Why event marketing is important to your event's success

You’ve probably heard of event marketing when putting together your marketing strategy. But what does it mean? Simply put, event marketing is an event held for the purpose of promoting a product, service or company. This can take the form of a conference, virtual event, sponsorship or even a simple breakfast presentation. Marketing an event correctly will no doubt have a large impact on the success of your event, and potentially the success of your company.

Here are four key reasons to introduce event marketing into your plans:

Create brand awareness

Events, virtual or live, are a great way to get customers and prospects to discover you. In fact, a study showed that 93% of consumers felt live events had a larger influence on them than television ads. Events give companies the opportunity to wow potential customers with their product and service. You have a captive audience, make sure they know who you are, what you’re selling and why you’re selling it. You want people to fall in love with your brand and your products/ services. Social media is a great to build brand awareness; invite an influential speaker who will mention the event on their own platforms or create a hashtag and encourage attendees to tag and mention the company.

Boost brand advocates

84% of event attendees say that they have a more positive view of a brand, product or service after attending their event. Events create brand advocates by exceeding expectations. If your event is memorable and enjoyable, delegates are going to have positive associations with your brand. An event can demonstrate a more human side to a company, helping customers create a long-lasting affinity with your brand – thus giving you a competitive edge.

Generate leads

If you are hosting a stand at a virtual exhibition, you have the perfect opportunity to generate leads. Collect email addresses from the people that visit your stand by offering them an incentive such as a prize draw or a competition. Similarly, if you’re running a conference, ensure that everyone who attends registers with their email address. This is an opportunity to target multiple members of your intended audience in once place. Research has shown that 64% of trade show and event attendees used events for new prospects and business opportunities, while 3% used them for lead sourcing.

Establish and grow relationships

As Seth Godin, author, marketer and entrepreneur once said: “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.” Building valuable relationships is important for any organisation. Events allow an interpersonal connection that can help relationship building with both past and prospective customers. To establish and grow relationships, hold specific client and prospect-focused events which let customers know that you recognise and value their business.

Event marketing provides organisations with the opportunity to grow awareness, sales and positioning through engaging virtual, live or hybrid events. They can also play a huge part in promotion, so when planning your next event, keep event marketing in mind. Consider your goals carefully and deciding on the type of event you would like to host becomes a whole lot simpler!