Businesses invest a lot of money attending events to promote their products and services. Unfortunately, they often make the mistake of putting pre-promotion responsibilities on the back-burner. But a good pre-promotion campaign can get an increased number of qualified prospects to your exhibit!
Here are a few simple steps you can take before the big day to maximize your exposure when your next event finally rolls around.
Get a List of Prospects
First look at your own list of contacts, and determine two things:
1. Who would be interested in coming to your event
2. Who would benefit from coming to your event
Once you’ve added those people to your guest list, request contact lists from your event sponsors. They might charge a fee ranging from the cost of shipping and handling to upwards of $500 or more. It’s often money well spent if it means a larger number of potential customers will attend your event, especially if you’re setting up at a large convention, where your booth is among thousands of others.
Give People Reasons to Come
Simply announcing the date and time of your event isn’t nearly enough. Go the extra mile, and give your prospects a reason to come. Promote:
• A prize giveaway
• A special guest appearance
• A new product announcement
Things like these pique people’s curiosity and increase their interest in attending. Give your audience an irresistible reason to come, and they won’t resist!
Introduce Yourself with Mail
Contacting the people and companies on your list should be done in any way you can, and that includes traditional means. When you’re sending out direct mailers to promote your event, use First Class Mail, so your message gets to its destination in time for recipients to make travel preparations. Standard Class mail can take two or three weeks to arrive; by that time, it will be too late!
Connect Online
Online pre-promotion can be a cheaper alternative to traditional mailers.
Two great ways to utilize the Web include:
• Sending out emails
• Spreading the word via social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
On social media, find reasons to post something about your event at least once a day:
• Make announcements
• Share photos
• Post useful links
• Share planning updates
Keeping your feed fresh guarantees people see at least some of your promotional activities.
And don’t neglect YouTube. Did you know it’s the second most popular search engine? To generate buzz on YouTube, create short videos (three to five minutes in length), and share them online as reminders of the interesting things you have planned for your event.
Businesses spend a lot of time preparing for the big day and often forget to let people know about it! Next time, build in a pre-promotion plan, so your work is rewarded with high attendance, higher sales, and more leads.