Tips for Pre-Event Marketing

Create a compelling description that clearly states the topic, time, place as well as specific benefits for each type of attendee
Include a bio and picture of the speaker
Add an image and/or event-related videos
Have a prominent “Register Now” button

It is important to get the word out to as many people as possible. If you have an established list, use it
Create an inspiring subject line. Without it, your email will just be lost in a sea of inboxes
If you have positive feedback from previous events or credentials for the speakers, include it in the email body
Plan to send an event marketing email several times and with a different subject line

Pick an event hashtag that is short, unique and memorable and use it with every tweet or post regarding the event
Link your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn bios directly to the event page during the time you are promoting the event
Using advanced search on Twitter, find local people who are interested in the event topic – follow them, mention them in tweets or even direct message them
Tweet/post updates often. Cover topics such as when registration opens, countdown, information about early-bird registration, thanks to sponsors, etc.
On the thank you page after the registration process, offer to let people share the event on social media. The tweet or post will announce that they are going and includes the hashtag and the link to the registration page

If you don’t have the budget to hire professionals, offer free admission, or even a table at the event space, to a pro photographer or videographer in exchange for services
For affiliate partners, create a unique promotion code for each partner and speaker to use when they promote the event and even offer a discount to people in their social networks
Provide each sponsor with tweets. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they will help promote the event and they are less likely to use the wrong link or hashtag
The night before the event, invite your speakers, sponsors, influencers and members out for drinks or dinner. This will give everyone a chance to bond. Strong personal connections may lead to better cohesion on the big day

Many media sites, especially the hyper-local news sites, let you post events
See if the organizations that you are affiliated with will help you promote to other members or event at an event they are having
Make sure the press knows. There are journalists out there who cover local events. You can find them by searching for similar events on news websites and then contact them with an invitation or press badge

Choose your keywords wisely. The target keyword should combine the event topic, the word “event,” and the name of your city
Use a title tag and header that includes your target keyword. When writing your title tag, put the name of the event last so the keyword appears first. This will help indicate relevance to Google
The event page should have a detailed event description, which includes the keyword(s) several times, but remember you don’t want to “keyword stuff”. Also, make it easy to read. If you have a lot of text, break it up into short, concise paragraphs, use headers and make bullet lists
Links are important for search engine rankings, so make sure to link to the event page from other pages on your site. This will not only guide visitors to the page but also help search engines know that the page is relevant

For B2B event marketing and all other full-service integrated marketing, please contact Sagefrog Marketing Group.

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