Creative event promotion is essential for success, but keeping your ideas fresh can be challenging. Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with these innovative suggestions inspired by imaginative event creators. Sickening Events from leveraging social media platforms as a differentiator to using promotional products effectively, these strategies will help ensure your event attracts the attention it deserves.
Social Media Event Promotion Ideas
As an event creator, you know that all good promotional ideas start with social media. But simply posting isn’t enough — especially in 2024. It’s more important than ever to use your social media presence as a portfolio of your brand identity to give viewers a glimpse into the world of your events.
People want authenticity. Focus on curating a ‘vibe’ that captures the heart and soul of your event rather than ‘hard sell‘ advertising. In one video or photo, a potential attendee should be able to grasp the experience you offer — if not, they’ll lose interest.
As Gary Vee outlines, the future of digital marketing lies in authentic content that represents your unique brand values. Users are steering away from overly promotional content and engaging with posts that have creative flair or ‘down-to-earth’ energy.
We can help you create social media content that reflects your unique brand identity while also attracting new potential attendees to your events and boosting engagement. Leveraging the success of thousands of event ad campaigns, we offer you a range of cutting-edge social media marketing tools, such as:
- Conversion tracking to indicate what’s working in your content
- A/B audience testing for different aspects of your post such as text and images
- Budget optimization to help you get the most out of your ad spend
Try our social media marketing tools today!
1. Create a ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ Instagram Reel Showcase
Build suspense around your event by creating behind-the-scenes Instagram reels. This gives attendees a sneak peek of what’s to come and highlights the exclusive elements of your event. For example, start a ‘10-day countdown’ where you reveal different stage setups or performing acts.
Make attendees feel excited and create urgency for those who haven’t bought tickets yet.
To maximize your impact, try to:
- Invite micro-influencers to share a ‘sneak peek’ of the event grounds
- Post interactive footage, such as 360-degree live photos or virtual tours of the event space
Pro Tip: Sound on Sound used a 3D-model simulation to give their followers a sneak peek into their upcoming festival, showcasing different stages, food vendors, and attractions to build excitement and anticipation.
2. Post Striking Event Photos
Create striking event photos that make people take a second look. Social media is getting more popular, with 4.88 billion users globally. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are leading channels for entertainment.
Boost your credibility and expand your audience by directly messaging past attendees and asking them to tag you in pictures they’ve posted of your event. Share these on your Instagram and Facebook stories.
Select images that:
- Focus on the attendee experience
- Utilize photography techniques like flash photography or harsh color contrast
Pro Tip: Nonsense Atlanta nails this technique by including event photos that highlight the fun and quirkiness of their brand, creating a memorable experience for their followers.
3. Build Social Media Collaboration into Contracts
Expand your audience reach by collaborating with your event partners. Get them to repost your promotional material across their social media pages or create original content about your event.
Social media collaborations function like a recommendation system, where customers are more inclined to buy a product recommended by someone they trust.
Include collaboration terms in your contracts at the beginning of the partnership. This ensures both parties are clear on their requirements and can start brainstorming ideas weeks before event promotion begins.
To fully utilize collaborations:
- Use Instagram’s collaboration feature to co-author posts
- Leverage social media hashtags and handle visibility
Pro Tip: Curated by Ryan Matthew Cohn partners with different artists on TikTok to highlight unique offerings, increasing visibility and buzz around his events.
4. Host a Social Giveaway
Revamp the traditional giveaway campaign model with a creative twist. Consider hosting a TikTok dance challenge or asking people to share their most embarrassing festival/party experience in exchange for a free ticket, special prizes, or VIP access.
For example, Something Dope For The People holds street competitions for a chance to perform at their next show. This innovative approach helps discover new talent and creates a fun promotional video that participants are likely to share, increasing visibility.
Pro Tip: To increase your reach on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, consider paying micro-influencers to create reaction videos to your giveaway campaign, capturing their genuine excitement and boosting engagement.
Ready to take your event promotion to the next level? Explore our ultimate event promotion checklist, designed to make your event a hit. Discover creative ideas, expert tips, and guidance to make your next celebration even more thrilling. Sign up to get started and see how our platform can simplify event planning for you.
Concert Promotion Ideas to Create Unforgettable Experiences
As an event creator, it’s your job to cultivate an unforgettable experience and excitement through your event promotion ideas. But don’t limit yourself to traditional promotion tactics. To make promotional material that’ll cause viewers to feel the weight of missing out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience, you have to lean into their emotional experience.
For example, one TikToker captured attendees’ ‘after concert glow’ by writing the question ‘what did you think?’ on a piece of paper and attaching it to her phone. The footage she captured of attendees’ genuine reactions could then be used in TikTok videos, Snapchat highlight reels, or Facebook stories.
1. Mini Pop-Up Concerts
Mini pop-up concerts are short impromptu performances in public spaces, such as parks, plazas, and street corners. You can frame them as planned events or a surprise treat that people in the area ‘just so happen’ to stumble upon.
For new attendees, pop-up events spark a sense of curiosity and excitement, and for your existing community, they reconfirm what they already know: you offer truly incredible live experiences.
Here’s how to set it up:
- Book a couple of your headline musicians to help attract as many people as possible.
- Set up an event registration station with a safe and secure checkout.
Pro Tip: ‘Leak’ the performance by inviting micro-influencers as the first audience members to ‘discover’ your event. Offer them perks like a meet-and-greet with performers if they plug your pop-up. You can even provide them with a promotional code their followers can use to buy tickets to your upcoming concert.
2. Guerilla QR-Code Marketing
QR codes are rapidly gaining popularity, with predictions indicating over 100 million smartphone users will scan a QR code by 2025. Use this trend as an unconventional marketing tool.
Try putting your QR code everywhere around town such as on the side of a bus, lamp posts, and even bathroom doors. QR codes are a great way to convert cold traffic because, with one click, people have access to all the information they need about your event, such as the location, featured photos, pricing information, and embedded checkouts.
Guerilla QR code marketing can also work to give your concert a rebellious, grungy vibe. ‘Breaking the rules’ can work in your favor, especially for event creators who thrive on secrecy and exclusivity.
To help your QR-code marketing campaign stand out, you can:
- Provide value by offering exclusive discounts, behind-the-scenes footage, or early access to tickets through the code.
- Do a ‘soft launch’ of your QR code campaign with a cryptic Instagram post, such as ‘look out for us in the city – we’re watching’.
Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to print QR codes on large areas. For example, an insurance company in the United Kingdom made a scannable QR code in the sky with 400 purple drones. Try plastering your code on billboards or even on the side of a building.
3. Exclusive Merch
Exclusive merchandise can significantly increase profit margins and works as a powerful promotional tool. Attendees wearing your events’ branded clothing can spark conversation and generate interest among their friends, creating word-of-mouth buzz.
Event merchandise can create a sense of community and belonging, similar to how music unites fans. It fosters a tribe of passionate supporters who proudly identify with a brand and its values.
Try giving out free merch as a prize for a social media competition. This could be something like, ‘The first 100 people to comment, like, and share this post will be in the running to win one of our exclusive merch pieces for our upcoming show’.
Some creative exclusive merch ideas include:
- Customized tote bags
- T-shirts with hand-drawn designs by featured musicians
Pro Tip: If you want to take your merch promotion to a new level, be a bit cheeky and include a scannable QR code on the back of your clothing that links to your event ticket page.