Business

Leave the Gimmicks at the Door: How to Use Content Marketing for Event Promotion

by Catherine Reed
7 years ago
4 min read
content marketing
Written by Catherine Reed
Buffer

When it comes time to market your event, it can be tempting to turn to stunts to get people in the door. High dollar giveaways and similar tactics can seem like a good idea at the moment, giving you a chance to gain popularity on social media. But the attention you gain from these gimmicks rarely stands the test of time, and many of the people who get involved aren’t even in your target market. However, there is a more suitable alternative, and you’ll find it in content marketing.

Understanding Content Marketing

Using a stunt to grow your following can work in the short-term, but it doesn’t provide long-term connections that can help you keep interest in your event moving forward in a reliable way. Content marketing is different; it creates a method by which you can engage potential attendees by providing them with something of value.

There are a wide variety of content marketing options, including popular methods like blogs, infographics, e-courses, and more. To make these materials successful, you need to provide value to the readers, and this involves giving them something they can use at no cost.

How to Use Content Marketing for Event Promotion

It can seem like content marketing and event promotion don’t naturally go hand-in-hand, but that definitely isn’t the case. All you need to do is identify what your attendees could use right now and find a way to provide it.

For example, you could create an article that highlights a topic that is going to be thoroughly discussed by a key speaker. Let it serve as an introduction to the presentation and include details about how the speaker is a subject matter expert while you provide a high-level overview of the topic. The intention isn’t specifically to market the speaker’s attendance at your event, as you want to give the readers important information relating to the subject at hand, but still subtly draws attention to the scheduled presentation.

Ideally, your readers should learn something new from the article itself and be intrigued enough to be interested in attending so they can gain more valuable information. You should be providing them with help through the content first, and marketing to them second.

You can also research industry trends on your own and right blogs or create infographics designed to explain what each trend in and why it matters to professionals in that specific sector. This can be an excellent approach when you manage events for a wide range of industries and want to create valuable content to attract the attention of a particular demographic.

Why Now Is the Time to Get Started in Content Marketing

While sharing information through blogs, videos, and similar mechanisms isn’t new, it is still a widely popular method for learning new information and connecting with like-minded professionals. Most people aren’t interested in forwarding information they receive in an email but are often more than willing to share a Facebook post or tweet.

Blog posts are also accessible through search engines, so a person looking for information about a particular topic online may stumble across your post if the information contained within it is relevant. This can provide you access to a new round of potential attendees who may not favor social media or might not have professionals who are aware of your event in their network.

Your materials can also serve you long-term if you focus on creating content that is considered “evergreen,” meaning it will be just as valuable to readers in five years as it is now. Over time, a large amount of evergreen content can drive traffic to your site or social media pages for years to come, even if you don’t create anything new on a particular topic.

In the end, the more valuable the information provided is, the better it can serve your current and future events. The important thing is to always focus on creating materials that answer common questions your potential attendees may have or that introduce them to new topics that could help them with their business. Let the content draw them in because it covers something they need or want to know, and avoid over-selling the events itself when you bring these pieces together. With great content, the marketing is almost handled for you, so consider giving this approach a try.

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Catherine Reed

Catherine is a content creator, article writer, and web copy specialist who has translated her professional and educational experience into a full-time writing career spanning categories as diverse as technology, education, finance, and staffing. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology and has nine years of experience working specifically in the mobile device field.
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