Every event needs to be promoted effectively if you want to enjoy the best returns. All event managers know of the fear. The fear, that despite all of your hard work, no one will turn up. (Cue tumbleweeds)

How can you expect to attract attendees, if you don’t communicate with them and build interest?

Promoting your event can be costly, but it doesn’t have to be.

Guerrilla marketing is a technique that focuses on creating bold and unconventional statements whilst maintaining a low cost. For Event Profs who are strapped for cash, this could be the alternative you’ve been looking for. It keeps your marketing fresh, whilst also yielding maximum results.

We’ve put together a list of Guerrilla marketing tactics you can use to promote your event. We’ve included some of our favourite examples for inspiration too!

Social Media

One of the most obvious (and easiest to use) are social media channels. Through hashtags and lists, you can easily find your prospect audience. Thanks to social media, it’s now possible to literally ‘follow’ your audience. You can see what they’re up to, their interests or what events they’ve recently been to.

Once you’ve found your audience, you can then create content that’s relevant to them. Create high-quality content – images, graphics, videos, gifs. If this goes viral, you and your event will gain huge exposure.

Using all of your channels to your advantage is key to getting the most exposure possible. Reach out to your audience on multiple platforms. Create a Facebook page for your event, release an event hashtag for your audience to follow on Twitter. You can even collaborate with high profile influencers on these channels (and in your industry) and have them promote your event to their larger audience.

Email Newsletters

A budget friendly option, email newsletters are relatively cheap and easy to use. If your event is an annual affair, you can email previous attendees in advance to build up hype for this year’s event.

However, you need to make sure that the content you’re sending them is of value. People don’t like to feel as if they are being sold to.

Offer your audience exclusive discounts or sneak peaks to your event. This will keep them engaged and also make them excited about the event to come.

Bloggers and Influencers

The effects bloggers and influencers can have on your event’s promotion is massive. Done right, they can yield huge results.

Just look at Instagram. Every day you’ll see teenage bloggers or social media influencers promoting a product. Why do brands do this? Because, they know that these influencers have a huge audience, and their audience is made up largely of their target demographic.

But, it’s not just protein shakes or beauty products that can benefit from the golden glow of an influencer. Your event can too.

Research into public figures and influencers in your industry. Create a case and offer them insider info to your hot, new event. By having them spread the word to their large following, not only does this garner enormous exposure, it also gives your event the influencer seal of approval.

Website

Another inexpensive option is to modify your website. This can be done in small ways such as changing your site’s colour scheme to fit the event’s branding. You can also create a landing page which will lead visitors straight to any information they need about the event. Additionally, you can create additional pages that highlight the new event.

What is most important, however, is that your site is still in-keeping with your brand. Make visitors aware that the event is new and exciting but it’s important that they still know who you are.

Loyalty Scheme

Utilising a loyalty scheme package is one of the easiest ways to get your name out there. It also benefits you in terms of attendees. Regular customers will feel as though they are being remembered.

You can reward people based on referrals. Incentivize attendees by offering discounts for referring friends. Offer VIP packages or backstage passes. You can even inspire people to share your event on social media. Offer bundle rewards for attendees who refer a lot of people.

By rewarding your loyal, hardcore guests, you can cement their future attendance. (And, have them help promote your event)

Gamification

Gamification is a technique by which you combine gameplay mechanics into other activities. Game play elements can consist of points scoring, leaderboards and general competition. The end game result (see what I did there) is to encourage and motivate people by making a non-game task, fun. Pre-event, it also builds hype and conveys a strong brand image.

You can create a system where attendees can level up, or receive rewards for performing certain tasks. You can also place clues around your event. If an attendee finds one of these clues they can benefit by receiving a free drink, for example.

One of the awesome things about gamification is that you can use it to encourage attendees to share their results on social media. By doing so, this not only gives your event exposure but it creates competition. Attendees can see how well others are doing or, that people are finding clues and receiving rewards.

Never underestimate the power of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

Design and Print

There are several options available when it comes to design and print. You can choose flyers, wrap, invitations, banners even billboards. It may seem like the era of physical marketing is over. But, depending on your audience, receiving a physical invitation in the post could be the thing that sways them.

If you want to build up hype pre-event, you could display your physical ads in strange and unique places. This gets people talking. As they try to uncover the mystery, they’ll hopefully share this on social media.

At Sounds Commercial, we can offer a helping hand. We provide a comprehensive service for clients who need design and print in the Cardiff area. With our help, you can promote your event with the best graphics, the right layout and capture the interest of your audience.