Event Marketing: 5 Types of Event Marketing

Event marketing is a promotion strategy that engages a target audience in live streaming or in-person events. Event marketing strategies vary from brand to brand, but companies generally aim to increase their email list through event registrations, raise brand awareness, and engage new customers.

Brands may sponsor marketing events, host them, or participate. Companies can generate money through event ticket sales. Overall, event marketing aims to provide customers with a fun, memorable experience to remember the brand fondly and patronize the business later.

Each type of event below entails a unique strategy, audience, and implementation:

1. 1. Launch party: Brands just getting off the ground or introducing a new product often host launch parties to commemorate the start of a new business venture officially. Social media marketing may promote the product or brand in the weeks leading up to the in-person event. Companies might build an event website with previews of online content and activities for virtual launch events.
2. 2. Trade shows: These expos allow various brands to come together and wow visitors with products and services. Trade shows are typically in large event spaces. These events take on a more professional air but may sometimes end with a post-event party.
3. 3. Virtual events: Virtual events may take many forms—there may be a live-streamed Q&A with a company CEO, a real-time behind-the-scenes look at how a product is made, or webinars about new services. Event promotion for these online opportunities will feature email marketing campaigns, social media hashtags, and other digital marketing strategies.
4. 4. Ceremonies or celebrations: If a brand is celebrating an anniversary, the hiring of a new leader, or other significant milestones, the company may host an event to mark the occasion. The kind of event will match the company’s brand; it may be at a gala hall for a classier event, or it could be outdoors with food trucks and influencers to help draw attendees in for something more youthful and energizing.
5. 5. VIP events: These more intimate affairs will have more specific marketing efforts to invite beloved customers or long-time partners to a special occasion. Though these events may be smaller, they can also be more expensive as brands want to impress their key stakeholders. VIP events aim to strengthen loyalty between the brand and funders.

Event marketing can unlock several vital benefits:

1. 1. Increase brand awareness: Each marketing event is an opportunity to educate consumers about your brand further. The event surrounding your brand tells the story of your company’s values, tone, and energy. In turn, this makes buyers more aware of a brand’s personality, spreading awareness and, hopefully, increasing the likelihood of a customer returning to the brand.
2. 2. Stronger partnerships: Newer brands often have stakeholders who fund the startup, so events secure those meaningful financial relationships and strengthen partnerships to ensure longevity.
3. 3. Lead generation: Through registration for your event, brands can acquire guest credentials, including names, addresses, and contact information. This widens a company’s e-list and opens up new leads, making it easier to target attendees and publicize their products. Companies may also request demographic information to learn more about the brand’s audience.
4. 4. Cross-promotion: If events involve two or more brands, each brand has the opportunity to cross-pollinate and share audience information. This can help to generate new customers.

When planning future events, consider these tips to ensure it goes off without a hitch:

1. 1. Make landing pages accessible. Have QR codes on display throughout the event so that people can easily access your website or social channels to find and follow you quickly.
2. 2. Hire event planners. Unless you have a specific staff member whose job title encompasses event management, you will benefit from hiring an event planner with experience in planning, strategizing, and executing these time-consuming events.
3. 3. Know your potential attendees. You already have social followers and e-list addresses, but consider who you want to come to this event. If growth and engagement is the goal, think of who you have yet to engage in your pre-event planning and how you can get them in the door with your marketing tools and strategies.
4. 4. Prioritize content marketing. Attendees need to know that they are in for a fun time, so content marketing for your event is as important as the event itself. Create invigorating content that stands out and promises a unique experience.

It’s great to have event goals for campaigns, but it is essential to measure and analyze metrics. When planning your next event, consider these ways to measure event success:

1. 1. Consider the budget. If revenue was a goal of your event, measure your event and marketing budget against how many tickets were sold.
2. 2. Look at social media following. Analyze how your followership grew in the weeks leading up to the event, on the day of the event itself, and in the days after. Ideally, there would be signage or encouragement to follow your social media channels, and you’d notice a spike in followers around the event.
3. 3. Track sales and website metrics. Even if you were not selling any products at the event itself, hopefully, it engaged attendees enough that they visited your website or went through with a sale.
4. 4. Pay attention to survey responses. Send a follow-up email after the event with a survey requesting information that would be most helpful to your company.

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