesses through social media channels. You heard right! It is not the websites, news articles, or television but Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. You can either carry out organic or paid promotions to get the word out for your upcoming event. To top it up, partner with a social media marketing company and watch them handle everything there is, from graphic designing, 3D animations, write-ups, and routine postings. On the contrary, businesses promote a relevant hashtag for the event, which reaches the maximum of your target audiences.
Without a doubt, social media marketing algorithms work best to hunt down the majority of the audiences. The more people react, like, or follow your event, the more people it begins to reach with each passing day. In no time, you watch your event trending on social media sites and thus securing you thousands of registrations for the digital event.
SHARE SPEAKER BIOS TO ENTICE AUDIENCE
Another smart move businesses adapt to market the faces or profiles of the keynote speakers for your digital event. Mentioning the speakers widens the audience base for event organizers. For instance, the celebrity speakers or popular ones bring their audience who will gladly attend the event. This helps you reach a wider audience and allows speakers to brand their names globally.
The official company websites work as the hub for your event promotions. For instance, the pop-up ads with guest speaker bios can easily grab the attention of the visitors towards attending the event. In addition, you can get short introductory video clips from the speakers where they describe their subject of speech and encourage people to join in the event.
ENCOURAGE SHARING BY VISITORS
Your visitors to the social media profiles can turn out to be the biggest asset. So, encourage them to share the upcoming event ads or updates on their own business or social media accounts. In return, you could offer them some credit points to earn a discounted ticket to the digital event.
The more people share the advertisements for the event; the wider audience notices the upcoming events. Therefore, it is important to add relevant information about the event date, speaker sessions, giveaways, entertainment sessions, and a detailed company description. As a result, people will make an informed decision about attending the event.
VIDEO/VLOG TEASER WITH A SNEAK PEEK
A digital event is something you need to brag about. So, why not use the virtual event space to most of your advantage? Create an attractive video or vlog teasers from the cut-outs of the digital event setup. This way, you promote online events efficiently and familiarize the audience with what awaits them.
People love video content when it offers an insight into the event;
- 3D Virtual space
- Graphical illustration
- Unreal animations
- CEO message
- Company representative avatars
- Call to action statements
- Speaker bios
- Event segments
- Entertainment
- Quick registration guide
The stronger you present the message and idea for the event, the more chances you score for the maximized audience. Also, with a sneak peek, you can add a comment section to the post where people engage in healthy conversations and speak about the upcoming event.
BENEFIT FROM YOUR SPONSORS’ MARKETING EFFORTS
When the top sponsors from the world promote digital events, it maximizes the opportunity to get recognized worldwide. It thoroughly benefits all the stakeholders. So, don’t be shy about asking your sponsors to spread the word to their followers and contacts worldwide. Equip them with all the relevant details, links and registration process. On the whole, this would help your business score;
- Increased brand exposure
- Access to maximized lead generation
- Direct contact with top stakeholders
- Fundings for the event
- Brand credibility with global associations
- Established name in the marketplace
CREATE A PRESS RELEASE
Some people feel it unnecessary to send out press releases but going all about it is the deal. Therefore, create a press release that could spread like wildfire through your target audience. The message received in hand would prove more impactful for people who still prefer old-school methods. You can also share information regarding the topics, chairs, speaker sessions, and takeaways. Most importantly, make sure these presses go out to news, media outlets, and other news sites.
SET UP AN EVENT LANDING PAGE
Once the audience is directed to the digital event, you must welcome them to the landing page. Make it the focal point of your promotion campaigns. The landing page formally communicates;
- What you get out of the digital event
- Encourages people to sign up quickly
- Attends to all queries and reservations
- Conveys overall message of the event
Thus, designing the landing page with care is how businesses present their brand and create an impactful first impression before their potential audience.
IN CONCLUSION
Attracting new audiences to your digital events may seem like a daunting task. However, using one or more of the strategies mentioned above would help you make way through a larger target audience in no time. Leveraging existing audiences and onboarding new ones would be a win-win situation. Therefore, to promote digital events in 2022, you should maximize your marketing efforts. Virtual Days leverages its technology for businesses worldwide to streamline their marketing or promotional activities prior to the official launch. So, dive in and reach a wider audience.
Sign up for a free demo of the Virtual Days Platform today!