How to promote a local event

There is nothing more demoralising then lovingly organising an event down to the last detail, only for nobody to turn up on the day. The thing is, it doesn’t matter how well crafted the event is, if  you haven’t done everything you can to promote it then how will your target audience know it is happening? There could be thousands of people all keen to turn up at your gig, specialist trade fair, rally – whatever your event might be – but they won’t be attending unless you alert them to the opportunity by following some or all of the simple strategies listed below:

Use the internet: More and more companies or event planners are recognising the advantages of using social media such as Facebook or Twitter to alert their target audience to an upcoming event. Whilst we think of the Internet as a very international medium, it is also great for promoting local events. All you have to do is find local groups or networks with interest in your target area, or if you already have your own Facebook group or Twitter account you can simply alert your followers directly, who can then spread the message to their own friends or followers. If you have a website, make sure you take advantage of this with regular blog updates.

Advertising banners: Whilst you can’t ignore the advantage of using the Internet for promotion, for a local event it also pays to invest in more traditional methods of ensuring your event is well-attended. Eye-catching advertising banners can be placed in key strategic locations throughout a local area, and if you go for a waterproof kind, such as vinyl, they can be put up several weeks before the event so you get the optimum benefit from them.

Send out press releases:  Put tougher a concise and well-worded press release and send it out to local newspapers, magazines or even radio stations if you know they are willing to make announcements on events in the area. Be sure to include all the relevant information including time, place, how to get there and the major highlights etc. This sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many organisers neglect to mention key information in press releases.

Start early: It is absolutely no good leaving your promotion until the last minute and then expecting people to turn up in their droves. With all the methods mentioned above, and any others you may like to try, they will only work if you start well in advance to ensure they reach the maximum number of people and give them time to plan their attendance. We all lead busy lives today, and even if we might desperately want to attend an event, if we only find out about it at the last minute this just may not be possible.

Organising a successful event involves a huge amount of planning and there are so many different considerations to bear in mind. But the one thing you can’t neglect is promotion: without expert promotion, even the most meticulously planned and organised event can turn out to be a damp squib with poor attendance.