Among the pressure of coordinating suppliers, staff, marketing and production, the added stress of securing attendance can become overwhelming. Here are 5 simple tips to help increase attendance at your next B2B event!
- Add Value to Your Audience
It’s important to remember, your audience is attending because they get something out of what you’re offering. Identify and understand what that is because ultimately you want your guests to walk away remembering your brand for how it added value to their lives. This could be through education, gifts, creating connections, content opportunities etc.
We live in the attention economy, fighting for the eyes and ears of our audience. Be unique, creative and eye-catching with your invites and visual assets. Use a 'draw card' (speaker/entertainment)! Offering content they might not be able to consume elsewhere is attractive to potential attendees. Create a sense of intrigue and mystery, something that will encourage them to attend to engage with something of interest.
- Be Personal
Don’t hit send on a generic invite that doesn’t even address the attendee by name. If this is a strategically curated event, I’m sure you have business goals. Be specific. If you want the people on your list to attend, address them by name, tell them why they should attend and have a clear call-to-action.
Alternatively, if your event has been advertised to the public, create a mailing system that personalises correspondence with the registered attendees. - Fuel the Conversation
It’s helpful to send a reminder the day or two beforehand. Stimulate anticipation by sending out an email that sparks curiosity and excitement. You could even include a link that encourages attendees to share the event details, if applicable. - Include a Calendar Invite
Make it easy for your guests. Encourage attendance by adding a calendar invite for your guest to download or integrate into their schedule. If you’re managing your RSVPs manually, your team will have to execute this themselves. Most ticketing platforms do this for you if you are hosting a ticketed event. - Create and Confirm an Intentional Media List
Media coverage is an important aspect to the success of an event. Your media list or strategy will change depending on the nature of the even and your objectives. Whatever it may be, media is an opportunity for you to reach new audiences to attract more registrations, create excitement for your upcoming event or amplify the results achieved from your initiative.