Event Marketing: Is it Time to Get Together?

Human beings crave connection. We love getting together, experiencing new things, and most of all, being a part of something. When it comes to your business, nothing brings people together quite like event marketing. How can you leverage event marketing into more awareness, interest, and conversions? 

What is Event Marketing?

Event marketing is the use of in-person or real-time engagement to promote your brand, service, or product. While most of the time they center around the brand in question, brands can also be sponsors or secondary acts. For instance, a concert might be both sponsored by a brand and have a secondary branded location on-site, like a merchandise tent or information kiosk. 

A marketing event can be either virtual or in-person. Given the state of the world, most marketing events over the past couple of years have been the former. Furthermore, event marketing can be used to promote a specific brand or product, generate new leads, and even find potential business partnerships. 

Using events as a marketing channel offers a unique experience. Customers get a chance to see and try products first-hand, have questions answered by brand reps, and perhaps most importantly, see what a brand is really like in person. 

How You Can Use Event Marketing

While the entire world came to a virtual (pun-intended) standstill in March of 2020, things are finally starting to return to a semblance of normality. That means it might be time to bring your audience together again. 

Live events are an extension of your brand and a seminal piece of content marketing. That means you have the opportunity to boost visibility, awareness, and engagement before, during, and after your event. Integrate your event marketing into your website and social media content to further boost your attendance and engagement. 

Consider how your brand’s attendance at a trade show or other public, high-visibility event might not only connect you with more customers–but more opportunities. Strategic event marketing will allow your brand to break into new markets, both geographically and demographically. You might even find new customers-or better yet, customer segments-you never knew existed!

In-Person or Virtual?

In-person events like themed exhibits, displays, or presentations can help your customers move through the buyer’s journey. Not to mention, you can collect valuable customer data, such as email addresses, demographics, and even buying behaviors. 

If your brand or your customers aren’t ready to get back in person on a larger scale, virtual events can work just the same. Using teleconferencing software like Zoom, you can host events like webinars, interviews, entertainment shows, and so much more!

Bring Your Audience Together!

Not all events are an opportunity for event marketing. Instead, brands need to be strategic and selective. Think like your customers. Not only should you plan your event marketing content around what they want and need but the events themselves should be accessible, inclusive, and entertaining. 

Providing your customers what they want will net you more sales and a place of trust in their minds. By engaging in meaningful event marketing, you can bring more customers together and provide them with what they want! Start thinking about what kinds of event marketing you can engage in this spring and summer!