As we continue exploring various event marketing tactics and strategies, it’s crucial to select the right strategy that aligns with your event objectives. Event goals have been known to be attained through the use of text and voice messaging and mobile geofencing as discussed in Part 1. In this part, we’ll explore two other powerful tactics and strategies that can significantly enhance your event marketing efforts, retargeting and LinkedIn outreach. Both have proven to be highly effective in engaging audiences, driving attendance, and generating excitement for events.
Retargeting
In short, a retargeting campaign displays ads to people who have already visited your website. Retargeting is meant to be a long-term marketing strategy for businesses that already have a strong following. It works by placing a tracking pixel on your website(s). If you have a corporate website and an event website, you’d want to place the pixel on both. The pixel then collects data on who visits the website and their activity while visiting. It is recommended that a pixel be running on your website(s) for a minimum of six weeks before ad campaigns are launched to capture as many visitors as possible. Once a visitor browses your site, they will start to see ads while reading an article, listening to music, or visiting other pages online.
Additionally, retargeting enables you to segment audiences based on where they visit and their activity while visiting. One example is a cart abandonment audience. If someone reaches the final step of your registration process but doesn’t submit a registration, you can filter that audience and deliver a targeted ad with a message encouraging them to complete registration. Similarly, if people have viewed specific pages of your website such as membership, you can segment that audience and deliver a specific message.
Retargeting campaigns can be executed through Google Ads, Facebook retargeting, and other retargeting marketing platforms.
LinkedIn Outreach
Let’s face it, LinkedIn has become one of the best ways to build and maintain relationships with existing customers and potential prospects. Using LinkedIn’s InMail, you can reach customers and prospects who you’ve previously connected with or to someone who doesn’t even know who you are. Once you’ve made the connection, you can begin building a short- and long-term relationship.
For example, for association trade show events, LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for selling exhibit space to various industries who would want to get in front of your membership. LinkedIn’s InMail provides the opportunity to personalize your message, introduce yourself, and explain why they should care about that you’re offering. If they’re interested in what you have to say, they’ll probably respond.
In a recent marketing campaign for SNAC International’s annual trade show, SNAXPO, we successfully used LinkedIn outreach to make more than 130 connections, directly resulting in 22 exhibitor booths sold.
Moreover, LinkedIn InMail generates a 10-25% response rate which exceedingly surpasses the average email response rate.
As you plan your next event, consider specific strategies you can use in achieving your event objectives. Leveraging retargeting and LinkedIn outreach alongside other tactics and strategies discussed in Part 1 such as text and voice messaging and geofencing, can help you create an integrated and successful event marketing campaign.
