As a brand owner, you likely already understand the value of events, not only for launching a new product but as a way to connect your customers with your brand. You also likely know how difficult it can be to successfully market events to get the desired turnout and reach your goals. Fortunately, there are many strategies that can help improve your marketing and the success of your events. One of the most effective strategies is advocacy marketing.
Advocacy marketing is a cost-effective strategy that can optimize attendance and engagement with your event, allowing you to potentially reach thousands of people, or even more.
Keep reading to learn more about the power of advocacy marketing to make your event successful.
The Importance of Events
It can be easy to think that not all events are created equal, but the truth is, every event can have an impact. In fact, many consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service following an event activation. Also, companies who invest in events often see a high return on their investment.
Why is that? Because events provide a valuable opportunity for customers to form in-person connections with your brand. In a world where customers are most often interacting with your business digitally, an event can provide a nice change of pace and opportunity to meet in the real world.
While events can also be fun for both your business and customers, they’re also a great way to drive sales and increase leads. There are many ways you can increase your sales and support lead generation, including:
-
Event-only discount promotions
-
Mobile point-of-sale systems
-
Branded promotional products
-
Contests and sweepstakes
The Role of Advocacy Marketing
So by now you understand the value of events and are ready to launch one. But how do you guarantee that you can drive excitement, attendance, and engagement? That’s where advocacy marketing comes in.
With advocacy marketing, your loyal customers are the driving force behind your marketing strategy. Leveraging the power of word-of-mouth, your current customers can bring new attendees to your events by sharing their experiences with their networks.
So, how do you get started?
-
Leverage Influencers: We live in a world where influencers carry a lot of weight and can attract customers to your event. So, consider building your event around an influencer that will resonate with your audience. Do some research to find the right influencer that reflects your brand’s values and voice and invite them to promote your event. You can also consider inviting them to join the event in-person as a way to attract more attendees. If you’re unsure if your brand can attract a big influencer, consider reaching out to micro-influencers. Micro-influencers are those with 30,000 followers or less, but they can still be helpful in promoting your event.
-
Add a Personal Touch: Leverage your loyal followers and work with them to personally invite attendees. Receiving a personal invitation from someone they know and trust can go a long way in encouraging someone to attend your event.
-
Share Quality and Valuable Content: While you’re busy creating an experience, don’t forget about content. Make sure your event has content that is relevant to your audience and that they’ll want to connect with it. You want your audience to be excited about your event and make sure they get something valuable out of it.
-
Create a Hashtag: A lot of people will be talking about your event online, so organize the chatter with an official hashtag. Make the hashtag easy to use and remember by creating one that is unique, concise, and relevant to the event.
-
Provide Incentives: The truth is, excitement alone is not enough for people to come and share information about your event. Therefore, you may want to consider providing an incentive for promoting your event such as exclusive offers and discounts or freebies.
Conclusion
Planning a successful event can take a lot of work but the power of advocacy marketing can take some of the burden off your team’s shoulders. Leverage your current customers to bring you new ones and skyrocket your event attendance!
If you’re interested in learning more about advocacy marketing, reach out to InGo today. We specialize in enabling digital word-of-mouth digital marketing to cut through the noise and super-charge your events.
