In-person and digital occasions are an effective way to introduce your model to prospects and construct a loyal fan base. To make them profitable, you have to rigorously plan and market every occasion, attracting the best viewers and offering them with a memorable expertise.
Nonetheless, it’s vital to keep in mind that your job’s not over simply because the occasion is.
When you’ve completed folding the final chair, sweeping the ground, and shutting the doorways in your venue, it’s time to get to work in your post-event advertising and marketing.
What’s post-event promotion?
Regardless of what many individuals suppose, post-event advertising and marketing and engagement transcend merely saying thanks. It’s an opportunity so as to add worth to the folks in attendance and collect worthwhile suggestions in order that your subsequent occasion may be even higher.
Publish-event promotion begins with following up with those that attended your occasion. It might be so simple as a thank-you message for attending or as concerned as a full questionnaire in regards to the occasion. Publish-event promotion enables you to construct on attendees’ enthusiasm and meet your objectives surrounding the occasion.
Why is post-event promotion vital?
Publish-event promotion suits into the larger image of occasion advertising and marketing. Its aim is to maintain folks speaking about your occasion as soon as it’s over and provide help to construct connections with attendees.
It additionally provides you the possibility to see what labored nicely in your occasion and what you are able to do higher subsequent time.
It additionally serves as one other contact level with leads.
Publish-event engagement concepts
There are many methods to work together with folks as soon as your occasion is over. Utilizing a number of instruments provides you extra alternatives to attach with folks, which in flip supplies extra choices for post-event suggestions.
Create a post-event touchdown web page
You will have created an occasion touchdown web page to drum up curiosity. In that case, you’re one step forward. As an alternative of taking it down as soon as the occasion has ended, repurpose your touchdown web page.
At a minimal, add a banner on the prime of the web page thanking folks for attending.
To make it do extra, tie it to a recurring occasion.
For instance, you would possibly host a quarterly webinar. On the finish of every occasion, change the copy in your touchdown web page, encouraging individuals who missed out to register for the subsequent one.
This touchdown web page selling the Nationwide Retail Federation’s annual convention not solely features a “save the date” message and a name to motion to grow to be a sponsor in 2023, nevertheless it additionally has a hyperlink the place guests can watch a video recapping the 2022 occasion. Utilizing movies this fashion can create a buzz round your subsequent occasion.
Comply with up through e mail
Electronic mail advertising and marketing is among the best methods to observe up with a big group of individuals. You probably already sorted your contacts primarily based in your pre-event advertising and marketing. When you have a listing of people that registered, section it into individuals who checked in and those that didn’t.
Ship personalised messages to every section. Thank those that took day trip of their schedules to attend. You possibly can add worth by together with a post-event promo code, particular supply, or piece of content material that’s not out there to individuals who didn’t attend. If you wish to ballot your viewers to see what they considered your occasion, embrace a survey.
CourseHorse sends a follow-up to everybody who attends a category asking them to fee and assessment, gathering worthwhile info to enhance all class choices. As an incentive, respondents obtain $15 off a future registration.
For many who had been however didn’t attend, ship a wrap-up to share what they missed out on and encourage them to join your subsequent occasion. Embody a hyperlink to video highlights from the occasion and present how folks benefited from attending.
Share what occurred on social media
Nothing evokes FOMO (concern of lacking out) like social media. Share posts on all of your platforms exhibiting folks having enjoyable and fascinating at your occasions to create a way of worth and encourage individuals who missed out.
MAGIC is a company connecting trade professionals and serving to them transfer their enterprise ahead. As a style group, its social media platforms are very efficient in attracting folks to huge commerce exhibits in Las Vegas and New York.
The important thing to post-event advertising and marketing on social media is to create enjoyable, participating posts that encourage your followers to work together. Construct off the joy from the occasion and generate curiosity in your corporation by sharing pictures and movies from the occasion, conducting polls, posting particular affords for early registration for the subsequent occasion, and extra.
Make these posts really feel extra genuine by taking candid photographs throughout your occasion. Individuals could react extra positively to pictures that don’t appear like they had been staged. Have somebody flow into by means of your occasion snapping pics of individuals whereas they’re having a very good time and looking out enthusiastic. Maybe you had a keynote who saved everybody on the sting of their seat. Showcase the viewers.
Conduct a post-event survey to see what your attendees thought
Gathering post-event suggestions is essential in serving to you meet your objectives and put together for future occasions. Probably the greatest methods to get it’s to survey attendees to see what they thought. Ask survey questions to realize suggestions about what went nicely and what folks wish to see subsequent time.
Embody questions that can assist you gauge the worth of your occasion to folks in attendance. Did they suppose it was a very good use of their time? Did they arrive away with new info or new connections they couldn’t have discovered one other method?
Ask what they loved most in regards to the occasion and whether or not they’d return sooner or later. In the event you had audio system or exhibitors, ask inquiries to see how a lot of a match they had been together with your viewers.
Comply with up with leads — personally
Occasions are excellent for producing new leads and drumming up enterprise.
At an occasion, potential prospects can get hands-on together with your services or products, and so they have the possibility to get in-depth with their questions and considerations. Anybody who attends may have a greater concept of how one can present options to their wants, and so they could stroll away excited to offer you their enterprise.
Publish-event follow-up is an effective way to nurture leads and enhance your possibilities of changing an buyer right into a purchaser.
Don’t let this momentum slip away. When somebody expresses an curiosity in your corporation, make an observation to observe up with them, and do it. Schedule a name, a digital assembly, or an in-person assembly to allow them to ask extra questions or begin the shopping for course of.
Create vlog and weblog posts associated to the occasion
Publish-event actions don’t should straight contain your prospects. Creating digital content material recapping the occasion or providing supplemental info helps you construct model consciousness, opening up your subsequent occasion to a wider viewers.
Producing buzz round in-person occasions is simpler as a result of you possibly can shoot dynamic video that gives a glimpse into the occasion itself. However you possibly can nonetheless promote digital occasions with post-event advertising and marketing. In the event you recorded your classes — and it is best to have — pull out clips of attention-grabbing info and shoot movies of individuals reacting. You can too use them as a chance to develop on matters that you simply coated.
If you’re writing weblog posts in regards to the occasion, spotlight what folks received out of it. Use a number of the solutions out of your post-event survey to get matter concepts.
Host a networking follow-up occasion
Occasions supply attendees the possibility to community with you and different company. Arrange a small, in-person, or digital occasion the place individuals who got here to the primary present can evaluate notes with one another or simply work together.
You don’t should lease out a conference house and invite 1,000 folks to come back discuss to one another.
A networking discussion board might be so simple as an internet chat the place you average a dialogue in regards to the occasion or different related trade matters. By internet hosting your follow-up social on-line, you give everybody the possibility to attach, no matter the place they dwell.
Give attendees an unique supply
Company at many occasions are sometimes given swag baggage with promotional objects donated by sponsors. Generally these baggage have enjoyable objects like spa reward playing cards and even one thing kitschy and helpful like toothpaste.
Providing one thing unique like a post-event low cost or early entry to new merch is like an occasion swag bag. Individuals have to indicate as much as get it and its contents make others wish to be there subsequent time.
Entry to your store might be sufficient. Sephora recurrently hosts make-up and skincare courses for its magnificence insiders. These courses are hosted earlier than the shop opens, and as an added perk, attendees can store within the retailer when no one else is there choosing by means of the products.
Sustain the thrill with a social media contest
Social media contests are a terrific supply of user-generated content material and word-of-mouth promoting. In the event you’ve already received a branded hashtag on your occasion, supply a prize to everybody who tags you and others in event-related posts. Use the hashtag to trace entries.
You possibly can select a winner at random, have occasion attendees vote on the winner, or arrange guidelines that encourage folks to get inventive. Your prize doesn’t have to interrupt the financial institution. Embody some cash in your occasion finances for a post-event prize that serves as a very good incentive to enter.
Provide VIP extras to your subsequent occasion
In the event you’re organizing recurring occasions, ship a particular VIP supply to everybody who attended the final occasion. These affords don’t should be flashy or costly, they simply have to entice occasion attendees to attend your subsequent occasion — and be unique.
Take into consideration providing incentives like:
- Particular reductions or early-bird registrations for the subsequent occasion
- Unique receptions with key audio system or entertainers who shall be at your subsequent occasion
- The power to select up a VIP swag bag once they test in to the subsequent occasion
Use post-event advertising and marketing to attain your objectives
You set a lot effort into planning your occasions, you could be prepared to write down them off and transfer on to the subsequent one as quickly as they’re accomplished. However post-event advertising and marketing is an effective way to nurture leads — driving the momentum of enthusiasm you labored so exhausting to construct.
Publish-event advertising and marketing actions provide the likelihood to see how nicely you achieved your objectives. In addition they provide help to decide what labored and what you possibly can enhance on your subsequent occasion.
For one of the best outcomes, use a couple of post-event engagement exercise to achieve a greater diversity of individuals.
Instruments like social media posts, vlogs, and blogs assist enhance your visibility, letting you appeal to new attendees who’re looking on-line for occasions like yours.
Surveys and boards give folks the possibility to inform you how they favored the occasion and what they received out of it. This info provides you worthwhile perception into your prospects.
Providing perks like reductions and particular extras to individuals who attend your occasion makes them extra worthwhile and helps encourage others to attend.
Don’t cease as soon as your occasion is over. Incorporate post-event advertising and marketing into your occasion advertising and marketing plan and maintain upping your occasion sport.
Need extra info on advertising and marketing your subsequent occasion? Take a look at these 7 Prime Occasion Advertising and marketing Methods & Concepts.
