This document outlines 10 benefits of local event marketing for businesses. These benefits include getting news mentions and brand exposure, increasing foot traffic and sales, reaching a targeted audience, interacting with customers, making valuable connections, boosting local SEO with citations and links, gaining social media benefits, getting positive reviews, and obtaining material for blog posts. Overall, local event marketing provides opportunities for face-to-face engagement with customers, marketing to targeted demographics, and promotional benefits that can increase business.
2. Introduction
• Event marketing is a promotional strategy that involves
face-to-face contact between companies and their
customers at special events like concerts, fairs, and
sporting events.
• Brands use event marketing entertainment like shows,
contests, or parties to reach consumers through direct
hand-to-hand sampling or interactive displays.
• The practice works because it engages consumers while
they’re in a willing, participatory position.
• A successful event marketing campaign provides value
to attendees beyond information about a product or
service.
3. 10 Benefits of Local Event
Marketing
• Get News Mentions and Brand Exposure
• Increase Foot Traffic and Sales
• Reach a Targeted Audience
• Interact With Your Customers
• Make Valuable Connections
• Boost Your Local SEO Campaign With Valuable
Citations
• Get Lots of Valuable Web Page Links
• Social Media Benefits
• Get Positive Reviews
• Get Material for Your Blog Posts
4. Get News Mentions and Brand
Exposure
• A properly marketed event can attract lots of media
attention, especially if it’s charity-related.
• Pay close attention to other local events and see which
media representatives are attending and promoting
them. Get names and contact information for your own
event.
• The bigger and more unusual the event, the better the
media coverage will be.
• Try to come up with an angle that will make your event
stand out from the crowd.
• All of the marketing efforts you put towards your event
will also benefit your brand, as even those who don’t
attend will remember the promotion and may stop in later
to check out your business.
5. Increase Foot Traffic and Sales
• On the day of the event you’re sure to see a
swarm of foot traffic, as people flock to your
business for your sale or promotion or to
participate in your event.
• Be sure you’re prepared to handle the volume,
with extra staff on hand to keep things running
smoothly.
• You’ll not only see greater sales during the
event, but if you make a good impression then
you stand to gain many more regular customers.
6. Reach a Targeted Audience
• If your event is centered on a particular product or
service, then those who attend will be potential
customers that are particularly interested in that product
or service.
• For instance, if you’re a salon who specializes in hair
extensions and you put on a demonstration where
people can see the products and how they’re emplaced,
ask questions and explore the options, then you’ll likely
attract anyone within a 30 mile radius who is interested
in getting hair extensions.
• By tailoring your event to the type of customers you hope
to attract, you are able to target your desired
demographic exclusively.
7. Interact With Your Customers
• When hosting an event, you have the
opportunity to meet and interact with your
customers on a personal level, and market to
them directly.
• They’ll get to see your products or services first
hand, and meet the person behind the business.
• This creates a memorable impression and
establishes a relationship you can’t achieve
through any other form of marketing.
8. Make Valuable Connections
• n the process of hosting an event, you’re bound
to make a slew of valuable contacts and
connections as you go about the marketing
process.
• From news media contacts to caterers to
neighboring business owners, your virtual
rolodex is going to swell with business cards
from a variety of important people about town.
• The next time you host an event – or help a
neighboring business to host an event – you’ll be
ready!
9. Boost Your Local SEO Campaign
With Valuable Citations
• As you promote your event, you’ll naturally
list it on every local calendar that gets
published, online and in print.
• Each time the event is listed, your
business name, address, and phone
number will also be listed, giving you
valuable citations that will boost your
rating with local search engines.
10. Get Lots of Valuable Web Page
Links
• Make sure that wherever your event is
listed online, you include a link back to
your website, which will benefit your local
SEO campaign immensely and boost your
search engine ratings.
11. Social Media Benefits
• Be sure to leverage social media before, during,
and after your event, to create a buzz that will
have them tweeting to beat the band.
• Encourage attendees to check in at your event,
take photos, and post them to Facebook,
Twitter, Yelp, and Foursquare.
• Create a hashtag for your event and promote it
well in advance, then post it prominently on your
big day so that customers will remember to use
it for their social media posts.
12. Get Positive Reviews
• A fabulous, memorable event is a great
way to pick up some positive reviews on
Yelp, Google+, and others.
• While Yelp frowns on anyone directly
asking for reviews, it is acceptable to post
a “Find us on Yelp” sign in your store.
13. Get Material for Your Blog Posts
• If you maintain a blog, you undoubtedly
have days where you find yourself
struggling to come up with compelling
subject matter.
• Hosting a local event will give you
volumes of content for your blog before,
during, and long after your event – and
then you can start planning next year’s
event.
• Be sure to ask your readers for feedback
and ideas for the next one!
14. Conclusion
• Event marketing strategies leave a lasting
impression of fun by grabbing the attention
of a group of people who are gathered
together. If executed successfully, event
marketing will help you achieve your target
more easily. In order to make it a huge
success, it is advisable to hire an
Innovative ad agency in Madurai.