Marketing an event is all in the details. Especially if you are hosting an online event. A good place to start is event listing websites as they form an integral part of event promotional strategies.
While listing an event, you must keep an eye on little things that matter, be it virtual or physical. It starts with checking off a list of things to do before you put up an event. Even the most complex of projects have a checklist before it goes live. We’ve curated a helpful checklist of what we learned from planning ours. After you have checked off the list, it comes down to promoting the event.
Your event listing must grab the attention of visitors and tell them what’s on offer. There are plenty of events that get people’s attention online. Yours must stand out.
Choose a Platform
There are many event calendars and places to list your event online. Listing your event in a popular event marketplace will get you a lot of eyeballs. Every marketplace has certain features and benefits for the price you pay to list on them.
There are many platforms you can use for your events.
- Airmeet for summits and networking events
- BrightTALK specializes in webinars
- Zoom and GoToMeeting for meetings.
Choosing a platform is the first step to listing your event. Promotion on listing directories or marketplaces needs creatives like banner images and videos. You will need to know the size recommendation of the creatives needed and each platform may have different size recommendations.
Design an Awesome Event Logo
If you are having a one-off event, create a captivating logo that will have great brand recall. If you are creating an event series, it makes sense for you to use the same logo for all your events in that series.
While creating a logo, use a color scheme that follows your company brand guidelines. The logo you design must be a reflection of your brand be it the fonts, shapes, colors, patterns, etc. used in your logo. The design that you choose should be attractive, simplistic way, and social media-friendly. Remember, the logo should be the visual summation of your event!
Use an Attention-Grabbing Image
When people browse any event website, the image is the first thing that catches their attention. Images can never be an after-thought. The image must represent your event and should capture the experience your attendees can expect of the event. To ensure that your event image looks amazing, choose a high-resolution photo that’s one-of-a-kind, inspiring, and grabs your attendees’ attention.
Here are some visual approaches:
- A picture with a person in motion always works. If it has some drama, it adds to the effect.
- If there is a person connected to the event, add their image on the creative. Use the picture of any performer at the event, or a nice image of a participant.
- The image could depict the positive of attending the event or the negative of not attending the event.
- Show the nice part of the event like the food, brightly lit spaces, etc.
- An image with a snippet of the event, or on a visually interesting aspect is a good way to grab attention.
Make the Title Alluring
Once you hook the prospective audience with your image, work on the title. While the image is the first thing people see, the title is the next thing. You have only a few seconds to make an impression. To make it count, write a catchy title to make your prospective audiences stop and investigate further.
It need not be sensational, or unbelievably fantastical. It must be kept short and simple, without omitting the selling points.
For example, ‘Live Sales Webinar’ may not light up someone’s eyes. Instead writing ‘Achieving Sales Success in Asia’ will grab people’s attention and they may stop at least for a few seconds, which is enough time for them to decide to click on the title or move on.
Note: You may also choose to show an image and say something about the event on the image to reinforce the title of the event. Ensure the right relationship between the title and image.
Write a Convincing Copy
It is exciting when people show up at your event. And your excitement must show in your copy.
In a few paragraphs, explain why you think this event will help people and why people must be excited about the event. Here are a few key points:
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Make it Reader-Friendly
The copy must finish within a few paragraphs, preventing prospective audiences from running into a wall of text. Keep paragraphs short to make it readable. Include the names of the speakers and what the audience can expect from them. Let the audience know how they will be entertained and what they expect to gain from the event. Don’t forget to include the price and what it covers.
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Must be Professionally Written
How you write matters as much as what you write. The event description is a representation of your company. Though it doesn’t mean that you will not organize a well-managed event, it sure makes for an internet fodder for ‘grammar nazis.’
Badly written copies with grammar errors circulate on the internet, forcing you to run for cover. It also must be kept free from inappropriate slangs, texting abbreviations, typos, and grammatical errors. Use tools like Grammarly to create a professional copy.
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Optimize for SEO and Use Tags
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not only used to write websites and blog copies, it applies to your event listing content also. After all, your event listing is a web copy too. Research relevant keywords that people use to look for events in your industry and use them in your copy.
Use important keywords to your event title to maximize exposure. Look at other successful event listings and take inspiration for alternative keywords. Most event listing websites will need you to categorize events so that people can find your events easily where keywords may come in handy. Use them to help your audience narrow down their search.
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Make it Easy for People to Reach You
Make life easy for people to reach you. They should be able to find your event by including a map if it is in a physical location. Registered users can click on the map to open the app on the phone and go. They should also be able to find your social media profiles and be able to share your event on their social media profiles.
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Reinforce the Messaging With a Short Video
Including a video to your copy is also an effective strategy to grab attention. You can show speaker details, quick information about the event, and demonstrate what your audience can look forward to in the video.
Adding footage from your previous event will pique audience interest. There are free video creation tools like Lumen5 that will do the trick. You can easily arrange how you want the information to flow with nice music that reflects the mood of the event.
Test the Platform
The recent worldwide pandemic has forced everyone to host events online. In the future, event managers may conduct hybrid events. If your event is hybrid, you must conduct a systems check at the physical location while your digital markets must test out the online events platform.
You must also test out the platform before you publish the event. Make sure the title and the description read well, and see if the image is going well with the description or not. Also, make sure to add your tax details and bank details so that the payments are routed to your account.
In the end, make sure people are able to enter their name and email address, and then make payments. You don’t need to charge your credit card, but see if the payment link is going to the right payment processing platform. After everything is alright, make your event live.
Summing Up
Using this guide to list your event will make a great first impression. Brainstorming on crucial things like the title, banner image, and the description will ensure that your event gets the right kind of attention that it deserves.
If you looking for a one-stop solution to all your event managing activities, check out Speaker Engage. Speaker Engage is not just an event listing platform, but it has multiple functionalities like speaker management, a dashboard, and more. We have an extensive Event Directory to list and redirect audiences to your event. Learn how you can try it for free or get in touch with us at support@speakerengage.com
