Marketing is a crucially important step in event planning. If people don’t know the event is happening or anything about it, how will you get them to show up? Effective advertising for your event requires careful thought and planning. From the beginning, you should prepare event marketing strategies according to your budget for how you’re going to go about marketing the event.

There are three different primary media pathways for advertising your event. You can consider marketing your event through print, electronic media or video. Each has its own benefits and shortcomings, so you need to choose the right combination to adapt to the specific needs of your individual event. Ideally, a solid event marketing strategy will use all three, but that depends on the budget and other conditions. The more important question is also how you will use each platform to get the most benefit.

Print

All common event marketing ideas have their roots in print media because that’s how it all started. With the rise of digital media, however, many in marketing now tend to almost view print as a “non-traditional” marketing solution. Printed invitations are still the classic norm for event planning, no matter what people say, and nothing beats print for immediacy and potential direct impact.

Print marketing is more difficult to target and do on a large scale than other strategies, but when it’s well done it can be very effective at generating responses. It’s easy to do the basics of print marketing on a budget, and there are tons of possibilities for creative advertising if you’re able to invest the time and money. New technology makes personalized mailings and invitations simple and easy, and a creative poster campaign or 3D strategy can help you build excitement and anticipation for your event.

Electronic

In the 21st century, no event marketing strategies are complete without a digital marketing campaign. It’s through electronic media that you’re going to reach the most people and get your message read. The challenge of digital marketing, however, is the crowded media environment and the short attention spans that result. Your message has to stand out somehow, and even then it’s possible people may only see half of it before moving on. This makes it essential to target your message to the right, specific audience.

You should put together a concrete plan in stages for your digital advertising for each event. Create high-quality digital content and find a way to put it in front of your target audience. Before you can reach out like that, however, you need to spend the time to make sure your web architecture is strong. Invest in SEO and take the time to make sure your website is impressive and easy to navigate

Video

One more marketing strategy for you to consider to help you push your event to the next level is using video. Few other event marketing ideas require the amount of creative input that video does, but the potential for pay-off is there. Especially if the marketing is for a repeat event, video advertising is essential. It gives you the space like no other media to build the brand and sell people on the event and what it represents.

With videos, you have to focus more on quality than on quantity or spread. Use the videos to really explore the event and get people hooked. You can film events to produce high-quality content for future events as well, including guides or tips for making the most of the event. You can also continue to air and film new videos during the event as well, upgrading the experience and giving you material for future marketing.

Read more from Sullivan Group to learn tips that will take your event to the next level!