Just imagine that you have bought a new classy home in your favorite location and you are now so excited to show your castle to your friends. You get all stressed about this house-warming party and its preparations. Finally, with time and effort, you are able to make all things ready from decorations to food for the celebrations. But nobody shows up. I am sure if some event organizers/promoters are reading this article then they can surely empathize with this situation, as these kinds of situations are their biggest nightmares. Event advertising can be a complex task, especially today. When the audience is bombarded with hell lot of options in online search results of upcoming events near me or things to do near me.

Although advertising is an art and no one can learn it just by reading this simple blog but as they say, you need drops to make oceans. Hence, few drops of event advertising ideas for 2019 are discussed below:

YouTube Ads

YouTube is the largest video streaming platform is used by almost every human who has access to the internet. Many event promoters and organizers still shy away from YouTube ads because they think this platform is expensive and inaccessible. But with options between Discovery ads and In-stream ads, and facility of payment on the basis of cost/view make YouTube a cost-effective option.

(Image Source: socialmediaexaminer.com)

Also, you have an option to target the audience on the basis of demographics (age/gender), interests (based on the past watched videos and searches of the user), topic (based on presently running content on the screen) or keywords. These ads will provide your event a reach of not only in the desktops and notebooks but also in the mobile phones which is the closest device to a user both physically and emotionally.

You can know more about YouTube advertising on koozai.com.

Segmentation of Email Campaigns

Email is not a new way of advertising but one must admit that it is still one of the most effective channels of promoting an event in 2019 (Source: bizzabo.com). But email marketing yields results only when it is done with right segmentation. Let us take a look at how you can segment your campaigns:

• Type of industry: For example, if the event is something related to new business ideas, then your email content should be customized corresponding to different industries such that diverse business-people can be aware of “what’s in it for them”.

• Designation and Position: In your event, some sections will be there for VVIPs or VIPs with some special facilities and some general sections without extra perks. You have to make VVIPs and VIPs feel special. The same idea goes with your email invitation. You have to draft email content according to the position/importance of the person so that they feel special and willingly pay extra for those sections.

• Location: If your event has a potential audience belonging to different geographic locations then to make the emails more personalized, you can segment using different languages and styles of writing.

You can segment your emails using email marketing tools like emma.

(Image source: myemma.com)

 Reward The Registrants

Every time you receive a successful registration for your upcoming event, consider that you have won a battle and not the war. But what if you can use these battles to win the war. I mean why not incentivize the registrants to spread the word of mouth and inviting their family members and friends with the help of referral links.

You can give discounts and goodies to the original registrants on the basis of no. of registrations they bring for the event. This type of organic advertising can save a lot on time and money for the event organizers.

Tools like TicketBoost can really help you in executing such incentive programs with customizations and analytics.

(Image Source: bizbash.com)

Use Influencers

Influencers can drive your campaigns. Neuroscience says that familiarity generates faith and hence, every time you see a familiar face associated with an event, you actually generate faith that the event will be interesting. Celebs and stars can be expensive for promotion but social media influencers can be a cost-effective alternative for your promotions.

Fashion enthusiasts know Instagram influencers, entertainment seekers know YouTubers and similarly, every kind of target audience have their internet celebrities.

You can invite these influencers in your event, use them for posters and ask them to advertise you on their handles.

(Image Source: thenextscoop.com)

 Gamification

This is not a concept of 2019 but the approach towards Gamification is changed. This kind of promotion does not only involve online marketing but there can be offline games and contests.

Humans like instant gratification. Therefore, online and offline contests can be an engaging option that is affordable and fruitful. Online contests such as posting pictures with hashtags by people on their social networks and offline games such as intra-city treasure hunts can be organized and winners can be incentivized accordingly by providing the best deals online for the event.

(Image Source: voteszone.com)

Concluding Remarks

As I mentioned in the start, these tips can be called a few drops in the ocean of event promotion and marketing. And a lot more can be done with the incoming of new transformations in the media and technology. As a pill of advice, I would suggest event marketers do their own research and measure ROIs on their strategies and take a decision carefully because prevention is always better than cure.