In the modern world, organizing events requires a comprehensive approach to their promotion. Technologies are developing rapidly, and this opens up wide opportunities for online and offline marketing. In Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, event organizers need to take into account the specifics of the market and use a variety of tools to successfully promote their events.
What and when to carry out?
The first and, at the same time, one of the key questions is to determine the events and their timing. Is there a high and low season for attendance, are regular offline meetings needed, how to combine online and offline formats? This is just the tip of the iceberg when you enter the sphere of holding master classes, creative evenings, tea parties with famous personalities of the city and other events.
Most business owners claim that the so-called high and low seasons do not exist.
It is important to carefully study the needs of the audience each month, follow current news and take into account the interests and concerns of customers. When choosing a movie to watch, we always focus on the month, holidays, mood of visitors and subscribers.
Here is how the owner of the cat cafe commented on the timing:
“If we are talking about craft workshops and more specialized venues, then clients prefer to attend master classes and creative evenings from October to May.”
A similar opinion is expressed by M.S., a representative of the ceramics studio:
“In the summer and before the New Year, as in many other areas, there is a decrease in attendance. The number of visitors decreases significantly. Therefore, we work actively at the beginning of autumn and after the long winter holidays.”
An experienced specialist from the “Organica” school noted interesting aspects of working with clients:
"In December, for example, we notice a noticeable decrease in attendance from the 1st to the 15th - people are looking for gifts and have no time for activities. In the middle of the month, they understand that the best gift is a surprise made with their own hands. Therefore, from December 15 until the end of the year, the number of visitors increases significantly. However, no one takes into account that it takes several weeks to create our product, due to the peculiarities of the technological process.
As for the number of events and master classes, it varies. It depends on the capacity of the studio, the number of masters and the popularity of the school. We hold from 150 to 500 events per month.
Every month we have about 250-300 young potters coming to us. The masters cannot work with a large number of newcomers at the same time. The studio can accommodate up to 25 people at a time. At the open day, for example, we received more than 200 residents.”
What events are we talking about?
Content preparation for online and offline events is similar. Content generation takes about 80% of preparation time, while the remaining 20% is spent on finding a venue and organizing issues.
- Festivals
- Conferences
- Seminars
- Meetups
- Workshops
- Concerts
- Webinars
- Round tables
- Online courses
- Article marathons and other competitions.
All these events require unique content.
What types of content are used to promote events?
Landing page for an event
A landing page is the main tool required for effective work. The success of your event depends on its design, clear use and the content of the text, which should awaken the desire of people to attend your event. If your event is aimed at a small audience or a limited circle of people, it is enough to post information about the event on social networks, contact friends and create a simple page on the TimePad platform. However, if your event is large-scale and requires a wide audience, a smart landing page becomes an integral part of the organization.
Before starting to develop a website, the event organizers get together and define its concept and purpose. If you already have contacts and information about visitors from previous events, conducting a survey can help identify the most interesting topics and current problems. The answers of those surveyed can serve as the basis for the text that will be placed on the landing page. The main goal is to demonstrate the usefulness of the event, its ability to solve certain problems and explain why it is a must-attend event (excluding concerts and entertainment events).
What should be on the event website?
- The name of the event, its format (paid or free). If the event is free, you need to write about it on the first screen.
- Date of the event, duration of the event.
- Brief description (concept in 2-3 words). Long description (about
- than, for whom, benefits).
- Speakers (who, where from, what topic – it is important to emphasize the speaker’s expertise in the text).
- Program.
- Address of the event, directions + types of transport. Ticket prices.
- Registration conditions.
- Name of the organizer, contact details of the organizers.
Texts for mailings
It is necessary to prepare all the content for the newsletters in advance. It is important to divide your subscriber base into those who have attended your events before and those who are registering for the first time. If necessary, you can always make changes during the preparation process.
If you have an email list from previous events, be sure to use it to send invitations to the next event. In addition, organizers develop a series of emails for new registrations to maintain interest in the event and build anticipation for the event.
Preliminary to the event
The higher the ticket price for your event, the more letters you need to prepare. Preliminary information should be informative and well thought out.
First, prepare an “Introduction and Registration Confirmation” letter. Warn that you will be sending useful materials.
Here's an example of great content - it includes a long and short version of the event, as well as an organizational file that answers all your questions and reminds you to purchase the recording.
Warm-up emails are also essential – a series of messages about your event. You can introduce the speakers and provide useful content on the topic, such as video tutorials, tests or checklists. Here is a great example from Svetlana Demina, the organizer and inspiration behind the Email Show. Svetlana also recorded a series of podcasts with each Email Show speaker (and I also took part in them). She revealed the personality of each speaker not only as a professional, but also as an interesting person.
Don't forget to send a reminder the day before and on the day of the event. Provide detailed instructions, the event program, directions, and contact information. On the day of the online event, emails can arrive 2 hours before the event and 15 minutes before it starts.
What other tasks need to be completed?
Collect information and tell about the event sponsors: their products, discounts, special offers for participants and other details.
Create a list of partners who are ready to promote your event to their target audience and prepare partner mailings.
During the event
If the event lasts for several days, it is recommended to make a short summary of the previous day, announce the speakers' presentations and remind about important points. Make sure that registered participants are informed about all news.
My recommendation is to prepare templates for such letters in advance and gradually add the necessary details and particulars to them. This way, you will be able to complete everything on time.
After the event
It is recommended to send a warm letter of gratitude to all participants. Letters with feedback from participants, promo codes and gifts from sponsors are also effective.
Announcements in the media
Develop press releases about the upcoming event and send them to leading media outlets and popular bloggers in your industry.
Use social media to spread the word about the event through posts and advertisements, drawing attention to upcoming performances and exciting features.
Affiliate programs
Partner with other organizations or influential individuals in your industry. Invite them to participate in the event or ask them to spread the word about it to their audience.
Develop a referral rewards program that rewards event attendees for inviting their friends and colleagues.
Streaming on social networks
Create a live streaming schedule on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram. Organize interviews with speakers and showcase interesting content related to the event.
Actively engage with your audience during your streams, answer questions and comments to create engagement and interest.
Photo and video content
Create compelling photos and videos that capture the atmosphere of the event and highlight key moments. Post them on your social media pages and invite event attendees to share their photos using special hashtags.
Create after-sales videos that include speaker interviews, reviews, and attendee testimonials to continue generating interest and attracting new attendees in the future.
Social Media Highlights
Create engaging and informative highlights that showcase important moments from the event. Highlight key moments such as speaker talks, interesting facts, or exciting moments and share them on your social media pages. This will help to attract the attention of potential attendees and generate their interest.
Special hashtags
Create unique hashtags for your event and encourage attendees to use them when communicating on social media. This will make it easy to track and collect content related to the event and create a conversation around it.
Chatbots
Use chatbots on your website or social media to communicate with potential attendees. Chatbots can provide event information, answer questions, and assist with the registration process. They can also send notifications and reminders about upcoming events.
Reviews and user-generated content
Encourage attendees to share their experience of the event and post reviews on social media or special platforms. User-generated content, such as photos or videos of the event, is a powerful promotional tool as it demonstrates real experiences and attracts new potential attendees.
Outdoor advertising and leaflets
If the event is offline, use outdoor advertising such as billboards or advertising boards to attract the attention of passersby. Hand out flyers in offices, universities, crowded places or other relevant locations to get the event to a wider audience.
Combining all of these strategies will allow you to promote your events as effectively as possible and attract the attention of your target audience both online and offline.
5 Common Mistakes in Attracting People to an Event Online
Getting people to attend an event online can be a daunting task, but you can avoid the mistakes many promoters make.
Mistake 1. Excessive text and complex registration
Simplify the registration page. The main goal of this page is to make the registration process attractive and easy.
Use visual elements as they are quicker and easier for the brain to process than text which can be perceived as a lot of small images.
Attraction through social networks
Use information that people will remember. If you add a picture, they will remember up to 65%. Remember, these numbers are made up, but they create a more convincing impression. You don't have to make it up, just use visual tools.
Replace dry numbers with information presented in the form of infographics, if possible. Instead of describing the appearance of a product, such as “an exquisite transparent glass saucepan,” show it in high-quality illustrations where you can see how the food is prepared and how the saucepan looks on the table.
And, of course, try to make the registration form simple, with a minimum number of fields. The fewer obstacles people have to overcome to register for an event, the less likely it is that an error will occur.
Error 2. Not enough time
Plan enough time to attract people to the event. Keep in mind that various online engagement methods will take time to work.
Start promoting your event a month in advance through accessible and inexpensive channels like social media or email newsletters. Use paid channels like targeted advertising or media advertising closer to the event date, but give them at least two weeks to work.
Mistake 3. Single-channel approach
Use all available digital tools to announce the event. Don’t be shy about being an effective promoter. Spread the word about the upcoming event everywhere – on your website, blog, social media pages, email newsletters, and guest posts.
Use the capabilities and formats of various social networks to their full potential. For example, launch a series of stories and videos on Instagram, use memes on VKontakte, and share all the benefits of the event on Facebook. This approach will help increase your audience reach and avoid annoying users who follow you on different social networks with the same type of content.
Mistake 4: Focusing only on advertising
Think beyond advertising – aim to influence your audience. Mechanically performing tasks on a list is not the best way to promote an event.
Your content should have an impact on people. You should make them want to attend your event. They should be confident that your event offers what you promise. Publish reviews about you, this will also help people make a decision:
Attraction through social networks
Your audience may be different – “hot”, “warm” or “cold”, and each of them requires its own approach. Universal materials are reviews from grateful clients. They impress all types of audiences and are useful for any business.
The “hot” audience is ready to sign up for your event, so you don’t need to tell them what to do and how to do it. The main thing is to create conditions so that the visitor can easily leave a request.
Advertising is not as effective for “warm” and “cold” audiences. You need to use content that will attract their attention. Tell them about the features of the event, about the problems they will be able to solve at your event, and remove their doubts.
How to find out when it is better not to conduct live broadcasts and contests, what irritates and what attracts subscribers of commercial accounts, you can find out here: “How to warm up an audience on social networks - SMM strategist Elena Belchenko tells”.
Mistake 5. Not catching up with visitors
Use retargeting. This means you show paid ads to people who visited your landing page but for some reason didn’t convert. Maybe they got distracted by a call or had to do something else urgently and forgot about you. Retargeting will help remind them.
How to Attract People to an Offline Event
Be careful with retargeting so as not to annoy those who have already signed up for your event.
Here are some more tips for working with targeted and retargeting advertising:
Segment your audience. Yes, this is important. Create segments of users similar to your customers. Segment your audience by social, geographic, and demographic characteristics – a businessman’s interest in an event is likely different from a housewife’s.
Use standard advertising techniques. Create a catchy headline, add urgency, use a countdown timer, provide specific numbers. If you want to talk about reasonable savings at an event, show how your previous clients' financial situation improved in percentage, provide evidence in the form of feedback from visitors. Include keywords in the headline and don't forget about a clear call to action.
Test your ads. Always.
Conclusion
Successful event promotion in Tashkent requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account the specifics of online and offline channels. Online promotion allows you to reach a wide audience and use a variety of digital tools, such as a website, social networks, email newsletters and content marketing. However, do not forget about the importance of following and attracting attention offline, for example, through printed advertising materials, direct contacts and participation in local events.
Common mistakes to avoid include under-utilizing various communication channels, focusing only on advertising, and under-exposing your audience. It is recommended to segment your audience, use retargeting, and create compelling ads with a clear call to action.
Successful promotion of events in Tashkent requires constant testing and analysis of results, as well as adaptation of the strategy in accordance with changes in the requirements and preferences of the target audience. Modern digital tools and technologies provide many opportunities for effective promotion and attraction of participants to events in Tashkent.
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