by No matter what type of organisation you are or the kind of events you plan, a common problem is how to get people to come. The world is full of exciting concerts, meetings, and conferences. How can you make your event stand out?
Many organisations depend on Eventbrite or other popular ticketing websites. If you’re targeting a niche audience or want specific features, take a look at these Eventbrite alternatives.
If you host events often, many choose to invest in event management software. You can plan, process registrations, email your guests, and even manage the event as it’s happening.
If your event attendance rate is falling, consider how you can use event tools to your advantage. Take a look at these top strategies that can help increase your event registration:
- Let your guests register online.
- Better reach your audience with a marketing strategy.
- Give your attendees a mobile event app.
- Review past events.
It’s always hard to figure out how to top your last event and attract even more people. Your best bet is to lay a solid foundation first. This way, your event planning efforts have something to build on. Ready to get started? Let’s begin.
1. Let your guests register online
This one’s pretty obvious. If you don’t already accept event registrations online, you’re setting yourself up for a pretty huge risk. For one thing, nobody wants to even make a phone call, let alone leave their house and wait in an actual line.
A simple Google search for “Events near me” can produce millions of results. How are you supposed to spread the word about your exciting event among the masses? It’s not uncommon to learn about an event, start the registration, and then exit the window before completion.
Make sure your event stands out and your online registration process doesn’t turn people away. You can do this by:
- Using a dedicated website or page for your event registration. This should include event details and contact information for questions.
- Customising the form fields. Don’t ask questions that aren’t relevant. This can waste the registrants’ time and cause them to give up.
- Providing all necessary documents. If your events require waivers or other slips, they should be available online.
Expect your guests’ needs before they have them and make sure the process is as seamless as possible.
Your next event could break records
Create an event
2. Better reach your audience with a marketing strategy
Online marketing is important. The Internet is where people go to find things out, engage with organisations, and talk to each other.
But you can’t announce the event on your website or send one email invitation and say you’re done. Consider these two ways you can reach your audience and increase event registration:
- Personalise your content. People respond better to marketing efforts and emails if they’re personalised. For instance, include the recipient’s name and other personal details. Doubleknot’s article on segmentation advises segmenting your audience. This way, only the right people will get the right messages.
- Automate your marketing. Email automation is a growing trend that almost all organisations now use. It helps keep up communication with guests and saves your staff time. They can focus on the event instead of emailing confirmations to every guest.
Your email marketing strategy keeps attendees updated and gets them excited for the big date.
Create an experience that inspires, connects and is remembered forever
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3. Give your attendees a mobile event app
One way to elevate the actual event experience is to give your attendees a mobile event app. Technology can drastically improve events. This is especially true if it’s tech that most attendees can access via their smartphones.
With an event app, your guests can look at pertinent event details whenever needed. For instance, let guests have ready access to the event schedule. This is especially helpful if your event spans many days and activities. Let guests plan their own agenda before the date so they can reference it later.
Mobile event apps give guests live updates and encourage them to engage more. This Fonteva article explains why engagement is important, especially if you want to keep guests coming back.
Get your attendees invested and make their experience as enjoyable as possible.
4. Review past events
Event management software makes the entire planning process easier and helps increase event registration. To take advantage of software, consider your constituent relationship management (CRM) system.
Your CRM is a database of all your organisation’s processes and engagements. With a capable CRM system to rely on, you can compile reports based on concrete data. Every time you have an event, that’s more event and attendee data logged into your CRM. And it’s all automatic!
Creating reports based on past events can help you learn how to improve future events. Review your past marketing efforts to make sure your next one is in tip-top shape.
To make sure your data is accurate and centralised, it’s critical that your CRM and event tools integrate. This way, you don’t have to do any manual transfers and fall risk to human error.
Some CRMs, like Salesforce, have native tools. This way, you don’t have to undergo a lengthy integration process. If your organisation depends on Salesforce, check out this list of top event partners.
Keep those guests engaged!
Get ready for your next event with these top tips and strategies. Attract more event guests and ensure that your experience is the best it could be.
Good luck!
Author: Jake Fabbri is the Vice President of Marketing at Fonteva with over 18 years of experience working in marketing management. He has experience with lead generation, content marketing, marketing automation, and events.