Our conference, event, trade show, and meetup is fantastic. Without a doubt. We will bring the best speakers and provide the latest market insights for our audience; the biggest names in the industry will sponsor & the production will be awesome. No Doubt.

Engaging with our audience will be super easy, and the whole industry will come. From C-Level to operations, we have it all covered.
Not many event organizers think like the above introduction. It’s even worse, they act like it.
I’ve been to over 23 conferences in 2019 and have seen many event websites.
In addition, I used my time to look at emails, Google Search results, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads & Display Banners. Everyone is telling the exact same story.

Furthermore, event marketing agencies also stick to the same script unless they are briefed otherwise. 

Why is Everyone Telling the Exact Same Story?

Because we all want to reach everyone. We are all afraid to lose clients, customers, or event attendees. We all think we are amazing and that our event is different. But does the customer really care, or do they see it the same way?
The broad approach that most events are using can work. If you are an established brand (Web Summit, Rise, AWA, etc). However, usually, it’s a sign that you’re going to waste A Lot of event money on an audience that won’t convert.

What can an Event do Differently to Attract its Audience?

When you are amazing, and you provide the best value in the market, people will buy. No question there. But what if you are pretty evergreen, and your event looks much like the one next month?  You should probably adjust your approach and mix up your paid advertising strategy. One option is to try Google ads for events, which can help you reach a wider audience and drive ticket sales. With Google ads, you can target specific keywords and audiences to ensure your event gets in front of the right people.

The “high intend” audience that goes to every event in your industry doesn’t need paid advertising.  That is 3% of the people that are very likely to buy if they don’t have anything else to do.
They likely have a few objections. Time, location, content, etc. Most events can handle those objections with general updates.
You will likely reach them through your other channels than paid advertising. They will buy early and are ready to network. You can reach them through:

  • Email Marketing
  • SMS Marketing
  • Community Updates
  • Worth of mouth
  • PR

This group is very important but should not receive any (little) paid advertising efforts.

NOTE: If you have great shareable content, this audience will bring it to the masses. In that case, retarget them with the value-added content and make it very easy to share.

Exercise time!

Exercise: Take a 10-minute search on Google and Facebook to see what your competition is doing. After that, take the time to do this for your own campaigns. Use Facebook ads for events to create buzz and drive attendance.

What do you see?
I did the above many times for our clients and saw the following.  95% of all events focus their paid advertising efforts on this 3%. And they use the same hooks, copy, and content for the other 97%.

I don’t need to tell you that there are better ways…
Firstly, shall we focus on the audiences that are harder to convince but take a bigger market share?
Secondly, shall we focus on the 17% that is already in information-gathering mode? And shall we not forget the 20% who know they have a problem that your event can solve?
That is 37% of your audience that needs more than price increase ads and speaker updates. They need education. They need value.
And let’s not forget the 60% who have no clue about your event or their problems. How can we convince them? Education.

Education-driven event content for your audience

There are many ways to educate your event audience. We have an entire guide on how to create an event on LinkedIn. You need to adjust your messaging and education depending on your niche and audience.
The first thing you need to do is conduct in-depth audience research.  
This is research done by the different departments of your team and will give you the right ammunition to message laser-sharp with your audience.
During the research period, you will answer the following questions:

  • Who are my dream audiences?
  • Why do they like me?
  • What can I offer them?
  • Which features do I offer?
  • What are the benefits of these features?
  • What makes us unique?
  • How does my audience talk?
  • Where do they spend their time?

If you need help answering these questions, please send me a message on LinkedIn.
As a result of the research, you can connect your event ideas with your ideal audience. It will also help you to create articles, landing pages, and lead magnets.
It will give you the ability to talk with different audience groups. And use their own language, providing them with the content they are looking for. Nurture them with educated content through your sales funnels. And turn them into fans & customers.
It’s 2020, and it’s time for personal messaging. It’s time you set yourself outside of the masses.