Let’s face it. Marketing your event is not easy.

Regardless if it’s your very first time or your 100th time hosting an event, the end goals are the same.

You need to sell tickets, get people out to your event and make sure that everyone has a great experience.

And we all know that the latter cannot happen without the former. Which is why you need to make sure that your event marketing game is in check.

But where do you start?

Well, by reading this article of course!

All jokes aside, I recently wrote an article about “hacks” to market your event organically over Facebook. The response from the article was well-received which is the exact reason why I decided to write this one. However, the focus of this article expands beyond the confines of Facebook and stretches out across more social channels.

As a marketer and an event organizer myself, I know all too well that to effectively market anything these days you need to consider multiple touch points across multiple channels. And depending on your targeted audience, there can be a plethora of channels and tactics to consider.

Below are 5 tactics (methods) that you can use to boost your marketing efforts and increase the attendance of your next event.

1 | Relevant Publications, Blogs and Media

If event marketing feels like it’s tough and like your campaigning at times, it’s because it is and you are.

A very overlooked tactic that generally has a great return is reaching out to relevant publications, local blogs and media sources for some additional support and coverage for your event. Depending on the size, format or narrative of your event you might get some social media mentions or an entire featured piece on your event.

However, you’ll never know and will never get any of this additional media attention if you don’t ask and give it a shot in the first place.

My personal tip for anyone looking to follow through with this would be to:

Make a very simple list in a spreadsheet. Start by compiling relevant publications and media sources (either industry specific or very localized to your geographical footprint) that might be willing to cover your event or help you out in any particular way. Create additional columns for contact names, contact info (i.e., email address), when you contacted them and if they’ve gotten back to you.

As a recent example, one of our clients who organizes a touring beer festival across multiple cities in Ontario took use of this tactic and saw some great results. While bringing the beer festival to a new city, the organizers reached out to a local publication who just happens to have a large following.

After introducing themselves, the festival and the experiences offered at the festival, this publication quickly wrote an article and posted it on social media which led to shares, follows and even some ticket sales as a direct result!

2 | Personalized Invitations

If you just so happened to read my previous article about Facebook marketing hacks, you’ll know how much I encourage and recommend personal event invitations.

The main reason I’m an advocate is very simple. When invitations are personal and when they come from a trusted and reliable source (hopefully you’re seen as both), people tend to invest much more of their time and interest.

They’ll actually take the time to look over the event details, ask you questions about the event and might even share it with their friends if they, themselves are unable to make it.

Personal invites can come in many different forms and from many different channels. You might invite people directly in person at another event. If you’re audience and your following is on Facebook or Twitter, then you’ll want to invest some time make it happen there. And if you’re a big email person and you know your friends or contacts are as well, then email might be the best way to go.

The thing to remember here is that people do want to know about what you have on the go and if you don’t tell them about it, don’t expect them to find out otherwise. Make it genuine, make it personal and make it count.

3 | Sub-Reddits

When I first came across Reddit, I didn’t think much of it from a marketing point of view. I was more interested in reading funny posts and catching up on some local news that I might have otherwise missed.

Not long after getting familiar (somewhat.. but not really) with the platform and understanding the way sub-reddits work, did I then realize how much of an opportunity there is to help spread the word about upcoming events and activities.

The reason why sub-reddits can be a great use of your time is because they’re extremely niche and local discussion boards. Which means it’s more than likely that you’ll have a lot in common with those sub-reddit dwellers.

Now before you go posting your events like crazy, be cautious doing this!

Read the sub-reddit’s guidelines and understand the type of content that is “allowed” or “accepted”. The last thing you’ll want to do is piss off anyone, especially the moderators. Believe me, I’ve been there so take this as a lesson learned.

Like any other social channel, make sure you’re providing a clear value, that your content can generate a discussion or interest, and avoid being overly spammy.

I would recommend joining in on conversations and threads first, or even formulate some sort of Q&A or AMA (ask me anything) to drive engagement.

*Beware the Reddit trolls (they do exist)*

4 | Relevant Facebook Groups

Very similar to the tactic above, Facebook Groups exist for a reason.

You can almost look at them and decipher them as buckets of people who are connected by commonalities which might include: location, career/profession, or even just general interests (for example, music events in city “X”).

Once you’re able to adopt this view and understanding of the way groups work, it’ll make it that much easier for you to not only identify which groups might be relevant for your events but to also address and communicate within these groups.

Again, like sub-reddits, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve gone over any guidelines and understand the type of content that is “allowed” or “accepted” within these groups.

I would highly recommend the following (again, according to the guidelines): Posting about your upcoming events and include necessary details, any major announcements, some sort of Q&A and/or AMA to drive conversation and interest, and just joining in on other conversations within the group to become known and immersed within the community.

5 | Micro-Influencers

I’m sure by now that you’ve probably read many articles talking about micro-influencers for your marketing efforts. (HubSpot has a great article – read it here).

It’s a very hot topic for a reason. Because it works.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a micro-influencer can typically be defined as someone who is active in the community or on social media that is willing to promote your brand, product or service.

Micro-influencers have a very modest following (when compared to the celebrity influencer), generally ranging in the thousands but are known to be extremely popular and have hyper-engaged audiences.

The reason why micro-influencers are so valuable and worth your time is because of that exactly (above). They have an extremely engaged audience and they have very specific interests either to some sort of vertical (a beer enthusiast for example) or a location.

I would personally recommend curating a list of micro-influencers who identify with and align with your event’s vision and target audience. Once you’ve done that, start reaching out to them!

You can start off by simply offering them access to your event for free in exchange for social mentions. If you have a budget to work with, you might even be willing to throw a couple dollars their way in exchange for more specific posts or “tasks”.

And if you’re not sure how to identify these micro-influencers, start off by looking at the accounts they follow, who follows them, their like:followers ratio, how much they engage with people online, etc. You’ll soon get a better idea of who has some sway or “influence” that might be relevant for your event.

*A quick note that we’re working on a future release/feature called Brüha Promoter – a way for us to connect event organizers with promoters and micro-influencers to increase awareness and ticket sales*

Well, there you have it. Those are our 5 latest tips and tactics that will help you market your next event.

Have any feedback or tips yourself that you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear them! Tweet at us @BruhaExclusive to let us know.

Until next time,

About Brüha :

Brüha is a local entertainment discovery & ticketing provider changing the way people interact with their local community, discover events and purchase tickets. Buy and sell tickets for upcoming events using Brüha. With the implementation of IBM Bluemix cloud based technology, Brüha’s user experience and unique filtering capabilities make it easy to find specific categories, dates, admission price range, moods and even recommended listings. Whether you are a tourist visiting a new city or a local resident, Brüha provides a one-stop-shop that allows you to stay connected to your city.

Looking to increase awareness for your Venue, Organization, or your next Event? Head over to our website and get started today by creating your first listing.