11 Event Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2022
Event marketing is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience and create a lasting impression.
However, if you’re not careful, you can make some costly mistakes that will ruin your reputation and cost you potential customers. Let’s look at 11 event marketing mistakes you need to avoid in 2022!
1. Not having an obvious goal or strategy for your event
One of the biggest mistakes when planning your event is not having a simple goal or strategy. Whether you’re trying to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or build relationships with existing customers.
Without a clear goal, it will be challenging to measure the success of your event and determine whether it was worth your investment.
You should closely align your event marketing strategy with your overall marketing strategy. Your event should support your company’s broader goals and objectives. For example, if you’re trying to increase brand awareness, your event marketing strategy should generate as much exposure for your brand as possible.
2. Not doing your research - know your audience and what they want
Another mistake is not doing your research and failing to understand your target audience.
Who are you trying to reach with your event?
What are their needs and wants?
What will appeal to them?
What can your event offer them?
What are your demographics? Mothers? Single parents? Business owners? etc.
Where are they located? Is this a remote or in person event? Would hybrid benefit them?
Creating an event that resonates with your audience will be challenging without this critical information.
Make sure you take the time to understand your target audience and what they’re looking for before you plan your event.
3. Failing to create a strong brand identity for your event
If you want your event to be successful, you need to create a strong brand identity for it. Your event’s branding should be consistent with your company’s overall branding, but it also needs to have its unique personality. You should think about what makes your event different and use that to inform your branding strategy.
Your event’s branding should be reflected in everything from the event name and logo to how you promote it and the overall look and feel of the event itself.
Creating a solid brand identity for your event is one of the most critical aspects of event marketing. Without a clear brand identity, your event will blend in with all other events and cannot make a lasting impression.
One way to cultivate a brand identify is by using storyboards.
4. Not investing enough in marketing and promotion
Another mistake that event marketers often make is not investing enough in marketing and promotion. Many event marketers cannot allocate enough budget to these critical areas.
Expect to spend at least 20% of your overall event budget on marketing and promotion as a general rule of thumb. This may seem like a lot, but it’s necessary to ensure that your event gets the exposure it needs to be successful.
5. Not promoting your event early enough - or at all
If you don’t promote your event early and often, you’re likely to have a tiny turnout. People are busy, and they need time to plan. Start promoting your event at least a few months in advance, using multiple channels (social media, email marketing, paid advertising, etc.). You can also promote your event by leveraging your speakers, sponsors or through influencer marketing.
Don’t forget to continue promoting your event right until the day of! The more exposure your event gets, the better.
6. Neglecting social media marketing
Social media is one of the powerful tools you have for marketing your event. Yet many event marketers still cannot take advantage of this critical channel.
Make sure you create a solid social media strategy and promote your event well in advance. Use hashtags, run social media ads, and partner with influencers to get the word out.
Social media should be a crucial part of your event marketing strategy. Don’t neglect this powerful marketing tool!
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7. Not setting the right expectations
If you want your event to be successful, you need to set the right expectations. Don’t oversell your event or make promises you can’t keep. Be realistic about what your event can achieve and focus on delivering an exceptional experience to your attendees.
If you set the right expectations for your event, you’ll be more likely to deliver a successful event that meets or exceeds attendees’ expectations.
8. Failing to track and measure your results
If you’re not tracking and measuring your event marketing efforts, you won’t be able to improve your results. Make sure you have a system to track key metrics like attendance, website traffic, social media engagement, and sales. This will help you understand what’s working well and where you need to improve.
Event marketing is a complex process, and there’s always room for improvement. By tracking and measuring your results, you can continually optimize your event marketing strategy and improve your chances of success.
9. Not learning from your mistakes
Finally, one of the biggest mistakes event marketers can make is not learning from their mistakes. If you don’t take the time to reflect on your event’s successes and failures, you’ll never be able to improve.
Make sure you debrief after each event and take the time to understand what worked well and what could be improved. This will help you improve your event marketing strategy and increase your chances of success.
10. Failing to follow-up with attendees after the event
Another mistake that event marketers make is failing to follow up with attendees after the event. Just because the event is over doesn’t mean your work is done.
It’s important to stay in touch with your attendees and nurture those relationships. You can send post-event surveys, follow-up emails, or even thank you for cards.
Make sure you take the time to follow up with your attendees after the event. This will help you build strong relationships with them and ensure they have a positive impression of your event.
11. Not planning for the future
Finally, one of the biggest mistakes event marketers can make is not planning for the future.
Events are complex and ever-changing, and you need to be prepared for whatever comes your way. Make sure you have a solid plan in place and always thinking ahead.
This will help you avoid any last-minute surprises and ensure your event is successful.
Conclusion
Avoid these 11 Event Marketing mistakes in 2022, and you’ll be well on your way to putting on a successful and impactful event! Do your research, create a strong brand identity, invest in marketing and promotion, and use social media effectively to reach your target audience.
Keep these event marketing mistakes in mind as you plan your events for 2022! By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can set yourself up for success and create an event that will wow your attendees. What other event marketing mistakes do you think should be avoided? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Author: Amrapali Rai
Amrapali is a freelance SEO strategist and content writer who works with brands and SaaS companies to support their SEO and content strategy and blogs about technology and marketing at Bazaar Expert.
