How To Get More People To Your Event

Working in the event supplies industry, we have helped companies increase event customers using tried and tested methods such as advertising banners & flags, bill boards and posters, to name but a few. These products have been used all over the UK to promote everything from local events such as the Welsh Bog Snorkeling Championships and school fetes to major sports events like the London Triathlon, the British motor cycle GP, and Cowes week.

These methods are great for drawing attention in the physical world, but there are also simple methods to make your event an even greater success with the use of online tools, as outlined below.

1. Your web site. Is the event advertised on your home page with a link to a separate page on the site? If not this is a key way of drawing attention to your event with people who are already interested in your product or service. Implementing an online registration system is beneficial for committing people to attending your event. Get this set up early even if you don’t have a full list of acts or times etc, you can have a “send me more info” button.

2. Use Social media. The secret to this powerful tool is to get word of moth referrals. If you tell 5 people and they each tell 5 people who in turn tell 5 people after 8 steps you have told nearly 80,000 people! Make it easy by giving them the text and a pre-shortened link, using a service like tinyurl, to your event homepage or registration page that they can copy and paste to Twitter and Facebook. For Twitter users, add a hashtag (a # sign followed by a word or phrase, i.e. #homeshow2010) to brand individual tweets about your event. This lets Twitter users (and you) easily see who else is tweeting about the event. Keep tweeting whenever you have fresh news, a new act or special guest.

3. Use email. If you have an email list use it to send a series of emails prior to the event. The first email sent out in plenty of time could be a simple invitation sent, such as ‘8 weeks prior to the event’. Make it personal, keep it short and to the point but sell it to them “A great day out for the whole family” is a good example of this. You could ask them to pre register on your event homepage and give them an incentive, maybe “Free entry to our prize draw”.

Nearer the event, say the week before, send a follow up email. A new invitation for those who have not registered with an attention grabbing headline; “Only 2 days left” “10 seats left”. Also send a reminder to the people who have already registered. A helpful reminder that can boost attendance.

4. Partners. – Ask for links from suppliers and partners. Have you got caterers booked? Are you raising money for a charity? Ask them for an advert article or link on their web site, giving you exposure and awareness.

5. Blogs. These deserve a separate section away from other types of social media as you can search for blogs related to your industry, product or service and narrow your focus on people who would have an inherent interest in your event. See if you can get a link or advertising banner on the relevant blog, as this will be beneficial for both parties.