On the surface, little about the events industry seems to have changed in the past 20 years, but new technologies are making it easier to reach a wider audience than ever before. The number of promoters and event organisers in every major city is constantly rising.
A large number of up-and-comers are already using some innovative techniques below, so isnt it time you got involved too? With the advent of social media sites and mobile marketing, the rules of event promotion have changed. Heres Bullseyehubs tips for every event promoter, new or established, to stay in the game.
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1. Make your email work for you
A mailing list is essential so people can keep track of your events and the venues where you are hosting them. A popular mailing list will also make you more attractive to a prospective venue as they will see all the clients you are bringing with you.
2. Do more with social media
Post your events and invite people the first opportunity you can on Facebook and find fans on Twitter who might retweet your posts or even promote a hashtag with the name of the event.
Get a photographer and get tagging on Facebook and make sure you put a watermark on these images and publish them in albums on Facebook where the name and date of the event is clear. While most of your Facebook work should be done well in advance, Twitter has a very different timescale, and is best used just before or even on the day of a live music event.
3. Customise your Facebook page
If you havent heard of Static FBML yet, now is the time to learn. Static FBML is a Facebook application that allows you to add basic HTML to your Facebook page, making it look that bit more professional. With Static FBML you can create an attractive landing page, insert a form to collect email addresses for a newsletter connected to a competition and have a link back to your main website to generate some traffic.
4. Stack em high, sell em cheap and sell em in advance
In a major city with so many events on every night, you can easily price yourself out of the market, even if youre spending big to book big name acts. Consider using a tiered pricing plan, with tickets getting more expensive as the event gets nearer.
5. Reward loyalty
After a few events, youll start to see the same faces showing up each time, and might even see certain people who always bring a lot of people with them. These are your best customers and you should reward them accordingly. In the clubbing game this can be as unsubtle as keeping a couple of bottles of wine behind the bar for them, or a queue jump for their friends. Remember the person who always brings ten people with them is more deserving of special attention than just an old friend. This kind of word-of-mouth marketing will help your event grow outside of your existing network.
6. Go mobile & Go Secret
An often overlooked approach to mobile marketing is the opportunity to have a secret destination and send out mobile tickets. In the past promoters have used techniques like these to make sure a venue plays ball with you requirements because if people only find out on the day where a party is happening, you can change venue without too much trouble.
7. Its the Day of the Event - Dont Rest on your Laurels!
Its a common mistake to think that all of your marketing should be done before the event even happens, but during your event you can lay the groundwork for the next one. Twitter has an extremely short timescale, and is best used just before or even on the day of a clubbing, comedy or live music event; so remember to keep a saved search in Twitter for relevant tweets and these will later serve as testimonials for your past events.
8. Be interactive
A live Twitterfeed at your event has multiple applications: Be it for competitions, suggestions at a comedy Improv night, requests for the DJ, shout-outs for clubbers on the pull or just to keep the energy going, with your own unique #hashtag you could have your own trending topic by the end of the night. As well as a projector youll need some software like Twitterfall (best for larger events as you can effectively censor profane tweets) or StreamTwitter (if you want to maximise the number displayed).
With the advent of websites likeUStream.tv making it easier than ever before to stream events instantly online, your event can reach an international audience. This live engagement means its easy to spread your events online and get fans involved even if they didnt buy a ticket this time around.
This blog was written by the team at Bullseyehub - Bullseyehub allows you to: broadcast event listings to 40+ entertainment sites instantly; design and deliver branded email campaigns; engage customers on the move with mobile flyers and guestlists; schedule and monitor Facebook and Twitter messages; track marketing performance and gain insight with powerful analytics while managing your customer lists - all from one central hub.
