Marketers who are tasked with improving event registrations over the last year, reaching new attendees and increasing awareness for an upcoming event can feel that these objectives are overwhelming and at times unattainable. Eight months out, the information that is pieced together about their events such as the value proposition statement, specific audience targeting and competitor details are outlined somewhere in a marketing folder. This is a great start, but the question that then comes is how to begin putting these details to work? Better yet, what can hold this marketing strategy together, while being efficient?
A simple, but effective paid search strategy and structure should be the foundation for all event marketing. Below is an example that every event can mimic:
Partners
- Targeting any “partner” terms will give you leverage in that space and visibility when users are searching for your partner and/or sponsor publications.
Competitor
- There are events and conferences for everything, so you should be visible for users that are searching for your competitor Brand terms.
Topics
- What topics or workshops are relevant and can be promoted? Target these too and qualify users by taking advantage of the Ad copy and Ad extension space. Copy should include information about the event and a dynamic keyword insertion in the headline so users that are searching for generic topic terms can make the connection. Ad extensions can communicate dates and location.
Event
- This targets generic event keywords that are related to your event.
Brand
- Also, don’t forget about the Brand! You will be creating awareness through paid search and other channels, so users will remember your brand and can return to the site through your Ads.
Social platforms and other programmatic channels are used to elevate your strategy since they provide opportunities to reach a new user and create brand awareness. But because these channels may be heavily promoted by your agency and / or partners, your PPC strategy is sometimes put on the back-burner. But, Paid search should always be at the foundation of every event that you promote!
If you are looking for more insightful tips about your event advertising, contact us to learn more and an Interactive Advertising expert will be available to help!
