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Virtual events are here to stay and have become pivotal in the modern business environment, but if you’re not effectively marketing them, you’re missing out on a world of opportunity. Whether you’re hosting a virtual conference, webinar, or trade show, your success hinges on how well you promote it.
In this guide, we’ll explore proven virtual event marketing strategies that will help you draw a crowd and keep them engaged from start to finish. So, let’s get started!
Virtual event marketing involves strategies and tactics that you can use to promote online events to a targeted audience. Unlike traditional in-person events, virtual events require a different approach because you need to grab your audience’s attention online, where distractions are just a click away.
From pre-event promotions to post-event follow-ups, marketing your virtual event ensures that your message reaches the right people and drives higher attendance and engagement.
A recent report says that nearly 96% of companies now integrate webinars and virtual events into their broader content marketing strategies. This means that webinars go beyond gathering a crowd and help achieve goals like nurturing leads, educating audiences, and driving conversions. Effective virtual event marketing maximizes these opportunities, so your event reaches its full potential.
Think of it this way: you’ve planned the perfect event with top-notch speakers, interactive sessions, and valuable content. But if no one shows up, all that effort goes to waste. Successful virtual event marketing practices focus on broadening reach and boosting attendance. The most important objective is to enhance the overall ROI of the event.
According to Hubilo's latest data, 75% of webinars are used as top and mid-funnel movers, helping businesses with initial engagement and lead nurturing. This statistic highlights how important it is to get your promotional strategies right from the start, as it can make all the difference in converting initial interest into long-term customer relationships.
But it’s not just about attracting attendees; the real power of virtual event marketing lies in its broader business benefits.
Hubilo provides end-to-end solutions that help you market your virtual events effectively. From audience engagement to post-event analysis, Hubilo ensures that every aspect of your event promotion is seamless and tailored to drive maximum attendance.
The importance of virtual event marketing goes beyond just filling seats. It has significant benefits for your business and your bottom line. When done well, virtual event marketing can drive higher ROI, increase brand awareness, and generate more leads and conversions.
Let's take a look at the core benefits of effective event promotion.
With the right marketing strategies, virtual events can deliver impressive ROI. Promoting your event effectively attracts more participants, which means more leads, more conversions, and ultimately more revenue. Plus, virtual events eliminate costs like venue rental, catering, and travel, leaving more room to invest in marketing and digital tools that enhance engagement.
Most organizations are willing to spend between $10,000 and $30,000 annually on webinars, primarily for content creation, promotion, and technical setup. This investment not only enhances the event experience but also drives better outcomes, making it a cost-effective way to reach a larger audience.
One of the standout advantages of virtual events is their ability to reach audiences far and wide. Unlike physical events, which are often limited by geography, virtual events can welcome participants from all corners of the globe. Effective marketing helps build awareness, broaden your event’s reach, and introduce your brand to new markets.
Hubilo makes it easier to engage audiences before, during, and after the event, ensuring your brand message is clear and consistent.
It's easy to get people to register for a virtual event, but the challenging part is to convince them to actually show up. This is where your role as a host comes into play.
There are many ways to increase attendance metrics. Some organizers use a mix of strategies, such as pre-event content, irresistible calls-to-action (CTAs), and similar conversion tactics. Platforms like Hubilo Webinar+ come preloaded with features like automated reminders, interactive teasers, and personalized content to boost attendance.
The next step to making your virtual event a success is crafting a solid marketing strategy that keeps your audience excited and engaged throughout the event lifecycle.
Hubilo’s powerful features allow you to optimize every stage of your virtual event, increasing ROI through advanced analytics, interactive features, and engagement tools that convert leads into customers.
Promoting a virtual event requires a multi-channel approach that engages your audience from the first point of contact to the event itself. Whether you’re using social media, email marketing, or partnerships, having a robust promotional plan ensures your event gains traction and achieves maximum attendance.
Social media is a powerhouse when it comes to promoting virtual events. Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are ideal for creating buzz and engaging with your audience.
Start by creating a dedicated event page on LinkedIn or Facebook and share regular updates leading up to the event. This can include speaker announcements, behind-the-scenes content, and teaser videos that give a sneak peek of what attendees can expect.
Use hashtags to expand your reach and tap into trending topics. For example, if your event is focused on digital marketing, you can use popular hashtags to attract professionals interested in the topic.
Additionally, running targeted ads on social media can help you reach specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and previous interactions. By combining organic posts with paid campaigns, you can ensure your event is seen by as many potential participants as possible.
Hubilo's Snackable Content Hub offers a game-changing solution for repurposing content. After your virtual event, easily convert session highlights into bite-sized social media posts, short videos, or infographics. This feature helps maximize the reach of your event by keeping the conversation going across platforms long after the event ends.
You can share repurposed content on platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, driving continued engagement and drawing more attention to future events.
Despite the rise of social media, email marketing remains one of the most effective tools for driving registrations and engagement. According to industry data, over 55% of event registrations still come from email marketing campaigns, making it a crucial part of your promotional strategy. Use email to share valuable information about your event, such as the schedule, speaker highlights, and registration deadlines.
Segment your email lists to send personalized content that resonates with different audience groups. For example, your VIP attendees might receive exclusive early access to certain sessions or downloadable resources.
Hubilo Webinar+ takes email marketing to the next level with its drag-and-drop email customization tool that allows you to craft beautifully branded, personalized emails quickly. This feature enables you to tailor emails for different audience segments, from VIP attendees to general participants. You can also schedule automated, personalized email reminders that are sent at crucial moments—such as event registration, session confirmations, and upcoming starts—ensuring registrants stay engaged and informed.
By using Hubilo’s robust email marketing engine, you can further boost attendance and engagement with event-related content that resonates. You can easily embed session details, speaker highlights, and custom banners while monitoring the performance of these emails through built-in analytics to improve future campaigns. Amp up attendance with automated, real-time notifications and seamlessly manage all your communications from one platform.
One of the best ways to amplify your event’s reach is collaborating with sponsors and speakers. When your event partners promote the event to their networks, it significantly broadens your audience. Encourage your speakers to share their excitement on social media, perhaps with a unique discount code or a special message. This can create a sense of exclusivity and encourage more people to register.
Meanwhile, sponsors can make use of digital booths or speaking slots as they'll benefit more from more direct dialogue with the attendees. Consider involving them in the marketing efforts. It'll boost the overall visibility and help both the sponsor and the organizer.
Hubilo makes it easy for sponsors to showcase their brand with customizable virtual booths, banners, and pop-ups, creating a seamless integration that benefits all parties.
A key metric for judging a virtual event is the sense of community felt by the attendees. This process begins well before the actual event, and some proactive organizers foster more engagement by setting up a dedicated group or forum where attendees can introduce themselves, share their expectations, and network. This can be a LinkedIn group, a Slack workspace, or even a private Facebook group. Such platforms allow participants to build connections before the event begins, making the experience more inclusive and engaging.
During the event, keep the community vibe strong by using features like live chats, breakout sessions, and discussion boards. Encourage attendees to share their thoughts and questions, and make sure your speakers and moderators are actively engaging with the audience.
Hubilo Webinar+ excels at fostering community by offering a suite of engagement tools, including live polls, Q&A sessions, and interactive games, all designed to keep participants actively involved.
What sets Hubilo apart is its conversion prompts, which allow you to capture real-time audience intent by guiding participants to take specific actions. These prompts, alongside Hubilo’s real-time notifications and chat moderation, create an immersive environment where attendees feel continuously connected and engaged throughout the event.
After the event, don’t just disappear. Continue the conversation by sharing event highlights, session recordings, and follow-up content. This serves a dual purpose of keeping your community engaged and lays the groundwork for future events. Plus, it allows you to gather feedback that can be invaluable for improving your virtual event marketing strategies.
Hubilo’s platform offers live chat, breakout sessions, and networking lounges that create a vibrant sense of community. With features like live polls, Q&A, and conversion prompts, you can keep attendees connected and engaged throughout the event lifecycle.
There's no better way to encourage people to do something than incentivizing the action, and this holds true in this context, too. Consider offering exclusive discounts, early-bird pricing, or even freebies like e-books, guides, or product samples. Such offerings might have some costs but can tip the scales for someone who is on the fence about attending. A great example would be offering a free one-month trial for a service to B2B audiences who are curious but not yet committed.
Raffles, giveaways, and contests are also excellent ways to boost engagement. Platforms like Hubilo make it easy to incorporate these features into your event, creating a seamless experience where attendees can participate in contests or claim their incentives without leaving the virtual space.
Building anticipation is key to drawing people to your event, but it's easier said than done. Your goal is to build interest in the community. Share sneak peeks of the content, such as short video clips of speakers rehearsing, a glimpse of the event setup, or a teaser of an exclusive interview. This will grab attention and create a sense of urgency, as if they might miss out on something valuable if they don't sign up.
For example, you can release a "behind-the-scenes" video on social media a few days before the event to build excitement.
Additionally, consider hosting a short pre-event webinar or live Q&A session. This allows potential attendees to see the value your event offers without committing to a full session, making it easier for them to decide to join the main event.
Using Hubilo’s Snackable Content Hub, you can easily repurpose your webinar content and capture engaging clips to use as teasers before the event. Rather than manually editing hours of footage, Hubilo’s AI-powered tool allows you to extract bite-sized content like speaker highlights, event sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes moments. Furthermore, you can share these clips on social media or through email marketing campaigns to build anticipation and maintain excitement.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is not just for blogs or websites. it’s essential for promoting virtual events, too. By optimizing your event’s landing page with relevant keywords, you can attract organic traffic from search engines. Start by researching keywords that your target audience is likely to use when looking for events like yours. For example, terms like “virtual marketing summit,” “online product launch,” or “digital networking event” can help you reach people actively searching for similar events.
Ensure your event description, meta tags, and headers are optimized with these keywords. To boost search rankings further, create blog posts or articles around the event topic.
Hubilo’s platform goes beyond just SEO-friendly event pages. Using Hubilo’s Snackable Content Hub, you can repurpose webinar content into blog posts, social media clips, or infographics, directly creating SEO-rich materials that boost visibility and engage your audience across platforms. This seamless content repurposing ensures you maximize your event’s exposure and reach.
A well-timed press release can generate buzz for your event and capture the attention of media outlets, bloggers, and potential attendees. Highlight the key features of your event, including speakers, session topics, and unique elements in your press release. Distribute it to relevant industry publications and websites to expand your reach beyond your existing audience.
Another effective strategy is partnering with influencers or thought leaders in your industry. Influencers can amplify your event by promoting it to their followers, lending credibility, and helping you tap into new communities. Consider offering them a speaking slot or exclusive access, which incentivizes them to share the event more actively.
Track the impact of your press releases and influencer partnerships through Hubilo’s analytics dashboard. Monitor the performance of your event promotions and adjust your strategy to ensure optimal results and expanded reach.
Before you even start promoting your virtual event, make sure you have a clear understanding of who your audience is. What are their pain points? What solutions are they seeking? By identifying your audience, you can tailor your content to address their specific needs, making your event more attractive to them. Use tools like surveys, social media analytics, and CRM insights to get a better picture of your target audience. This will allow you to craft messages that resonate, ensuring higher engagement and attendance.
It’s not enough to simply announce your event; you need to sell it. What will attendees gain by joining? Will they learn something new, solve a problem, or gain exclusive insights from industry experts? Highlight the unique value proposition of your event. Use phrases like “Exclusive behind-the-scenes access,” “Get insider tips from industry leaders,” or “Unlock strategies to accelerate your growth” to grab attention. Make it clear why they cannot afford to miss it.
Timing is everything. So, you should start promoting your event well in advance but avoid going too early or too late. A good rule of thumb is to begin your marketing push about six to eight weeks before the event, increasing the frequency as the date approaches. Hubilo’s insights suggest that well-timed reminders closer to the event date can significantly increase attendance, driving more participants to tune in when it matters most.
Virtual events have fundamentally changed how we connect, learn, and do business. They provide a scalable, flexible, and cost-effective way to reach audiences across the globe. By understanding the dynamics of virtual event marketing, businesses can enhance their outreach, engage participants more effectively, and see a greater return on investment.
To truly succeed, it’s essential to integrate all the strategies discussed: know your audience, craft engaging content, promote across digital channels, and don’t forget to leverage collaborations, incentives, and data. Each component works together to create a seamless, engaging experience that drives attendance and boosts conversion.
Ready to take your virtual event marketing to the next level? Hubilo offers all the tools you need—from engaging promotional features to integrated analytics and monetization options.
Whether setting up interactive sessions, tracking engagement metrics, or making your event a revenue-generating powerhouse, Hubilo is your comprehensive solution. Start transforming your virtual events today and make 2024 your best year yet!
Hubilo is the webinar platform built for marketers that helps you 2X your pipeline. Founded in 2015, Hubilo's powerful engagement features, dedicated client experience team, and custom branding tools have helped create over 12K virtual events & webinars, creating hundreds of millions of minutes of high-engagement experiences and counting. Headquartered in Bengaluru and San Francisco, Hubilo's 200+ employees are dedicated to enabling webinars & virtual events that convert.
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