As an event industry professional, you know how important it is to plan and socialize to perfection. When it comes to your brand and business, it is just as important to plan and socialize in order to grow. That is why it is so important to have a digital marketing plan in place. Maybe you have one already, or maybe you don’t. Either way, here are a few tips & tricks that will help set your plan on the right track to increase your digital reach and open your virtual doorway to new clients.
1. P-Inspire
All creatives need a little help from time to time. What is your go-to resource for inspiration? If I had to guess, at least 75% of you would say Pinterest. Considering you are probably reading this blog right now after searching through Pinterest. Use this platform to your advantage!
Did your venue host a fabulous casino night event?
Or maybe your catering business knocked the Asian fusion buffet at that wedding last weekend out of the park!
Snap some awesome pictures or contact the event photographer for pictures (don’t forget to tag the awesome vendors). Upload the picture(s), add a commonly searched Pin title, link to your website and VOILA! You’ve posted your product or service on Pinterest. Take it a step further by writing an optimized blog and linking to your Pin.
Don’t forget to share the love. Create a board for all of the pins that have inspired you. Follow people or businesses that you find interesting. Pinterest is a social media platform, so be social!
I know I didn’t cover everything essential for Pinterest. Check out this pin for more tips: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/695595104938937405/
2. Stay In Tune With Trending Apps
One of the top trending apps in the app store… TikTok! I know how creative businesses are in the event industry. Channel some of your creative energy and come up with video ideas to create and share on TikTok. Follow along with the TikTok trends going on and put your own spin on it (there are a TON!). And, most importantly, have fun doing it!
3. Hashtag it up!
Here’s how you can be completely different from everyone else: Create your own hashtag. Something unique and never used before. Something catchy and fun. When you post to social media, use this hashtag every time you post. No exceptions! It may seem a little far fetched for a small business, but maybe you get lucky and one of your social posts goes viral. That hashtag that is connected to the viral social post could start trending. For example, last year during the pandemic, when all social events were put on hold, a man named Ed Libby of Ed Libby Events created the #dreamersalwaysdream challenge. This took the event industry by storm and brought the event community together across the nation through social media while in quarantine. Needless to say it was a trending topic amongst event professionals.
4. Be social
The event industry is a social industry. Not just for attendees at an event, but for vendors too. It isn’t enough to just post to social media platforms anymore. For you to stand out and establish a presence, you need to engage with others:
- Offer support, tips and encouragement to industry professionals.
- Be a friend.
- Advocate for your business.
- Collaborate with other vendors and support each other’s business by tagging one another.
5. Host Your Own Events
Everyone loves a good party! Why not throw your own? Have a new venue feature that you want to show off? Save that date! Want to share a new recipe with all your industry friends? Throw a dinner party! Best thing about throwing your own party in the event industry is you can collab with industry professionals, establish killer relationships, all while benefiting from the exposure. Now what does this have to do with digital marketing? Well how are you going to spread the word about your event? Social media, your website, email marketing! That’s right, digitally market your event out the wazoo! Establish a theme or color scheme for your event and dress up your digital marketing elements. This will help you stand out and attract traffic. Utilize paid advertising to get the word out, too!
6. Optimize, Optimize, Optimize
Everyone is on a budget, and we all know that digital marketing doesn’t always fit that budget. One huge trick in the digital marketing world is to optimize EVERYTHING! It is promoting your products or services for free through major search engines. What can you optimize? Your website. Your blogs. Your Pinterest pins. Anything that you can connect your specific keywords to.
7. Email Marketing Is Your Friend
As time-consuming as email marketing can be, it is important to utilize it to promote your business. There are so many different things you can do with email marketing in the event industry. Here is just a short list to get you started:
- Write a newsletter and keep your clients up to date on what is going on with your business.
- Request reviews or recommendations of your business from clients.
- Send special offers to your clients to keep them interested in your products or services.
- Invite clients or other event industry professionals to your hosted events.
- Announce NEW products or services.
Now that you have a few tips and tricks up your sleeve, get started on creating or enhancing that event industry digital marketing plan of yours! Don’t fret if you think all of this responsibility falls on your shoulders. That is why you have us! Local View Digital Marketing can help walk you through, step by step, a perfect digital marketing plan. We will take all of your thoughts and ideas and put them into action using custom digital marketing practices that fit your needs.