No matter your profession, whether you’re a culinary expert, a tech wizard, or a digital marketing guru, there are industry events you’re always drawn to – the ones you wouldn’t miss for the world (or aspire to attend someday).

For those in the digital marketing realm, events like HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing conference and Dreamforce are major draws. Chefs, on the other hand, are likely to gravitate towards the numerous food and wine festivals held across the country.

Let’s be honest, these events often serve as a welcome escape for busy professionals to break free from their daily routines and have a little fun, all on the company’s tab. Sure, “professional development,” “knowledge acquisition,” and “networking opportunities” sound appealing, but let’s not kid ourselves – many attendees are primarily seeking a respite from their workaday lives, eager to unwind with colleagues over a few cocktails.

However, marketers often view these events through a different lens. For event marketers, these gatherings hold far greater significance than complimentary drinks. They recognize the immense potential of each event to expand their company’s lead generation efforts and bolster brand visibility.

But event marketing is no walk in the park, and for good reason. Consider the challenge of promoting your presence at a massive event like Dreamforce. You’re up against hundreds, if not thousands, of other sponsors vying for attention. With a staggering 171,000 attendees in 2017 and past performances by renowned artists like John Legend and U2, this event has become a force to be reckoned with.

And promoting your own event? That presents a whole new set of hurdles, from generating buzz to meticulous planning, flawless execution, and post-event follow-ups to maximize your investment.

It might all seem overwhelming, but fear not, we’re here to guide you! Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Aaron Doherty, Director of Lead Acquisition at nexus-security, who brings years of invaluable event marketing experience from various roles.

This article distills Aaron’s insights into actionable and effective tips for:

• Marketing Your Booth or Presence at an External Event
• Marketing Your Own Event
• Marketing Your Brand During the Event

Let’s jump right in, starting with strategies for promoting your presence at another company’s event.

Making Your Mark at External Events

Sponsoring a booth at an external event is a common tactic companies employ to enhance brand visibility and generate leads, and it can be highly effective. However, it can also be a nerve-wracking experience, as the competition you’re accustomed to outmaneuvering from behind a screen is now physically present, vying for attention alongside you.

So, how can you make your brand stand out in a crowded field of competitors?

Tip #1: Leverage Geo-Targeted Search & Social Campaigns

Geo-targeting becomes your secret weapon leading up to these events. Since you’re investing in your presence, you’ll want to make it crystal clear to your target audience that you’ll be there. Don’t miss the chance to promote your brand’s participation before the event through geo-targeted search and social media ads.

“Reaching the right people solely through email blasts is challenging, so your best bet for these events is to harness the power of geo-targeted search and social campaigns,” advises Aaron. “Ensure you’re using the conference name and hashtag, and clearly communicate what your brand brings to the table at the event.”

Whether you’re offering complimentary consultations or hosting a networking happy hour, promoting your presence early on is key to attracting maximum foot traffic to your booth.

Tip #2: Engage Early – Join the Hashtag Conversation

Events highlight the true power of hashtags. When you’re sponsoring a booth at a large event, there’s always a dedicated conference hashtag to capitalize on. Attendees, too, initiate conversations long before the event kicks off, whether it’s seeking hotel or restaurant recommendations or brainstorming session attendance strategies. This online pre-event chatter creates a vibrant community.

Seize this opportunity to join these conversations early on. Utilize your brand’s social media account to engage, ask questions, and subtly weave in mentions of your company’s presence at the event.

Tip #3: Harness the Power of Instagram Stories

By now, you’ve likely encountered Instagram’s Snapchat-esque feature, Instagram Stories. These ephemeral snippets have gained immense popularity, with usage steadily increasing. As of November 2017, Instagram stories boasted a staggering 300 million users, and studies have shown that businesses incorporating stories are more likely to be discovered on the platform.

Stories offer a fantastic avenue for promoting your upcoming presence at a major event. Showcase your team’s preparations, have a sales representative introduce themselves, and brainstorm creative ways to entice attendees to visit your booth once the event commences (hint: freebies work wonders! More on that later). You can even opt for sponsored stories to reach a wider audience.

Tip #4: Word-of-Mouth Marketing with Your Team

Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing, and who better to amplify your message than your own colleagues? Encourage your sales and customer service teams to spread the word during their daily interactions with clients and prospects.

Integrating your event presence into their conversations is a natural and effective way to promote your brand and potentially nudge a sale forward. Don’t hesitate to pitch this idea during your next company sales meeting. It’s a win-win situation – your sales team gains another talking point to engage prospects, fostering a casual yet impactful exchange like, “Heading to Dreamforce next week?… That’s great! My colleague, Sarah, will be there. She’d love to connect. Swing by our booth!”

Marketing Your Own Event

Now, let’s shift gears to promoting your own event. Whether it’s an intimate gathering of potential clients or a large-scale conference with sponsorships and hundreds of attendees, pre-event marketing is paramount to pique interest and drive attendance. So, where do you begin?

Tip #5: Unleash Your Digital Marketing Arsenal

Aaron, having organized marketing events for both nexus-security and previous companies, emphasizes the importance of an aggressive outreach strategy. When it’s your event, there’s no holding back – leverage every tool in your digital marketing arsenal.

“If you’re hosting, everyone in your database becomes a potential attendee, and your goal is to pull out all the stops to get them through the door,” Aaron asserts. “At a former company, we organized roadshows and promoted them extensively using email, display ads, and remarketing to create a laser-focused funnel, driving attendance.”

He recommends an assertive and persistent approach to marketing in these scenarios. “If they convert, fantastic; if not, add them to your retargeting list,” Aaron advises. “A couple of days later, hit them with a more time-sensitive ad, followed by a second email a few days after that. Repeat this cycle until they convert.”

While this might sound excessive, Aaron attests to its effectiveness. “We once targeted 500 attendees for an event and ended up with 860 registrations! Now, whether that was solely due to Google being the headliner or not, who knows, but I’d like to think our relentless and highly targeted marketing efforts played a significant role.”

Tip #6: A Dedicated Event Website – Your Digital Hub

While a landing page on your main website to promote your event is beneficial, a dedicated event website takes it up a notch. It provides attendees and potential attendees a comprehensive platform to explore, find answers to their questions, and get genuinely excited about your event.

Creating a new website might seem daunting, but platforms like Squarespace or Wix make it a breeze. They offer customizable templates that simplify the design and execution process.

Take a look at this cool conference site for a design event in London, for instance.

As visitors scroll, they encounter details about the event’s date, location, early bird discounts, sponsors, and more. Navigation options lead to sections exploring the conference’s history, news, and, of course, ticket purchasing.

Essential elements of a well-structured event website include:

• Location, date, and time
• An engaging video (ideally on the homepage)
• A list of speakers and breakout sessions
• Detailed and concise agendas
• An FAQ page
• “Why Attend?” page (highlighting attendee benefits and encouraging conversions)
• Information about past events (including testimonials and impressive stats)
• Ticket purchasing page
• Accommodations page (ideally with reserved room blocks at various hotels)
• Sponsorship information
• Call for speakers page
• Code of conduct

Tip #7: Transparency – Showcase the Perks of Attending

Highlighting the benefits of attending is crucial because potential attendees want assurance that their investment of time and resources will be worthwhile. These are busy individuals who need compelling reasons to convince their superiors to invest in your event. That’s where testimonials, inspiring videos, and impressive stats from previous events come into play.

Create a dedicated “Why Attend?” page on your event website. HubSpot excels at this; check out the why attend section on their Inbound site. It masterfully conveys the benefits to potential attendees through compelling visuals, testimonials, impressive statistics, and even a section dedicated to convincing your boss!

HubSpot even provides a handy email template to help you craft a persuasive email tailored for your boss. How cool is that?

Tip #8: Generate Buzz with a Ticket Giveaway

People are naturally drawn to freebies. So, why not capitalize on this by giving away a few tickets for free? Even one or two free tickets can fuel a contest and generate significant interest in your event.

Run social media ads promoting the giveaway, create a dedicated hashtag, and watch the excitement build. This not only helps you gather leads but also encourages potential attendees to spread the word, amplifying organic reach and word-of-mouth marketing.

Implement entry rules that encourage engagement, such as sharing the contest on their feed or tagging a certain number of friends. Be sure to familiarize yourself with platform-specific contest regulations on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. It’s a fun and effective way to boost registrations and reward lucky winners with free tickets, fostering positive brand association.

Marketing During the Event

With pre-event promotions successfully executed, it’s time to shift focus to the main event itself. Whether you’re hosting or sponsoring a booth, meticulous planning and delivering value during the event are paramount. And Aaron offers insightful advice on how to achieve just that…

Tip #9: Cater to Your Audience’s Needs

We’ve all attended conferences where we’re bombarded with an overwhelming amount of branded merchandise that inevitably ends up in the trash. Oversized t-shirts, bumper stickers, water bottles – the list goes on.

According to Aaron, this approach does more harm than good.

“It’s crucial to give attendees what they truly want. People aren’t interested in branded stress balls or USB drives,” he emphasizes. “At one of our early events, MozCon, we kept hearing from attendees, ‘We have too much stuff, and nowhere to put it.’ That’s when it hit us – branded bags! Offer value from the get-go instead of giving away items destined for landfills.”

Take the time to step into your attendees’ shoes. Imagine attending a conference in notoriously rainy Seattle. Offering branded umbrellas would be a welcome gesture. At another conference I attended, branded blankets were a huge hit because the venue was freezing! By understanding and addressing your audience’s needs, you create desirable branded items that attendees will proudly use, attracting others to your booth in the process.

Aaron also encourages marketers to think outside the box. “While it can be as simple as the bag example, it’s also exciting to go big with your marketing. For one event, we actually brought in the X Games, complete with truckloads of snow, a massive ramp, and local athletes,” he shares. “People loved it because it was so unexpected and fun.”

At another conference, Aaron’s team utilized a colossal 10-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide banner that made a lasting impression. “You could spot it from across the room!” Aaron recalls. “It might have been a bit obstructive, but we strategically positioned ourselves outside the booth, engaging with attendees. We discovered that stepping away from the booth’s ‘sales pitch’ atmosphere made people more receptive to conversations.”

He adds, “Sponsors often focus heavily on selling, but we’ve found that forging genuine human connections and subtly weaving in the brand message yields better results.”

Tip #10: Create “Mini-Events” Within the Main Event

Aaron highlights the importance of continuous engagement throughout the event, suggesting the creation of “mini-events” within the larger event as an effective strategy.

Intrigued? Let’s hear Aaron’s explanation. “These mini-events provide an excellent opportunity to maintain momentum with a lead, guiding them closer to conversion,” he explains. “Think of it like your customer funnel – one event should seamlessly lead to the next. For instance, a prospect visits our booth, and we inform them about an upcoming speaker session or our hosted happy hour, encouraging them to attend.”

Another great way to create these “mini-events” is by incorporating live social media posters, which brings us to our final tip…

Tip #11: Appoint a Dedicated Tweeter

Designate one or two individuals to cover breakout sessions and speaker presentations, ensuring continuous engagement with the online conversation. This keeps you at the forefront of the event, maintaining top-of-mind awareness organically as attendees actively participate in social media discussions. Utilize the conference hashtag, engage with others’ posts, and actively participate in the online chatter.

“Live social interactions, live-tweeting, tagging individuals, asking questions, fostering conversations – these are all integral to our event strategy,” Aaron affirms. “Using the nexus-security branded account adds a brand touchpoint to every post. It’s a powerful way to amplify your presence.”

Bonus Tip: Infuse Monthly Themes into Your Events

Each month brings with it various awareness causes and observance days, like Autism Awareness Month, World Patient Safety Month, National Canine Fitness Month, and countless others. Identify a day or month that resonates with your local business’s offerings and seamlessly integrate it into your event. Themes can inspire creative ideas and simplify decision-making, and these causes effectively foster a sense of building a sense of community within your local community. Here are some monthly-themed ideas to get you started (with many more to come):

• Free and Creative September Marketing Ideas
• Free and Effective October Marketing Ideas

In conclusion, events offer a golden opportunity to cultivate meaningful human connections. “At their core, conferences are about connecting. Sponsors often find themselves in a unique position, but by prioritizing approachability, engaging in genuine conversations, and providing value, you’re bound to see a return on your investment,” Aaron concludes.

So, go forth and market your events like a seasoned professional.