7 (free) ways to promote your event

Event marketing is tough.

There are competition and budget constraints. Not to mention the fact that there’s never enough time!

What if we showed you how you can get people sharing your event to their social media profiles and increasing sponsor recognition without the use of contests or spending tonnes of money on digital ads. We’ve worked with many organizations to increase attendee engagement, and impressed sponsors at the same time.

You ready to say “make my life easier!”  🙌🏼

Think of who’s involved in your event – Participants – Volunteers – Sponsors – Committee Members and Staff and encourage them to start sharing.

Since Facebook is favouring posts from family and friends when someone posts information about your event – you are reaching a new audience (and interested attendees to your event or cause) and beating the algorithm.

How awesome is THAT?

Note: There’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and countless other social media platforms too.

1. Pre-written posts

Pre-written posts are an excellent way of encouraging followers to share your event, easily! Trust us, people will appreciate having prewritten posts that they can copy and paste into their own social media profiles.

Encourage them to make them their own or leave as is.

The idea here is to recognize that people are busy, yet they want to help.

“On September 30th, I am riding for Cancer Care in Our Hospital. Help me do something #BIGGER and reach my fundraising goal. Please visit (add link to personal donation page) #GOBIGGER #RIDEFORCANCER” 

2. Hashtag (s)

Notice the hashtags in the sample posts above? They’re strategic. Hashtags are an essential part of any marketing campaign. Think of one that’s short, unique, and easy-to-understand and when you’ve made up your mind, stick with it! Consistency is key. When posting anything on social relevant to your event, include your hashtag. You can also add it to account bios as well for further reach. During the event, ensure your hashtag is visible, and attendees know how to use it.

Create a shortened URL such as Bit.ly so you can track clicks to your website. This will make you a rock star for monitoring success. 😎

Even better, use a UTM code for Google Analytics

3. Images

Shareable images and videos, much like pre-written posts, are also an excellent way of encouraging followers to share your event. In our experience graphic led images/quotes, such as the example below, do the best for both engagement and reach. For videos, share the YouTube link or allow the video to be downloadable.

Make sure they are the correct size dimensions for each social media platform such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Give 2 – 3 options for people to download (as png, jpeg, gif) files Update toolkit as your event nears, and let people know that you’ve updated the options via email, social media posts, etc

4. Facebook Profile Frames

Add a Facebook profile frame to your social media event toolkit. You can create a frame that has your event logo that attendees can add to their profile pictures to show their support for your cause or event. It’s super easy and Facebook will walk you through all the steps, just Google “How to create a Facebook Profile Frame”. 

Hot tip 🔥: Remind people to complete the description area with the website info to learn more about the event

5. Email Signatures

Let’s face it, email is still king. Adding an email signature to your toolkit will expand your reach and spread the word to more people, because (gasp) not everyone uses social media all the time. 

Hot tips 🔥🔥: Provide step-by-step instructions on how to add an email signature to Outlook, Gmail, etc.  Add the website link to the ticket sales page, etc 

6. Sponsor Engagement 

Sponsors also want to be associated with your event (especially if it’s part of their community mandate). 

Give your premier sponsors recognition and help them look awesome by adding their logo to the visual assets. You can even add this as a sponsorship package benefit knowing that when people share your event to their own social media profiles, they are reaching a new audience. 

Hot tips 🔥🔥: Share directly with sponsors, encourage them to share with their internal teams Ask if they’d be interested in special email signatures (they may have brand standards)

Last step. This is BIG! ✅

7. Place your social media event toolkit on its very own website page. 

This is where people can easily access all your pre-written posts, download event images and videos, As people sign up for your event, send them an email with a link to your social media event toolkit webpage so attendees can get started right away. Send a couple of reminder emails, too. Create social media posts that the social media toolkit is now available for download.

Remember: People want to help bring awareness to your cause, raise money for your fundraiser, attend your event… When it comes to marketing your event, social media is critical in ensuring you get the desired response. 

By using the tips above, you’ll have the foundation you need to create and market a successful event online.