[GUEST POST] 6 Steps to Amplify Pre-Event Engagement Using Direct Mail and Social Media

Community events are an excellent way for organizations to build their reputation locally. The biggest challenge, however, is getting people to attend these events. To do that, you must generate excitement and buzz ahead of time.

Event marketing is an excellent opportunity to combine direct mail and social media strategies to reach the community. There are six steps to creating successful pre-event engagement to boost excitement and attendance.

The Benefits of Community Marketing

Community marketing focuses on building your customer base through relationships. To build a pre-event engagement campaign, you must interact with your target audience online and offline.

Community marketing can help you:

• Build brand awareness. Creating positive relationships with your customers helps them become fans.
• Improve customer engagement. Interacting with customers helps you better understand their needs.
• Boost customer loyalty. Creating community among your customers helps build trust.
• Improve marketing effectiveness. Interacting with customers brings referrals.

Hosting a community event is the perfect opportunity for this. Use digital and physical marketing strategies to create excitement.

Blending Digital and Physical Marketing Strategies

Coordinating the event takes work, but you must ensure a great turnout. Successful community events rely on strategic campaigns that bridge direct mail and digital marketing. Combining these two strategies helps to:

• Provide continuity. A physical touchpoint, like a digital catalog, reminds clients about your online presence.
• Additional reach. Direct mailers are a visual reminder, while digital mediums like email help with follow-up.
• Maximize lists. Personalize direct mailers for your email list to broaden your invitation list.

Blending digital and physical promotions is ideal for community event marketing and building engagement beforehand. Though direct mailers and social media can have similarities, they don’t have to match exactly. Direct mailers spark interest with eye-catching graphics that incentivize readers to register. Adding a QR code is a great way to achieve this.

You should also include your social media channels in mailers, post announcements on social media, and broadcast live streams. Create a unique hashtag and add it to your direct mailer so that people can engage with relevant content. Leverage each channel to support the other.

6 Steps to Amplify Pre-Event Engagement with Direct Mail and Social Media

Social media and direct event marketing must create excitement and anticipation for community events. These six steps are crucial for building a successful pre-event engagement campaign:

1. Set Campaign Goals

   You can track registration and attendance without creating pre-event campaign goals, but you may not have a good idea of attendance until it’s too late. Determine how to target using direct mail, what social media channels you’ll use, and the desired number of attendees.

   What is your goal for the event? When you’ve decided on a goal, you’ll know who to contact for sponsorships, speakers, activities, venues, and more.

2. Define the Target Audience

   It’s a given that the audience will be local, but you may want to refine that focus. Determine if there’s a broad scope of local attendees or if you’re limiting this event to a particular group.

   Remember that one of your event’s goals is to connect with your attendees. Understanding their interests helps you not only to create an attractive pre-event campaign but also enables you to fine-tune the details of your event. Defining your target audience also lets you personalize your direct mailers.

3. Create the Project Timeline

   Creating a project timeline ensures that your direct and digital marketing efforts are well-timed. Once you know the scope of your campaign, you can set milestones for deliverables. Lay out each element on your timeline and estimate how long each task will take. You should break some of these elements down to ensure each step is attainable.

   Timelines are most effective when they encompass all elements of your campaign, including team assignments and project expectations. Project timelines should exist where everyone involved can access them, such as on a calendar. Review and update them frequently, especially if your event has a tight turnaround. Collaborative timelines ensure seamless integration between your digital and print marketing efforts.

4. Craft Your Messaging

   Effective messaging is critical for the success of your campaign. Messaging should be clear and match across all mediums, even if visuals do not. Direct mail materials must lead people towards your registration QR code, social media, and event-focused hashtags.

   Personalize your direct mailers for more engagement. If you’ve connected with the local community, create locally-branded guided by the information they provide. Whether on social media or in print, always highlight the benefits of attending the event. Send your materials to the printer and start your social media campaign.

5. Start the Social Media Campaign

   You can start this campaign as soon as you’ve confirmed your event. Start by generating hype. A teaser, a flyer, or a social network announcement can get people interested. You can even create an event information sign-up list to continually remind people of a big event headed their way.

   There are many options for building engagement around an even-focused hashtag. You can also use game-like techniques, such as scavenger hunts, trivia games, or challenges like guessing the speakers. Encourage user-generated content, like having them share badges or early bird swag. You can even partner with an influencer who is popular with your audience. Invite them to the event and have them share their excitement.

6. Make Registration Enticing

   Registration should be a quick and seamless experience for attendees. The QR code on a direct mailer or link on social media should send attendees to a clear registration page with all the details they need to know. Request email and phone numbers to send reminders. Launch an SMS reminder or countdown campaign.

   A great way to promote this process is to incentivize early registration. This strategy employs FOMO – the fear of missing out – to get attendees to register early, like when you utilize early bird discount pricing. Don’t reveal the discount expiration date to create a sense of urgency. Other ideas include early registration perks, like bonuses or VIP experiences. For example, you could allow the first group of registrants to add to the planning process by polling about things they’d like to see or do at the event.

Amplifying engagement before a community event is crucial to driving attendance. Take careful steps to build a blended campaign using social media and direct mail, with each element supporting the other. Start this planning early to ensure that the event is a hit.

Author Bio

Indiana Lee is a business journalist with expertise in marketing and operational strategies. As a regular contributor to leading business publications, she offers analyses and perspectives on customer engagement and data-driven marketing solutions. Connect with her on LinkedIn.