These days, businesses are finding all types of ways to sell their products. Who hasn’t gone to an event and saw a tent giving away t-shirts or free blankets with the company’s brand name on it? Maybe you’ve been approached by someone passing out examples of their product and asking you to sign up so they can send you further information. These attempts to get your attention in an organized environment is called Event Marketing.

Event Marketing and Why You Need It

Event Marketing is a promotional attempt to make consumers aware of brands and the products and services they provide by face-to-face contact. This is why it’s normal to see several companies with booths at concerts, sporting events or at local fairs giving away promotional items and asking for your information. The goal is to have direct contact with consumers, supplying them with fun samples and keeping their attention with live demonstrations. This kind of marketing can be very effective because it approaches consumers who are willing to listen to what your services offer.

Why Is It Important?

The opportunity to showcase your brand first-hand to consumers who may not have known about your brand before is every business owners dream. A successful campaign will give value to attendees through a plethora of information about your services and products. A free sample or even a discount can go a long and create customer loyalty. Attendees at events are able to personally experience your brand and see how it works before buying it.

Types of Events

Live events are becoming popular again and some marketing professionals are eager to take part in the growing trend. Before you dive in, it’s important to understand the different types of marketing events and how to strategically use them to achieve your business goals:

  • Live Sports
  • Concerts
  • Local Fairs
  • Trade Shows
  • Marathons
  • Outside Radio Promotion
  • Automobile Events
  • Technology Events

Instead of replacing events, the internet is enhancing them by allowing marketers to reach their audience in advance and increase the attendees at your trade show or live event.

Pre-Marketing

A company should keep in contact with their audience the entire year, not just during the event. Businesses need to decide how to capture attention, build anticipation and push ticket sales before the event begins. You want to make sure that relationships and conversations continue on the same track before and after each event. It’s a good idea to inform customers of an exciting new keynote speaker or if your giving away free samples to a new product. It’s also a good idea to offer discounts and insights to anyone who attends the live event. These coupons or discounts create high interest and have people looking forward to your event.

Marketing During Event

When you’re at the actual event, it’s imperative to be as organized as possible. All staff should be in place and ready to help all potential customers that come by the booth. Demonstrations, tutorials and explanations of the products and services should be straightforward and clear. Your booths should have an adequate amount of samples with your brand, logo and messaging visible at the event. Create a hashtag on on social media and post images and videos from the live event with the hashtag you created. If your goal is to attract more users on mobile devices, then your company can create an in-app info booth.

Post-Marketing Event

Once the event is over, send an email or text message to all the individuals who visited your booth. Customers appreciate a nice thank you for stopping by your booth. This also gives you a chance to present an offer to them. Discounts and promotional giveaways will grow your customer base when presented to the right demographic. This way you keep the relationship ongoing and keeps your brand fresh in their memory. You want to make sure the customers feel you haven’t forgotten about them and that their business is important to you.

Measuring Results

For each marketing event, you should set tangible goals and create a way to measure your results. Maybe your goal is to have 100 people visit your booth, or maybe your goal is to collect emails and pass out promotional items. Whatever it is, have a clear, defined way to track those numbers so you know if the event was successful or not.

If you have social media set up with your company, then keep track of who’s engaging with your brand and what they’re saying about the event. Engage with those users in real time to establish a connection. You can even encourage potential customers to follow your company on a given social media platform, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. Social media has become the number one technique companies use to organically engage with potential customers and generate leads in a matter of minutes.

The Takeaway

Overall, this type of marketing is one of the most powerful types of advertising for a business of any size. Check out our event marketing portfolio for examples of our work. Learn how to effectively set up your event and get the result you desire. The event should be fun, enjoyable and bring about new relationships. People love receiving small gadgets or free items. This kind of marketing is a face-to-face, tangible way to engage with potential customers and make them aware of a new product or promotion.