Guerrilla marketing for events is the experiential selling of a brand, product or service by creating new, feel-good experiences or organizing promotional displays & contests to attract audiences.
Unlike event management, it involves direct interaction with the brand, exhibitors and staff.
Event marketing can happen in two ways.
- Traditional marketing
- Digital Marketing
Most people think traditional marketing strategies are too expensive. For them, online marketing comes in as a new model & a perfect solution that helps create infinite strategies to engage, motivate and sell online.
Want to increase your event attendance? Then, you must know how to market your event online.
There are many ways businesses can adapt to market their products online. One popular event marketing strategy that we will focus on today is Guerrilla Marketing.
Guerrilla marketing for events is an innovative model that helps you
- Promote your business online, and
- Improve event participation.
So, what is this guerrilla marketing for events?
Ever been to a trade show or festival? Here is what most event-goers do?
They take photos of their registration badges & some attractive elements at the venue to post on social media. It is one instance of guerrilla marketing for events.
The concept is not new. It is well-known, and many successful brands have been implementing it for decades. It relies on two simple ideas:
- Tell people about your event by making the event fun and memorable, and
- Give people a tangible souvenir that they can show off to increase awareness of your brand/event.
You can be a business owner, sponsor, exhibitor, event planner, virtual events company or virtual event software.
This article will discuss 9 best strategies you can employ in guerrilla marketing for events to make your product/event stand out and leave your audience in a special place to remember every frame of your brand/event.
Table of Contents
We all know that social media is an effective tool to reach a global audience instantly. Social media promotions give your brand that publicity that is one-of-a-kind, the most authentic and highly profitable. Further, the comprehensive analytics and insights help you understand the audience interests, buyer personas better and develop new event marketing strategies for your upcoming show.
Guerrilla Marketing for Events Tips: 5 Ways to Promote your Upcoming Event Online
- Learn about your target markets.
- Create the right channel mix.
- Use attractive HD images, animated GIFs, trending videos (whiteboard animations, motion graphics) that reflects well with your target audience.
- Create the right hashtags & make them popular with online event marketing.
- Choose the right platform: Based on your brand/event, you can promote your event on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Twitter or Snapchat.
You can be a virtual events company or a virtual event software; adapting social media as a tool in guerrilla marketing for events is affordable, has more reach and is considered an intuitive strategy.
2. Blogging
Exhibitors who want to give their event that power touch can go for blogging. Blogging is the act of publishing information online through writing. And adding relevant pictures, GIFs and videos completes the blog and elevates the experience.
Bloggers can write feature articles about your event or product and publish them to respective groups or websites to gain the best attention.
The best virtual event platform or virtual events company can help you find the ideal bloggers related to the industry and perform exclusive event marketing for your brand.
3. Loyalty Program
A well-known B2C marketing strategy; that inspires customers to shop more or use the services offered by the business/event. Customers get discounts or points for every purchase done.
Coming to event marketing executed by a virtual event software or a virtual events company, the referral program involves giving away VIP passes to the affiliate who
- Refers the event to – a vast audience.
- Achieves – highest sales.
- Creates good hype about the event on – social channels & other platforms!
4. Hybrid Event Marketing: Activity Vending Machines
The audience who often take part in your live event needs some attention too. To create the best engagement for regular participants – the hybrid event software or hybrid events company can install vending machines on the venue to create activity and offer goodies.
Give your audience a task to perform & in return, plan to give away something like movie tickets, snacks, beverages, coupons etc.
5. Virtual Swag Bags
Traditional event organizers give away gifts, coupons or memberships to their audiences. In the virtual realm, you can choose virtual giveaways.
Some of the popular virtual giveaways are,
- Online courses
- eBooks
- Virtual fitness classes
- eGift vouchers
- Virtual wine tastings, etc.
Buying a vending machine for activity could be expensive. In such a case, virtual swag bags are your answer. You can also announce gold, silver and platinum vouchers to bring more attention to your event.
6. Gamification
Gamification makes your event marketing simple, fun and interesting. Introducing game concepts into websites, online communities, & learning systems to build engagement, generate awareness and improve participation is known as – “Gamification.”
Gamification inspires customers, employees and others to – engage, collaborate, share and interact.
For Example, you can plan a virtual treasure hunt where – you ask your audience to find specific items or answer puzzles before the given time. Promoting the game on social media encourages more participation and earns good rewards for the audience.
7. Online Newsletters
E-mail newsletters are popular strategies to share with your audience about the latest news, business/product information, trends, monthly statistics reports, guides etc. They must be creative, filled with the best information, and act as a helpful guide to the readers.
It can be something like, your customers/partners have a problem, and you are offering them a solution, or you are telling them that you have a solution to their problem. And that is how you create a good newsletter?
As a part of guerrilla marketing for events, online newsletters are considered cost-effective, and preparing them requires minimal effort.
So, here is what you can add to your newsletter?
- Exclusive offers & discounts.
- Keynote speaker information.
- First-look teasers & videos.
- Early bird offers
- Latest trends.
- Speaker interviews.
Creating the right hype is essential for any event. To achieve that, you can adopt strategies that make your brand stand out throughout the venue. Ask your virtual event software or virtual events company to exhibit only event-related content like products, videos, logos, banners & brochures at the venue. The latest trending animated neon displays are eye-catching and can be the best means to display your products online & captivate your audience attention.
9. Sponsor Local Events
Your target might be a local market or a global market! Sponsoring events can earn a name for your brand.
Some examples are festival galas, fundraising events, scholarship events, etc.
Sponsoring small events can help you reach your target faster than expected. You can also make your staff wear your brand’s T-shirts, caps, prints etc. for, show off at the virtual venue.
So, that’s all about Guerrilla Marketing for Events: 9 Best Concepts for Event Marketing. With the right event marketing strategies, you can make your brand reach target markets in a swish.
Think Ahead! Plan Strategically! Build Networks Instantly with Hexafair. For further Guerilla marketing tips and strategies, contact our expert team.