Where the real world meets the web: Promoting events through the web

Over the past few years, small business owners have begun leveraging the web to promote their products and services, using everything from email marketing to social media to maximize their exposure. However, one of the most effective promotional strategies – particularly for business-facing companies – remains real-world events and conferences.

Just because an event is happening offline doesn't mean the internet can't be use to drum up awareness. Online media makes it easy to track interest and reach a wider audience, which in turn simplifies the planning process of the event. The only real consideration is which online marketing channels are the best for promoting a get-together.

Social networks

It should go without saying – social media is crucial for promoting events. Conventions and meet-ups are all about people meeting other people, so it only makes sense that social networks would be effective tools for generating awareness for an event.

"You can create a Facebook page and encourage people to 'like' it by using incentives, such as a discount on ticket prices, for example. You can create a hashtag for your event to track discussions on Twitter," MarketingProfs suggests. "If your event is large enough, you could create a designated Twitter account for delegates and others to follow."

With that said, the sheer number of people using social media can make it challenging to reach an event's target audience. There are more than 750 million people using Facebook, but few will be interested or able to attend. Businesses need to identify who their core audience is and focus their marketing efforts on these individuals to penetrate the noise.

Microsites

Another common event management tool is a microsite. Unlike conventional small business websites, a microsite may only have five or 10 pages that are all related to the event in question.

What is useful about microsites is that they are condensed and have all the event information in a specific, dedicated location. This is the go-to site for purchasing tickets, finding schedules, relaying news and posting testimonials. Prospective attendees don't need to access the page through a company's main site, they can simply go to the address for the microsite.

Moreover, microsites make it easier to promote events. Entrepreneurs can include links to their site in emails and social media status updates, or launch paid search campaigns promoting the microsite and the event.

"However, building and maintaining effective microsites take time and effort. You need to make sure that you've got quality content on there that will engage your audience. You also need to ensure that you update the microsite leading up to your event. "Don't just build it and hope they will come," the news source notes.

On-site promotional pages

Social media and microsites are effective ways of promoting events, but they also cost time and money. Creating new websites can cost a substantial amount of money, while updating Facebook pages and websites takes time. Prior to a big event, both of these valuable commodities are scarce.

With that in mind, perhaps the simplest way of promoting an event is by simply setting up a promotional section on existing websites. This ensures anyone accessing a business' website will be made aware of the event, and new sections on the site cost considerably less than creating a standalone page.

"Because such pages will be a part of your website, you'll already have a built-in readership willing to hear your latest news and views," MarketingProfs explains. "And then, there's brand equity: Putting a page on your website immediately links the event to your brand. Your audience should think, 'Oh, it must be good. I'll sign up!'"

How has your company promoted events in the past? Did you use online media to ensure you were reaching the broadest audience? 

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