Clever Ways to Engage Your Attendees Before the Event
Photo via Unsplash
One of the greatest event-planning misconceptions is the idea that the atmosphere preparation is something that takes place exclusively during the event. In fact, it starts long before your guests arrive. (And when they do arrive, you’ve got to be prepared to keep the engagement going - especially at entry.)
Overhype the event and you may end up letting too many people down but undersell it and you may not get enough attendees for your event to work in the first place. So, here are several tips that can hopefully create the right balance and help you engage your attendees in the weeks and days prior to the event.
1. DIFFERENT FORMATS OF PRE-EVENT CONTENT
The reason why content marketing is such a complex issue is due to the fact that it requires you to focus on so many fronts at the same time. Different demographics prefer different approaches but even within the same group or target audience, you might have people with different preferences.
While there are those who prefer video content and email marketing engagement, others would rather receive a gif-formatted invitation through social media. This is why the task of creating engaging pre-event content may be even more complex than you’ve initially expected.
2. CAPITALIZE ON PREVIOUS EVENTS
Unless this is the first event that you’re hosting, you might already have some footage or image collateral from the previous event that you can use in order to create a compelling video or image reel. Think about it: what can be more foreshadowing than to show past examples of your event-planning successes?
One of the mistakes to avoid is believing that raw footage is enough. Keep in mind that this is merely a material for you to use in order to form an outstanding piece of video format. In fact, this particular task is so important that it might be worth your while to outsource it to a web video production agency, instead of tampering with it yourself.
Another idea could be gathering images or clips from attendees. (Here is where your event hashtag comes in handy!) This would not only re-engage past attendees but get new event participants amped and ready for what’s to come.
3. PERSONAL INVITATIONS
In the introduction, we might have given off the impression that this would be an open event, yet, some people simply deserve a personal invitation. By managing to attract renowned speakers or figures of authority within your industry to confirm their attendance, you might passively contribute to the image of your event.
In fact, this alone might be enough to attract some of their fans, who wouldn’t consider attending otherwise. Still, these influencers need a personal email and should even get offered an incentive to attend. You can further incentivize by including them in a special registration type so that they feel and flow VIP throughout the event.
4. PROMISE AN INTERACTIVE EVENT
The next thing you need to think of is your prospect of hosting an interactive event and marketing it as such on your website, social media, and email marketing campaigns. By promising contests, giveaways, surveys and other means of user-generated content (UGC), you’re giving your audience one more incentive to come to your event.
Unless you have the most interesting of speakers, your audience will hardly feel motivated to attend the event. After all, they can listen to a monologue through a live-stream or watch a video that later gets uploaded on your website, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube channel. With interactive activities, gamification (like session points!) at the event, and following the guidance of a good social media marketing team or agency, your event will suddenly become a must-attend occasion.
5. MAKE A COUNTDOWN
What better way is there to make hype than to start with a countdown? You will be able to induce a sense of urgency in your audience and, apart from this, a countdown is a constant reminder. Every time they visit your website, channel or a blog, they will be reminded of something interesting about to happen.
Giving attendees a reminder not only that your event is just around the corner but also of the fact that their time to get the tickets or submit their attendance confirmation is running out could also boost ticket sales. This alone can be an incredibly powerful incentive, seeing as how it’s something that marketers use all the time, regardless of the niche they’re in.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
This simple five-point list contains both active and passive ways of engaging your audience and it’s wise to use both. Some of your potential attendees will just need a simple nudge, while others will have to be courted, incentivized and maybe even nagged into coming!
The key thing you need to realize is that the attendance depends on your pre-event activity and your marketing skills. In other words, you alone will be responsible for both the potential success of the event and its failure.
Guest Author Bio: Leila Dorari is an entrepreneur, freelance writer and business-improvement enthusiast from Sydney. Currently, she is consulting companies on various effects different marketing solutions can have on their business. In her spare time, you can usually find her hiking with her furry four-legged friend.
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