Virtual events are everywhere. Businesses and individuals across the globe are using online events to reach a local, as well as a global audience of thousands & millions of people in different places, in different time zones. One shouldn’t underestimate the sheer scale, as well as the benefits offered by virtual events. The planning, promoting, and hosting of such events need the same attention to detail as an in-person event requires.

Virtual events involve specific promotional strategies to ensure your online training session, virtual concert, or webinar does not get lost in the rising tide of digital traffic that users are exposed to each day. These strategies include actions that play a dual role of promoting, as well as monetizing your virtual event, so you can get the maximum return on your investment.

So here is all you need to know about how to promote your virtual event in the upcoming year!

Create an Attractive Virtual Event Page

Your event page is where people go to know more about your virtual event, so it has to be able to grab attention immediately. You can use simple tools like Canva and include eye-catching graphics, high-quality pictures and quotes from the star speakers, workshop hosts, and other key organizers.

You can keep the attention of potential attendees on your page for a longer time by embedding relevant and interesting videos, photos, and other media for them to engage with and gain information from. Finally, make sure you include all the important details regarding your virtual event on your event page so it’s a one-stop-shop for the event’s details. The page should provide details such as the time and date of the event, an agenda, the list of speakers with a short bio for each speaker, a sign-up button, and payment options for ticketed events. 

With advanced virtual event platforms like Nunify, you get a beautiful branded virtual event landing page with built in registrations, worldwide online ticketing, integrated live streaming with support for pre-recorded video, customizable agenda with parallel sessions & breakout rooms and rich session analytics.   

Focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

If you have an online presence, there is a chance that you already use keywords to enable your brand’s website to rank on search engines, along with other published content from your brand. However; it is best to be strategic when searching for keywords to target and use for SEO activities. You can do that by using a keyword planning tool like Google Ads to find what relevant words your target audience is searching for. You can then include those keywords in the content that you use to promote your online event.

If you want to pick an easier route, you can simply conduct a google search to discover the relevant and desired keywords. Just search the topic of your virtual event and then go through the search prompts & keyword search volumes. These results should provide you with enough keywords to prepare an optimized promotional copy to target users who are searching for events related to the keywords that you are targeting.

Use Email Marketing to your Advantage

At a time when social media marketing is peaking in terms of user growth, people tend to focus entirely on these platforms and overlook, or underestimate, the utility of emails. It is important to note that email marketing has proven to be an effective marketing strategy for various business verticals & myriad businesses across the globe.

You can use an existing email list to send out newsletters to your contacts and share news about your upcoming events. The trick is to maintain a consistent flow of communication without bombarding their inbox. To make the most of an email marketing strategy, make sure your emails include lively imagery, catchy headlines and special offers and discounts for events. 

Offer People a Peek at What’s to Come

Why wait until the actual day of the event to share information & content from the event’s sessions? Take the example of a movie trailer – It builds anticipation and excitement among people before the movie releases. Similarly, a short preview of the most exciting segments of your event will entice your target audience to register and get them excited for what’s to come.

Your preview can include brief interview snippets of prominent speakers and highlights of what you have planned for the event. But make sure you don’t give away all the best parts at once—save some surprises for the actual event, and leverage those segments when you promote your next event. 

Leverage the Power of Social Media

Social media platforms are the perfect place for you to promote your event. Make sure that you announce your virtual event on your brand’s social media accounts.

You can use Facebook Events, which is free, user-friendly and helps you keep track of all your RSVPs. LinkedIn is another great platform to promote your event, as it allows you to leverage paid promotions and engage with groups  of relevant attendee profiles, while also allowing you to promote your event through the company page and your personal profile.

Use the power of trends on Twitter by creating a hashtag for your event and having a trending topic to spread the word. Instagram is another useful social media platform where you can share promotional pictures and videos to get your potential audience excited about the upcoming event.

Ask your Sponsors for Help

When sponsors and partners promote your virtual event through their offline and online channels, it not only expands your reach exponentially, but also benefits all the stakeholders involved.

Ask your event sponsors to notify their contacts & mailing lists about your virtual event. You can make the process simpler by providing them with the required promotional material, including the link to the event landing page, photos, videos, customized mailers, as well as content for the posts to be published on their social media channels.

Encourage Word of Mouth Promotions

The spread of information from people to people is a great way to reach a wider audience. If you want people to share information about your virtual event, you can –

• Provide those who sign up for your event with with referral links that they can use to invite their coworkers, friends and acquaintances
• Ask registrants to use your virtual event’s hashtag on their social media whenever they share any information about it
• Offer incentives to individuals who can get a particular number of people to sign up for your event

Promote your Event through a Vlog

Video content has the power to grab a user’s attention for a longer period of time. Create multiple short and engaging videos that cover the highlights of your previous events, and promote this content via paid ads, through mailers, and by sharing on your brand’s social media accounts. Include segments featuring your event’s speakers and request them to share the clips on their social media channels as well. Make sure your video is fun, engaging and well-edited. You can even offer a special discount code at the end of the video to encourage more people to sign up.

By actioning out these tips and recommendations, promoting your virtual event will be a walk in the park! Every event requires a different approach and promotion strategy, so always experiment and tweak your previous strategy to improve and attract bigger crowds of attendees for your brand’s virtual event.