What are you doing right now to build anticipation and drive tickets sales before your event starts? With so much time and energy devoted to creating the event itself, pre-event promotion can fall by the wayside. Event tech is critical to maximise attendees’ on-site experience, but it can also help to achieve the goals you set before the event starts.
Pre-Event Goals
The following pre-event goals are likely to be your priorities:
*Increase event registrations & boost ticket sales
*Generate excitement
*Right Information, Right Time
*Give sponsors a greater reach
*Spark active networking
Increase Event Registrations & Boost Ticket Sales
Registration rates and/or ticket sales can receive a significant boost with the right event tech. Choose a platform that integrates registration with the event app to keep processes streamlined and efficient.
By managing your own event app and digital signage through a content management system you can make changes (in real-time) when you need to. The right platform will also allow you to customise your registration site. Whether you need to connect to a badge-printing kiosk or include event specific branding, flexibility and control is key.
You can also launch your registration site when it suits you. An early launch could mean a good percentage of attendees are registered before event doors open – which gets people into your event faster.
Pro Tip: drive traffic to your registration page through:
*Early bird promo codes
*Tiered registration release dates targeting specific attendee groups
*Email analytics. Data will tell you when your audience is most likely to open your emails – make sure you send invites on the optimum day at the right time.
Generate Excitement
Marquee or celebrity keynote speakers can be the difference between a well-attended or poorly supported event. If you’ve secured a high profile keynote make the most of their reputation to generate excitement in your event.
Promote your keynote on your event app’s main page and put their bio at the top of your speaker list. Use your app’s alert feature to send out teaser content ahead of the presentation.
A private chat platform, such as Group Discussion, can be used as a pre-event Q&A channel. Use the interaction with attendees to garner the hot topics people would like to see covered in the keynote addess.
Pro tip: don’t be afraid to ramp up the FOMO (fear-of-missing-out). Share and like social media shout-outs from attendees who are super excited to be seeing your event’s keynote speaker.
Right Information, Right Time
Your event app is the perfect one-stop source for all event related information.
An in-app info point will centralise all the key details attendees need, such as travel, local attractions, weather updates and contact details.
The event app’s real-time alerts will help focus attendees’ attention where it’s needed. Event doors about to open? Send an alert linking to registration point and sign-in details.
Give Sponsors a Greater Reach
You’ll want to help sponsors reach as many people as possible. Utilise your digital spaces to make sure your sponsor’s message connects with your attendees. Promote your sponsor on the main page of your registration and event app. Banner ads and pop-ups are great for drawing attention to key messages.
Uploading your sponsor’s brochure to the event app before the event gives attendees more time to engage with the material. Targeted alerts can make specific people aware of interesting content and where to find it.
Pro tip: Create a branded discussion channel to allow sponsors to share information pre-event with attendees. Feedback may even give sponsors the opportunity to curate event content according to attendee interest and need.
Spark Active Networking
Networking doesn’t have to be limited to the event itself. Connecting people before the event means on-site discussions and meetings can be even more dynamic. People know who they want to meet in person ahead of the event. It saves valuable time and maximises productive discussions.
To facilitate this, make sure your event app supports attendee connection from pre-event to post-event. Use such tools as attendee profiles, LinkedIn, and private social networks (such as Group Discussions) to spark conversations before the event.
This is an edited version of a post by our good friends at EventMobi. You can read the original here
