Checklist for Marketing Your Summer Event

The Sprocket Report

This is an update to "Key Web Elements for Event Planners" dated 4/15/2013.

When your business or not-for-profit organization holds an event, you want to be sure to get the word out so it will be well-attended. Here’s a checklist you can use to remember the most important digital marketing opportunities.

Sure, we work on websites and social media platforms daily, but we also search like any other visitor to find fun or interesting events to attend. We have already been frustrated this summer because we couldn’t find the information we wanted about a summer festival. 

Not-for-profit organizations hold annual fundraisers and volunteer events, businesses plan grand openings and networking functions and everyone hopes to have a great turn-out. Online marketing may be one of the cheapest options available, but don't forget that the foundation to build upon is your own website.

Many organizations forget to complete even the most basic tasks of digital marketing. How much of this checklist can you check off for your upcoming event? 

Event Digital Marketing Checklist:

• Landing Page
  A temporary micro-site or a specific page for your event that is strictly about your event makes the information easy to share. Keep the URL short and obvious like www.mycompany.com/summerfair. A paragraph somewhere on your site or a calendar listing is better than absolutely nothing, but not by much. 
• Website Support
  Send press release emails to traditional news outlets and post your own articles and calendar events on digital news sites and online calendars. Be sure to include the URL to your event information. Not only will you get in front of more eyeballs, you’ll lead search engines back to your site. 
• Social Media  
  Post early and often on Facebook and Twitter, and create an Event on your Facebook page as well because folks aren’t going to scroll through all of your old posts to find event details. If you are using a third-party event service, link back to that website for registration.
• Shareable Links
  Do write Facebook and similar social platform posts that link back to your event’s website or web page, but check the thumbnail posted from the shared URL. Graphics and photos are more eye-catching than just plain text, so be sure the URL you are sharing delivers a great image.
• Searchable text  
  Event information should be text on your webpage so it is easily available to search engines – and therefore to your visitors. Graphics of text and the pdf of your brochure needs to be optimized properly for search. 
• Consistent Message across Channels
  It may seem redundant to you, but please make all information available on all media outlets. There is a different audience at each outlet who will need full details and “same as last year” is absolutely useless information to someone who didn’t go last year. 

This year could be your best-attended event ever! Contact us today to talk about how to really rock the web for your upcoming event. We’re happy to help!

Kate GingoldKate Gingold

I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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