Month: July 2014

In honor of our attendance at the upcoming IAVM VenueConnect Conference, we thought it would be a good time to talk about the importance of having a target audience when it comes to your online marketing. This is especially true if you have a variety of events that attract very different groups of people. Whether you’re pulling in tweens for a Selena Gomez concert, or pulling in old school rockers for a Kansas reunion, the most important thing to remember is to go where your audience goes. Here are a few tips to make sure that you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to online marketing for your events.

• Go where your audience goes. We’re saying it twice, so you know it’s important! It may seem obvious, but different age groups are going to be more inclined to use different online avenues. This is especially true when it comes to social media. Teens and young adults have a tendency to gravitate towards Instagram rather than Facebook, while adults aged 30+ are all about Facebook. When you’re thinking about the best way to advertise an event, you need to be seen where your target audience is looking. Whether you believe in the value of social media or not, you miss out on reaching a huge segment of your audience when you choose to opt out of being present on social media.
  
• Pay to play. We’re talking about Facebook here! Facebook has made it extremely difficult for businesses to reach their fans; only an average of 3% of your fans will  see your posts if you don’t pay to advertise. The great thing about Facebook advertising is that they have some insanely in-depth audience targeting options. From specific purchasing behavior, to moms with kids of a certain age, the choices make it nearly impossible not to select the exact characteristics you want in an audience. By targeting your ads to the people you want to reach most, you are less likely to waste money reaching people who might find what you’re promoting irrelevant.
• Segment your email list. Email marketing is a must! We might be preaching to the choir now, but email is still the most cost effective way to drive online sales. However, you can really take your email marketing to the next level by segmenting your lists by interest or age group. A great way to do this is to have an email sign-up list on your website that allows users to select what they’re most interested in (concerts, outdoor events, competitive events, etc.).
• Do your research. Some events or concerts have a very obvious audience, but others may require an extra step from you. Whether you’re paying attention to numbers from a similar past event or going to Google to figure out a performer’s fan-base, you need to be in-the-know of exactly who is interested in the event you’re promoting. Don’t play the guessing game, because that only wastes your money!

Whether you’re a venue with 150+ events a year, or a single event with multiple attractions, you should be targeting your audiences online! It’s the best way to be relevant and save yourself from spending unnecessary money. No matter what type of event you have, the ultimate goal is to get butts in seats! So give yourself the best chance of filling every seat by making sure to reach out to the most relevant audience!