Top 10 Ways To Promote Your Special Event

By Nancy Mallory

Face-to-face events continue to deliver the greatest return on investment over other customary marketing tools, including advertising, according to a recent survey released by U.S.-based corporate marketing executives. Event-marketing provides the greatest return on investment. Here are just a few ways in which to promote your event:

10.

Hire a professional event photographer to take photos of your event and submit them to local lifestyle and business magazines for publication. If it’s an annual event, you can also use the photos for your publicity campaign the following year.

9.

Involve media in your event so they participate in it, not just cover it. For example, if you’re sponsoring a food festival, ask the local food columnist to be one of the judges.

8.

Ask TV anchors, weatherpersons, sportscasters or other on-air celebrities to emcee your event. If they agree to it, there’s a good chance their station will cover it.

7.

Call the assignment desks at your local TV stations prior to the event and notify them about interesting visuals they can film. Remember that TV is a visual medium, so TV stations will be interested in the visual aspects of your news.

6.

Call the promotions department at your local radio station and invite them to do a live remote from your event. This may require a media buy from said radio station.

5.

List your event on your local TV station’s community calendars. (Submit news release at least 2 – 3 months out from date of event.)

4.

Send your news release to relevant trade publications. Be sure to submit it at least 6 months ahead of time because these magazines have long lead times.

3.

Create a media advisory or media tip sheet containing the who, what, when and where and send it to the media at least one-week prior to the event.

2.

Create a public relations plan that includes what your marketing objectives are, who your target market is and how you will reach them.

1.

Make your event timely, topical and newsworthy. Remember: News is the unusual, the first or the most outstanding.

Follow-up with media outlets that covered your event and let them know how their coverage helped you attract more attendees or raise more money. Be sure to send letters to your media supporters thanking them for their coverage and support.