When it comes to hosting a successful event, you have two priorities as an event organizer: to create a memorable experience and to generate leads through event lead generation. Luckily, you can kill two birds with one stone because event lead generation can help your event be the experience of a lifetime. With event lead generation, you’ll be able to give your audience an authentic experience that they’re actually invested in. The products and services you promote at your event will, ideally, be tailored to their needs. And with that, you should see an improvement in your audience engagement and conversion rates.
But, wait. What is event lead generation anyway and how does it work? You’re in the right place to find out more about this.
What Is Event Lead Generation and How Does It Work?
The question of “what is event lead generation” is simple enough to answer, and if you’re hosting events, you’re probably already doing it. If you’ve ever identified and attracted people to your products or services, that is lead generation. If you’ve ever done so through an event, that is what is known as event lead generation. So, when you invite people to your event and you promote your products and services through that event and they go on to become customers, congratulations — you’ve taken part in event lead generation.
Okay, so, event lead generation isn’t quite that easy. There are plenty of steps involved in hosting a successful lead generation event. You have to identify your target audience, plan your event around those demographics, market your event, and still create a memorable experience for your event attendees. Plus, even after your event comes to a close, you have to follow up with your attendees through post-event communications. As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into event lead generation events. But we’ve got you covered.
5 Steps To Plan and Host Successful Lead Generation Events
You’ve already read the steps leading up to hosting a successful lead-generation event, but now, let’s dive into the how and why of these generation strategies.
1. Identify Your Target Audience
Your first step to hosting a successful lead generation event is to identify your target audience. Your event is nothing without the people attending it and you want those people to be interested in and benefit from your product or service. They’ll be the ones to get the most out of your event. There are a few ways you can identify your target audience, but it all boils down to research.
First, look at your competition. See who is buying from them and why. You can also create buyer personas with your ideal customer profile. This involves interviewing your current customers (if any) and doing a lot of research (ask yourself who your target audience is, what their problems are, where they hang out online, etc.).
Got your target audience figured out? Great! Onto the next step.
2. Plan the Ideal Event for Your Potential Customer
Now that you have your target audience in mind, it’s time to plan your event around who they are. You’ll need to consider their demographics, interests, behaviors, preferences, hobbies, favorite brands, etc. Then it’s time for the planning portion!
Choose the Right Type of Event
When planning your event, it’s a good idea to think about the type of event you’ll be hosting and how it relates to your audience. If your brand revolves around running and you’re trying to sell running shoes, it might be relevant to choose a running event. Something like a 5K or 10K. If your ideal customer is a working professional, a B2B event might be your best bet. Think about the event format, too. Will it be in-person, online, or a mix of the two?
Choosing the right type of event that aligns with who your target audience is will increase attendance, engagement, and your overall customer satisfaction.
Master the Event Planning Process
Once you’ve settled on the type of event you’ll be hosting, the event planning process can begin! There are many nuances involved in event planning but once you’ve mastered it, you’ll be good to go for many events to come. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help:
- What are my goals?
- Who is my audience?
- What date and venue work best for my event?
- How much do I want to spend?
Think about creating SMART goals to help answer these questions. Having a timeline can help, too. Your timeline should include a timeline for all your tasks and deadlines. The event planning process should also include things like choosing your vendors, marketing your event, and assembling your staff.
Implement Strategies To Increase Attendance Rates
Your event will fall flat without attendees there to support you. If you want to increase attendance rates from the start, it’s important to promote your event and create buzz around your event as early as possible. Create a website with a registration process so you can gather vital contact information about your potential attendees. Advertise across socials and email marketing. Reach out to influencers and bloggers who can spread the word about your upcoming event. Offer discounts and promotions.
When you’ve gathered contact information from your potential attendees, don’t harass or bug them too much. Make sure you’re using email marketing for leads and sending out personalized invitations. Don’t be generic with your invites. Personalization is more likely to increase attendance.
3. Create a Marketing Plan To Capture Leads
What is the next step in your journey to hosting a successful lead generation event? Creating a marketing campaign plan that will help you capture event leads! After all, capturing leads is the main goal of your lead generation event. But how will a marketing plan help and what should you include in one?
Use Strategic Branding
Branding is everything! It’s how your attendees will remember you and your event. So, it’s important to be strategic and cohesive here. For your event, your branding should include its name, themes, symbols, colors, messaging, and imagery. When creating the imagery, make sure to include visual content that tells your event’s story and why your event matters. Strategic branding is a long-term venture and it’s not something to be done once and that’s it. Keep at it and the efforts will pay off.
Provide Compelling Offers and Content
In your marketing strategy, it’s a good idea to provide your potential attendees with unique and valuable content and offers — because who doesn’t love a good offer? Since you’ll likely be reaching out to potential attendees through your website, socials, or email, consider including event content on those platforms. Everything from your event details and description to the event’s agenda and highlights.
For offers, here are a few offers you can use to help capture leads:
- Early bird discounts
- Special offers for returning attendees
- Gift cards for randomly selected registrants
- 25% off your first purchase
4. Provide Memorable Event Experiences
Yep, circling back to providing memorable event experiences — because yes, that’s important when you plan any type of event, including those that generate leads. You want your event attendees to have a joyous time at your event. That’s kind of the point, right? If your event is memorable, your attendees are more likely to have a positive experience and the likelihood of conversion increases. After all, if your attendees have a less-than-memorable experience, they may not want to return to any of your future events, and they may not want to support your products and services.
5. Maximize Conversions With Post-Event Communications
If you’re ready to turn your qualified leads into customers, post-event communications is the way to go. Just because your event is over, doesn’t mean your relationship with your attendees has to be. Keeping in touch with your audience is an important strategy for lead generation and something you should consider for your sales funnel.
There are things you can do to keep in touch with your attendees. First, you should be sending them a post-event email. Check in with them, ask them for feedback and see how they’re feeling after your event has come to a close. You can also invite them to follow you on your socials, check out your website, or subscribe to your newsletter. Engage with them. If they ask questions, answer them. If they send you an email or make a post to your social, be sure to respond in a timely manner.
When you show your attendees that you care about keeping in touch with them, you’ll foster loyalty and respect and turn your attendees into high-quality leads.
Manage Your Lead Generation Event End-to-End With Events.com
If you’re struggling with lead generation in your event, that’s okay. Lead generation is a slippery slope with a lot of steps and planning involved. But you don’t have to tackle these steps alone. With the event management software from Events.com, you’ll have access to event planning from start to finish. Promote your event, sell tickets, engage with sponsors, and tell the world about your event, all with Events.com. Our platform has everything you need to create a successful event.
Try our demo today and experience life-changing event software.
