The lead-up to your event is just as important as the day of. In fact, it's even more important because it's how you create excitement among attendees and encourage people to sign up. Ultimately, the goal of your event is to reshape attendee behaviour and get them to do something.
You want people to buy into your event experience, whether to purchase tickets, engage with sponsors, or become clients. So, let's go through how to create the right buzz for your event and give attendees an unforgettable experience.
Creating Buzz for Your Event
Pre-event marketing is the ticket to successfully promoting your event. First, you need to spark the interest of potential attendees and encourage them to take action. Then, you need to cultivate a sense of excitement before the event to give them a taste of what's to come and, ultimately, stay at the forefront of their minds.
Next, you need to get the conversation going, such as by creating a social media hashtag. Use your social channels to post visually appealing images, GIFs, and videos—you could even reveal some sneak peeks of the event schedule, behind-the-scenes footage, or countdown images.
Utilise your website and email communications, too. Most event management platforms allow you to build personalised websites with your branding, colours, logos, and themes. Some also handle event registration, pricing, and pre-registrations alongside websites. You can embed registration forms, post information about speakers, upload schedules, and reveal need-to-know details like travel directions to keep up the momentum.
You can also schedule marketing emails before the event, revealing exclusive previews, prizes, and giveaways, or direct attendees to your website for early-bird access.
Reshaping Attendee Behaviour
The main goal of any event is to change attendees' behaviour in some way, whether to challenge the way they see something or enable them to learn something new. The lead-up is incredibly important for encouraging attendees to take action and building trust, but so too is what you do on the day of the event.
For instance, setting aside time to transition from exercises or speaker sessions is crucial for helping attendees digest information and reflect on what they've learned.
Active listening exercises are also important for influencing behaviour. This can include live polls, Q&As, or small group discussions. Anything that gives attendees the space to contribute and reflect is hugely beneficial for building relationships and initiating the desired response. And of course, provide attendees with powerful calls to action and key takeaways. That way, you'll be sure to leave a lasting impression.
Post-Event Follow-Ups: Sustaining Engagement and Memories
Don't underestimate the importance of post-event follow-ups. Communications such as thank-you messages, event highlights and recaps, exclusive content, further reading, or feedback forms are necessary for building meaningful relationships and inspiring attendees to take action. You can also tease future events to encourage attendees to register for those.
Create Events That Inspire Change
You know it yourself—an event that inspires is one that you'll remember. It's no different for your attendees. By creating the right buzz in the lead-up, your attendees will be excited before they've even set foot through the door. And by creating space for them to reflect, get involved, and share stories all year round, you'll leave them with memories that last. Check out leading EMS idloom for all your event management needs, from pre-event planning to post-event communications.