Whether you're looking to increase brand awareness, generate new leads, or build stronger relationships with customers, event marketing can help you achieve big goals. By blending traditional and digital marketing strategies, and leveraging both in-person and live-streamed events, you can reach your audience in impactful ways.
But putting together a successful event takes more than just booking a venue and inviting guests. It requires a solid plan, creative promotion, and smart follow-up to maximize engagement.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through every step of event marketing, from planning and promotion to tracking results. Get ready to take your marketing to the next level and bring your brand to life through powerful, engaging event experiences!
What is event marketing?
Event marketing is a strategy that brings your brand to life by hosting or participating in events—whether face-to-face or virtual—to showcase what you offer. These events can be anything from intimate meet-and-greets to large-scale conferences, trade shows, or even live-streamed webinars. They’re all about creating unique, real-time experiences that allow you to connect with event attendees in ways other channels just can’t match.
At its core, event marketing is about building meaningful relationships. It lets your audience engage with your brand in a tangible way, giving them an experience that stays with them long after the event.
Why event marketing matters
Event marketing is a powerful strategy that allows businesses to connect with people on a deeper, more personal level. Here’s why it’s so valuable:
- Build personal connections and relationships: Meeting your customers face-to-face (or virtually!) lets you connect in a way that feels genuine and real-time. By engaging directly with event attendees, you gain insights into what matters to them, helping you shape messaging and products to meet their needs.
- Boost brand awareness and generate leads: Events create excitement around your brand, increasing visibility and sparking interest. By incorporating both in-person and live-streamed options, you can expand your reach and attract new leads eager to learn more about your brand.
- Drive sales: Events give attendees a chance to experience your products or services firsthand. By blending digital marketing techniques with live interactions, you help address any questions or hesitations attendees might have. Add in a special promotion or exclusive event discount, and you can motivate attendees to make a purchase on the spot.
From building connections to driving sales, event marketing transforms brand impact and reaches goals in ways that both digital marketing and face-to-face interactions complement each other.
Types of events
There are various ways to approach event marketing, and the best choice depends on what you’re hoping to achieve. Events can be in-person, virtual, or a hybrid of both, allowing you to reach your audience wherever they are.
This flexibility means you can tailor the event experience to fit your goals, budget, and target audience.
Here are some popular types of events and how they can work for your brand:
- Conferences and trade shows: Large gatherings where industry professionals come together to showcase products, share knowledge, and make connections. These events are perfect for positioning your brand among peers and reaching a broad audience through in-person experiences or live streaming sessions.
- Meet-and-greets: Smaller, more intimate events that give you the chance to engage with customers and prospects face-to-face. These are ideal for building stronger connections, gathering direct feedback, and offering personalized experiences.
- Product launches: Events focused on introducing new products or services, generating excitement, and showcasing product benefits in real time. Product launches can be held in-person or live-streamed to reach a wider digital audience.
- Workshops and training sessions: Hands-on events where attendees can gain valuable knowledge or skills, delivered face-to-face or through a virtual platform. Hosting workshops positions your brand as an expert in the field, giving attendees something truly useful and interactive.
- Community events: Events that foster connection among specific groups and build shared experiences, whether in person or online. These events help build relationships within a particular community and highlight your brand’s commitment to that group.
Each of these event types allows you to engage attendees in unique ways, whether through face-to-face interactions, digital marketing elements, or real-time virtual connections.
Further reading: 9 video ideas to market your digital, physical or phygital event on social media
Setting goals for your event
Whatever type of event you choose, having clear goals and a strategy in place is key to success. Here’s how to set meaningful goals to ensure you’re getting the most from your investment:
1. Identify your target audience
Before planning any details, think about who you want at your event. Are they looking for face-to-face experiences, or will a live-streamed or hybrid event better suit their needs? Knowing your audience helps you create messaging and experiences that resonate. For instance, a tech conference might target software developers, IT professionals, and entrepreneurs. By understanding their needs and preferences, you can tailor the event experience to meet their expectations.
2. Define clear objectives
Once you know your audience, set specific goals. Here are a few common objectives:
- Increase brand awareness: If your brand is new or less known, focus on promoting the event to spread the word through social media, email, and digital marketing channels.
- Generate leads: Create opportunities for attendees to interact with your brand, such as through demos, networking sessions, or real-time Q&As.
- Drive sales: If you’re selling a product or service, offer special discounts or limited-time promotions to encourage purchases at the event.
- Strengthen customer relationships: For established customers, consider a VIP experience or personalized interaction to build loyalty and appreciation.
Make your objectives specific and measurable. For example, instead of saying, “increase brand awareness,” aim to “boost website traffic by 20% in the month following the event.” This makes it easier to track progress and evaluate success.
3. Measure your success
To determine your event’s impact, track key metrics before, during, and after the event:
- Attendance: How many people showed up, either in person or virtually? This tells you how effective your promotion was.
- Engagement: Measure attendee interaction with your brand, such as social media mentions, email opens, and website visits.
- Leads generated: Count the number of leads collected at the event to gauge your lead-generation strategy.
- Sales closed: Look at sales directly linked to the event to calculate ROI and assess your sales approach.
Tracking these metrics helps you understand what worked, make adjustments, and improve for future events.
Promoting your event
After all your hard work, it’s time to get the word out! Effective promotion is key to boosting attendance and creating excitement. Here are some tried-and-true strategies to help you promote your event:
1. Leverage social media
Social media is an essential tool for building buzz in real-time. Start by creating a unique hashtag for your event and use it consistently across all posts. You can also:
- Create a Facebook event page to centralize details and boost engagement
- Run targeted ads on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
- Partner with influencers to amplify your reach and draw more interest
Case Study Inspiration: The Swedish Marketing Association has successfully utilized video to enhance their event marketing efforts. By using Storykit, they’ve been able to create engaging, professional-quality videos to promote events, highlight event experiences, and attract new attendees. This approach has helped them expand their reach and showcase the value of their events to a broader audience.
2. Utilize email marketing
Email remains one of the most effective ways to reach your audience directly. Create a series of emails to:
- Introduce and promote the event
- Share details about speakers, sessions, or special features
- Send timely updates and reminders to encourage registration and engagement
3. Create engaging content
Building valuable, relevant content can help draw people in. Consider creating videos, blog posts, or infographics that:
- Highlight event details and benefits
- Offer tips related to your industry or the event’s theme
- Showcase speakers, panelists, or event highlights to get people excited
Further reading: Drive attendance with the best event marketing tools available
Follow up after your event
Following up after your event is key to extending its impact and building lasting relationships. Here’s how to make the most of your post-event follow-up:
1. Send thank-you emails
Show appreciation to attendees, sponsors, speakers, and partners by sending personalized thank-you emails. Share event highlights, key takeaways, and any resources you promised. This thoughtful touch leaves a positive impression and helps attendees feel valued.
2. Share event highlights on social media
Post photos, videos, and testimonials across your social media channels to keep the momentum going. Highlighting these moments can attract engagement from those who missed the event and spark interest for future ones.
3. Gather and analyze feedback
Send out surveys to capture attendees’ insights and feedback. Ask what they enjoyed and where there’s room for improvement. Use this feedback to understand your strengths and fine-tune future events.
4. Nurture leads and follow up with prospects
Keep the conversation going with personalized emails or calls to nurture the leads generated. Provide additional resources, answer any questions, and guide prospects further along your sales funnel.
5. Repurpose event content
Maximize the value of content from the event by repurposing it into blog posts, videos, or podcasts. Share this content on your website, social media, and newsletters to reach new audiences and provide ongoing value.
6. Measure event success
Review your metrics—attendance, engagement, lead generation, and sales closed—to evaluate the event’s impact. These insights are invaluable for refining your strategy and making data-driven improvements for future events.
7. Maintain relationships
Stay connected with attendees, sponsors, and speakers. Engage with them on social media, invite them to future events, or share exclusive offers and industry news. Building these relationships fosters loyalty and opens doors for future partnerships.
Your next move: Make event marketing work for you
Event marketing is a powerful way to connect with your audience in real-time and create meaningful, face-to-face interactions that drive engagement. Whether you're hosting or participating, events give you the opportunity to showcase your brand, build awareness, generate leads, and drive sales—all while creating memorable experiences for your audience.
In this guide, we’ve explored everything you need to know to make your events successful: from understanding the importance of event marketing to setting clear goals, choosing the right format, and planning each step for maximum impact.
