“If you Build it, they will come” were words uttered by Kevin Costner’s character in the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams. Hopefully you haven't built your business on that premise alone. It’s actually disastrous advice for a business (no marketing!) which is why these hints and tips on using offline and online marketing techniques from Colour Graphics will make a difference between a successful event and one that sinks without trace.
If you are planning an event, you need to plan its success. And that means going all out on offline – print, adverts, flyer, banner stands etc. – and online – social media, website, guest blogs – marketing EXCEPT, they need to be the right marketing channels.
1. Drive Your Objectives
You have decided to host an event.
Great news!
Why? What are you hoping to gain from throwing your business efforts behind an event? Is it to increase sales or is it to launch a new product?
And why an event?
Why not an extensive advertising campaign or something else?
When it comes to advertising and marketing an event, you would be amazed at the number of companies that do not have objectives for their event. If you don’t know what is driving your event, the offline and online marketing won’t have a direction of travel. The marketing campaign could come across as listless and devoid of detail.
It might be a case of putting a few posters up advertising that your event is happening on such a day and at such a time, but why should people come? Why should they make the effort to come along? What’s is happening there? Why is it of interest? What’s on offer that they can’t get anywhere else?
With business objectives, you can create the content and the right call to action to pull people to your event.
2. Define Your Audience
Planning a wedding celebration? Great. Hosting a conference on the Strand Model within physics? Fantastic. But straight away you can see there is a difference between the two: target audience.
Now a physicist may be looking for a wedding for their upcoming nuptials, and vice versa but, the places where you will advertise will be different. You wouldn’t, for example, place an advert for your wedding in a physics magazine. You would probably place it in a bridal mag.
It is glaringly obvious but, if you don’t do your research and understand who you audience is and, more importantly, where they are, you will struggle to connect with them.
3. Create Buzz
You may not have the big budgets that some of the most successful viral online marketing campaigns had but you can take some key lessons from their campaigns.
The commonality behind successful advertising for an event, product, service or brand is to create a buzz around it. A clever offline and online marketing campaign will intrigue people, get them asking the question “what is this all about?”.
Creating a buzz means being creative and although you may have some great ideas, have you considered hiring a specialist marketing firm? As a start-up or small business, you may be concerned by the cost but it’s one of those conundrums: spend a little more upfront and increase interest and participation (and revenue) from your event, or settle for something less?
4. Think Brand, Brand, Brand
As a business, you are constantly nurturing your brand. It is the very thing that tells people, in words, actions, thoughts and feelings what it is like to buy from you and interact with you.
It isn’t just a logo or a palette of colors, although there are important, it is the character and the personality of your business.
All too often, when creating online and offline marketing for an event, businesses ‘go off piste’, creating an almost entirely new persona. This means people won’t recognize you so, across all marketing tools and activities make sure your brand oozes from every pore. For example, that means keep your Snapchat marketing consistent with your flyers and business cards.
5. Dovetail Offline & Online Marketing Tools + Activities
One is not better than the other. One should not replace the other. Online and offline marketing, including social media marketing, can both exist alongside each other.
They are more powerful when they work together. Thus, on posters, leaflets and flyers include links to your website, social media platforms, mobile apps, and on event portals. Use QR codes for people to print off vouchers for your event.
Use an event hashtag so people can follow the thread of the event before it happens, as it happens and after it has happened.
Create a detailed strategy that pulls all these strands together and don’t forget to review marketing campaigns for the event, what worked and what didn’t. What offline and online marketing methods will you use to advertise your event?
Colour Graphics is an established online print and design agency. They work with small business and global corporations to create amazing event marketing campaigns that create a buzz. Connect with them on Twitter @ColourGraphics and their Facebook Page!
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I hope you enjoyed this article on combining your offline and online marketing to boost your event promotion success.
Interested in more articles about maximizing your marketing?
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- 5 Steps To Market Your New Business
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Edited & Published by Michael J Schiemer
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