We have been adjusting to a more digital way of life for more than a year. As COVID-19 has prevented large indoor gatherings from happening, businesses have shifted toward online platforms to host virtual events.
With the impact of a global pandemic, it became impossible to host events with large gatherings. Businesses had to turn their personal events or meetings into virtual ones, and it looks like this trend is here to stay.
Virtual events are taking center stage in the 21st century for businesses looking for an easier way to host events. Like events that bring together large groups of people under one roof, marketing your virtual event is equally important. But how do you do it successfully?
To engage a growing audience in a more sophisticated way, let them know more with these six tips for promoting a successful virtual event:
1. Build a Microsite
Successful events are marketed and promoted. Creating a microsite can help you during the promotion and after the event as your audience can go there for all the data they need regarding the event. You can include agendas, speaker bios, sponsor logos, and chat boxes and widgets. You can also give people access to the event through the site and beyond as microsites live after closing remarks. People can still consume content if they missed the event or want to go back and watch it later.
2. Create a Strategy
Careful virtual event planning is essential to hosting a successful virtual event. You don’t want your audience to walk away. So either you are planning to host a significant event with thousands of attendees or a small-scale event, having a strategy is of paramount importance.
Start by collecting data to understand what your audience is interested in. Curating an event that matches the tastes and interests of potential attendees is the first step to success.
Here are some essential questions to ask yourself before hosting a virtual event:
- Either the event will be live, or it will be on-demand or both?
- Will event access be free or gated?
- Will this be a sponsor-based event, or will it be organized independently?
- Which KPIs and data do you want to track?
- What would be the best time to host the event?
- Do you want to conduct a live poll or survey to collect participant opinions?
- How will you market your event?
3. Ask Yourself if Your Event can be Online
This first tip is an important one for marketing virtual events – you should ask yourself whether your event will be successful in the online format.
First, ask yourself these questions:
- Is it possible to do everything I want to do through an online event?
- Will my event provide value to my audience?
- Can I still actually achieve my goals?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, online events are an excellent option for your business. However, if you answered “no,” you may need to go deeper and find out if it’s possible to adjust while making your event a success.
4. Brand Your Virtual Event
If you are pivoting an existing event that you have had to cancel or postpone because of the coronavirus or you think your event fits the umbrella of your brand, we would recommend doing the same.
Use similar logo elements, complementary colors, and fonts to maintain brand consistency. However, if your virtual event is something new and you want to brand it on your own, consider colors, fonts, and themes that suit your audience, industry, and the emotions you want to evoke.
For instance, red is often associated with restaurants, as it is said to induce appetite. In addition, a potential attendee will see your event as your branding for the first time, so these choices are crucial to getting their attention!
As part of this process, you will also want to consider your brand’s messaging strategy and the overall exposure you want your attendees to have.
From website copy and your email marketing to social media posts, the event’s tone, energy, and culture should shine through in all of your branding efforts.
5. Know Your Audience
It is essential to your virtual event marketing plan—if you don’t make it clear, how can you engage and encourage people who will benefit from participating? So, before anything, you should ask yourself what kind of images, language, and overall aesthetic speaks to your audience and what will motivate them to engage.
The answers to these questions should inform everything you do to promote your event and create an on-brand virtual event landing page that captures the essence of your event and attracts attendees.
Your landing page should look completely on-brand for buying tickets, viewing events, and everything from colors to images to videos. Make sure your landing page also clearly states what attendees can expect from your virtual event. Will the recording be made available to them? Will there be a Q&A?
If so, will they be in front of the camera asking the question? What will be the performances? If it’s a fundraiser, where are the donations going? Be specific!
6. Prepare Content Before Announcing Event Date
This tip comes from learning through trial and error. It will happen to you several times that we set an event date, created buy-in from everyone, and then the event content didn’t get ready on time.
The result will be that your promotion period will be much shorter, and it will be difficult for you to fill the program with relevant people.
The average promotional time lasts 3.5 weeks. Hence, if the content is delayed and you only have two weeks to promote your virtual event, you will run into issues.
Your small virtual event marketing plan should indicate that the promotional period will begin when the whole content is created successfully. What content are we talking about?
- Landing Page.
- Marketing automation logic.
- Event topics and discussion points.
- Promotional email.
- Sales kit.
When this content is complete, go back to your stakeholders, and set a date for your small virtual event. It allows you to be prepared and avoid postponing your virtual events and losing credibility with your stakeholders.
Conclusion
Usually, social media is an essential marketing tool that allows community managers to engage audiences directly, sell more tickets, build a community around the event, and optimize ROI. So build a social media marketing strategy and make your brand event the talk of the town. If you are looking for content marketing solutions, you can contact us. Our experts are here to help you for free. Call now!