3 Ways Event Marketing Can Help to Grow Your Small Business

If you are looking for creative ways to grow your small business, look no further than local event marketing.

Whether you decide to host an event or set up shop in a trade show booth, event marketing is a great way to get the name of your small business out there to potential customers. Event marketing will provide valuable face-time with potential customers who might not have found you otherwise, as well as give them an idea of which products and/or services are your small business’ specialty.

79% of marketers are already using this strategy to generate sales, so there is a good chance that your competition is already taking advantage of event marketing. Consumers love it, too- a whopping 74% of consumers said that they would be more likely to purchase a product after attending a branded event.

Still not sure if event marketing is right for your business? Read on to find out more details on the different benefits of this marketing strategy.

Increase Brand Awareness

A common struggle for small businesses, especially newer ones, is brand awareness. Event marketing can get your small business one step closer to authority-level status.

It’s this simple: if consumers don’t know you exist, how can they buy from your business? Many small businesses already utilize social media, websites and paid advertising to increase their brand awareness. According to 31% of marketers, however, event marketing is the single most effective strategy over other marketing channels like email, content marketing and social media. 

The obvious way that events build brand awareness is with the actual attendees. The beauty is that the people who attend the event will most likely be part of your target audience. If you own a bakery, for example, and participate in a food festival in your community, the attendees will be people who are there to enjoy food. You can skip the audience-targeting leg work that you would normally have to do with social media or paid advertising. Your target audience will come to you! Also, event attendees may be likely to post your product on their social media, allowing you to expand your brand awareness even further than the event itself.

Many such events attract local media attention, as well. Participating in local events will give you the chance to get your carefully-branded booth mentioned in local magazines and websites. If you host your own event, do some research to contact publications that might be interested in covering it.

Local mentions in online articles will also help to boost your website’s authority on Google. Make sure that any online article mentions contain backlinks to your site. Those backlinks will tell Google that your website belongs to a credible business, especially if the mention appears on a high-authority site. This will improve your ranking next time someone in your area googles “bakeries near me.” 

Pro tip: List all press mentions and event content on your website under a “Press” or “Events” page. If someone happens to stumble upon your website, press mentions and event content will provide valuable social proof to potential customers.

Lead Generation

Event marketing is a great way to talk to customers in-person about what your small business does and generate new leads.

Leads are crucial in any sales or marketing strategy. Make sure that you have the right people manning your booth if you decide to take part in a trade show; you need people who can engage with attendees and generate interest in your brand.

Even if people are not looking to make a purchase from you on the spot, that doesn’t mean that they won’t later. Some leads take a little more nurturing than others, so encourage people who might not be ready to buy to leave their contact information.

Have a sign-up sheet in your booth or, better yet, an iPad to capture email addresses from prospective customers. If you have an email marketing campaign (and you should), you can segment all those addresses to design a drip campaign specifically for event attendees. Shoot them an email newsletter with pictures or video recapping the event and include a call to action, such as “Visit our website for more info.” Then, keep them in the loop of business offers, sales or news. Focus on relevant information that will help to move them further down your sales funnel. After all, you know they’re interested because they gave you their email address; maybe they just need a helpful nudge!

Sales

Event marketing is a great way to make on-the-spot sales to new customers!

When engaging with potential customers at an event, some people will be ready to make a purchase right away, especially after communicating with your engaging staff. 

Think of your booth at a trade show, for example, as a small pop-up store. Make sure that it is accurately branded so that customers know what your small business is about on sight. If your small business sells physical products, put your best foot forward by bringing a selection of your most popular items. If you own a service-based business, hand out branded freebies, brochures and infographics to interested event attendees.

Although event marketing is more effective for lead generation and brand awareness, that’s necessarily a hard and fast rule. The Makeup Show in NYC, for example, tries to limit its attendees to hair and makeup professionals who are there to buy products from attending brands to test and add to their kits. 

Tailor your booth or event goals on a case-to-case basis, but don’t forget the sales potential of each and every event.

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With all the marketing strategies and conflicting advice out there, it can get overwhelming, especially if you are a new business owner. Event marketing, however, is the tried and true method, trusted by marketers and consumers alike, for building brand awareness, generating leads and making sales. Get your small business involved in event marketing, and see the growth potential for yourself!