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Increasing Brand Awareness with Events
Are you looking for ways to increase brand awareness for your small business or non-profit?
Successful events are an effective way to increase awareness for your small business or non-profit. A key component of a marketing plan, having an event strategy is important to connecting with your target audience.
We've outlined six tactics below to help you develop and execute a successful event marketing plan.
Develop a monthly plan. Think about fun events you can host or sponsor every month. If resources are tight, start with just one event. Some simple ideas are hosting informational webinars, community service activities, live music, book signing, etc. If hosting is not an option for your business, look for relevant business partners and events you could sponsor such tradeshows, golf outings, community events, etc. Your plan could certainly include a mix of hosted and sponsored events.
Consider your target audience. Your events should be relevant to your target audience. For example, if you are a nonprofit, you could host serving events connected to your mission. If you are a restaurant, you could host live music, game day watching events, or other activities that would attract your typcial customers.
Require registration. Even if your event is free and virtual you should require registration to help capture information about prospective customers, build your email list and follow up after. Ideally your event management tool is built into your website, which also helps to drive traffic and increase Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Blog about your event topic. Weekly blogging is another great way to increase awareness for your small business or non-profit. Your blog is a key tool to support your event plan. You can share stories and photos in your blog about past events to help promote future events. Another idea is to write educational content that speaks to the event topic. For example, if you are planning to host a networking event, you could speak to the value of networking in career planning.
Create an event graphic. Event graphics are important for promotional purposes on social media and your website. Tools like canva.com provide nice free design resources to help you create a professional looking graphic without having to hire a marketing professional. At a minimum, your graphic should include a simple visual, name of event, brief description, date, time and cost.
Send emails before and after. Email is still the preferred method to receive information and events provide a nice reason to communicate with your distribution list! Another best practice is to send a follow up survey to find out what your attendees liked or didn't like about the event and ideas for future events.
As the world continues to open up, the demand for in person events is increasing. Develop your plan and start executing. Marketing is a journey, and you will learn what works well and what doesn't with your target market. Keep trying and have fun!
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At It's All About the How Marketing Consulting we offer expert marketing support and practical tools to help improve your brand awareness and results. We can help with all aspects of your small business or non-profit marketing needs from developing strategic marketing plans to weekly blog content. You can reach us at itsallaboutthehow@gmail.com or check out our website at www.itsallaboutthehow.com.