In this edition of the Fitwise blog, we’re going to explore how to make sure you’re maximising your event marketing budget. This includes some of the most popular areas for spend, as well as alternatives you could consider if you’re looking to cut down expenses.
When planning your event, it’s essential to have a comprehensive budget in place. This should detail all income, expense, and be regularly reviewed to ensure that the financial figures are as accurate as possible. One area which can be challenging to forecast cost for, is your marketing budget. Or, more accurately, where to focus your spending within marketing. When working to a tight budget, your marketing spend may be one of the first places that you reconsider. Therefore, it’s important to closely consider which areas are most important to you.
Photography and Videography
Having photographers and videographers join you on the day of your event, as well as at social events can be a brilliant way to capture the buzz. They can provide high-quality materials for you to advertise your future events via social media, emails and on your website. Additionally, their materials can also be shared with your delegate audience and exhibitors, which they may also be inclined to share across their own platforms. This may help further expand the reach of your event information. At Fitwise, we work with a range of tried and tested photographers and videographers.
If bringing photographers and videographers onboard are a little out of your budget, there are alternatives that you can consider. Some of these may be running on-the-day photo competitions, with the chance of winning discounts on a future registration fees.
Alternatively, you could consider purchasing a selfie frame or prop, to help encourage your delegates to post across their channels. While their pictures may not always be the best quality, they can still be useful in expanding the events reach in the short term. (And remember, you have a plethora of stock images which can be used too!).
Onsite Branding
Onsite branding is another effective way to maximise your marketing impact, without having to increase your spend. Some venues, particularly those whose primary purpose it to run events, offer a range of onsite branding opportunities. We would always suggest speaking to your venue early in the event planning process to understand what is included. If items aren’t included, at the very least you are aware of the cost, and can factor this in.
Venue offerings might include digital signage opportunities, branded welcome screens, or logos featured on in-house screens. In the situation where these options are free of charge or available at a low cost, they can offer excellent value for money and be a great addition in helping improve your delegate experience on the day. Even simple, cost-free additions that you can add such as holding slides between sessions, and aligning onsite material with the pre-event collateral, can make a significant difference to how polished and professional your event feels.
Social Media Paid Advertising
Paid social media advertising can be a highly effective way to drive traffic to your event website and increase registrations Particularly when working with a clearly defined target audience. Platforms such as LinkedIn offer comprehensive targeting options. This allows you to focus your spend on specific job roles, industries, seniority levels, locations, or areas of professional interest. This ensures your budget is being used efficiently, with your event promoted directly to those most likely to attend. When working to a tighter budget, this doesn’t mean running large-scale campaigns. Instead, selectively boosting one or two key posts. This may be your event launch or a registration deadline reminder, which can still deliver strong results.
Promotional Items
Promotional items can be a simple yet effective way to extend your event’s visibility beyond the conference itself. Branded items such as reusable cups, pens, notebooks or lanyards not only enhance the delegate experience on the day, but can also continue to promote your event or organisation. With such a wide variety of products available at different price points, it’s easy to select items that align with both your budget and your event. Increasingly, there are many sustainable options to choose from This includes reusable, recyclable or responsibly sourced products. By using these, you can further reinforce your commitment to reducing environmental impact. By selecting practical items that are reusable, promotional items can offer long-term value and strong brand exposure.
There are a plethora of other areas you may wish to consider within your marketing budget. This includes purchasing paid mailing lists, printed or digital media opportunities. There is a wide range of free options also, such as setting up reciprocal promotional agreements and utilising press contacts. At Fitwise, our experienced marketing team are always happy to support you in finding the right approach to promote your event. Regardless of budget or event size!
