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, it’s essential fastidiously 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 assume, post-event advertising and marketing and engagement transcend merely saying thanks. It’s an opportunity so as to add worth to the individuals in attendance and collect worthwhile suggestions in order that your subsequent occasion might be even higher.
Submit-event promotion begins with following up with those that attended your occasion. It may very well be so simple as a thank-you message for attending or as concerned as a full questionnaire in regards to the occasion. Submit-event promotion permits you to construct on attendees’ enthusiasm and meet your targets surrounding the occasion.
Why is post-event promotion vital?
Submit-event promotion suits into the larger image of occasion advertising and marketing. Its objective is to maintain individuals speaking about your occasion as soon as it’s over and provide help to construct connections with attendees.
It additionally provides you the prospect 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.
Submit-event engagement concepts
There are many methods to work together with individuals as soon as your occasion is over. Utilizing a number of instruments provides you extra alternatives to attach with individuals, which in flip gives 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. If that’s the case, you’re one step forward. As a substitute 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 individuals for attending.
To make it do extra, tie it to a recurring occasion.
For instance, you may 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 change into a sponsor in 2023, but it surely additionally has a hyperlink the place guests can watch a video recapping the 2022 occasion. Utilizing movies this manner can create a buzz round your subsequent occasion.
Comply with up through e mail
E-mail advertising and marketing is without doubt one of the best methods to comply with up with a big group of individuals. You probably already sorted your contacts based mostly in your pre-event advertising and marketing. When you have an inventory of people that registered, phase it into individuals who checked in and those that didn’t.
Ship customized messages to every phase. Thank those that took trip of their schedules to attend. You would add worth by together with a post-event promo code, particular provide, 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 individuals who had been however didn’t attend, ship a wrap-up to share what they missed out on and encourage them to enroll in your subsequent occasion. Embrace a hyperlink to video highlights from the occasion and present how individuals 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 displaying individuals having enjoyable and interesting 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 vogue group, its social media platforms are very efficient in attracting individuals to large 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 online business by sharing photographs and movies from the occasion, conducting polls, posting particular presents for early registration for the subsequent occasion, and extra.
Make these posts really feel extra genuine by taking candid pictures throughout your occasion. Folks might react extra positively to photographs that don’t appear like they had been staged. Have somebody flow into by your occasion snapping pics of individuals whereas they’re having a very good time and searching enthusiastic. Maybe you had a keynote who stored 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 targets and put together for future occasions. Among the finest methods to get it’s to survey attendees to see what they thought. Ask survey questions to achieve suggestions about what went nicely and what individuals want to see subsequent time.
Embrace questions that will help you gauge the worth of your occasion to individuals in attendance. Did they assume 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 manner?
Ask what they loved most in regards to the occasion and whether or not they’d return sooner or later. For those who 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 good 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 prospect to get in-depth with their questions and considerations. Anybody who attends can have a greater thought of how one can present options to their wants, and so they might stroll away excited to offer you their enterprise.
Submit-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 online business, make a remark to comply with 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
Submit-event actions don’t must immediately 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’ll be able to shoot dynamic video that gives a glimpse into the occasion itself. However you’ll be able to nonetheless promote digital occasions with post-event advertising and marketing. For those who recorded your periods — and you need to have — pull out clips of attention-grabbing info and shoot movies of individuals reacting. You too can use them as a chance to develop on subjects that you simply lined.
If you’re writing weblog posts in regards to the occasion, spotlight what individuals acquired out of it. Use a few of the solutions out of your post-event survey to get matter concepts.
Host a networking follow-up occasion
Occasions provide attendees the prospect 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 must lease out a conference house and invite 1,000 individuals to come back speak to one another.
A networking discussion board may very well be so simple as an internet chat the place you average a dialogue in regards to the occasion or different related trade subjects. By internet hosting your follow-up social on-line, you give everybody the prospect to attach, no matter the place they stay.
Give attendees an unique provide
Company at many occasions are sometimes given swag luggage with promotional gadgets donated by sponsors. Typically these luggage have enjoyable gadgets like spa present 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. Folks have to indicate as much as get it and its contents make others wish to be there subsequent time.
Entry to your store may very well be sufficient. Sephora usually 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 the products.
Sustain the excitement with a social media contest
Social media contests are an incredible supply of user-generated content material and word-of-mouth promoting. For those who’ve already acquired a branded hashtag on your occasion, provide a prize to everybody who tags you and others in event-related posts. Use the hashtag to trace entries.
You’ll be able to select a winner at random, have occasion attendees vote on the winner, or arrange guidelines that encourage individuals to get artistic. Your prize doesn’t have to interrupt the financial institution. Embrace some cash in your occasion price range for a post-event prize that serves as a very good incentive to enter.
Provide VIP extras to your subsequent occasion
For those who’re organizing recurring occasions, ship a particular VIP provide to everybody who attended the final occasion. These presents don’t must be flashy or costly, they simply must 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 might be at your subsequent occasion
- The flexibility to choose up a VIP swag bag after they verify in to the subsequent occasion
Use post-event advertising and marketing to attain your targets
You place a lot effort into planning your occasions, chances are you’ll be prepared to put in writing 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.
Submit-event advertising and marketing actions provide the likelihood to see how nicely you achieved your targets. Additionally they provide help to decide what labored and what you’ll be able to enhance on your subsequent occasion.
For one of the best outcomes, use a couple of post-event engagement exercise to succeed in a greater diversity of individuals.
Instruments like social media posts, vlogs, and blogs assist increase your visibility, letting you entice new attendees who’re looking on-line for occasions like yours.
Surveys and boards give individuals the prospect to inform you how they favored the occasion and what they acquired 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 preserve upping your occasion recreation.
Need extra info on advertising and marketing your subsequent occasion? Take a look at these 7 High Occasion Advertising and marketing Methods & Concepts.
