According to a 2020 report on event marketing, one of the biggest concerns of event organizers is attracting the right audience. How can we boost the event attendance for upcoming events? Actually, in addition to promotional efforts put before the event, there are efforts that can be made in the event design, pre-event and post-event to increase the event attendance – and oftentimes, people don’t even know about them.
In this article, tips will be shared on how to increase event attendance in the sequence of pre-event, during the event, and post-event, such as building hype with reminders, adding a wow factor to your event, distributing follow-up surveys, etc. By implementing a few of these tips, you can see a huge increase in attendance at your events.
Pre-event
1. Ask for investment
Imagine if you are queuing for a famous restaurant. After queuing for an hour, will you continue to wait even if there's still a long line ahead? Believe it or not, a lot of people will. This is because they have already invested in it, and they don't want to waste the time and effort spent even if it means investing more.
This is the same for securing event attendance. Ask attendees to invest their money, time, or even emotionality into the event. Even if you don't ask for a charge, you can ask them to pay a deposit that will be returned afterward. Send personalized emails so they feel connected with your company; ask them to fill in a registration form with simple questions of preferences. However, remember to consider the nature of your event and use these tips wisely. An overly complicated registration procedure may put off potential participants, so try to carefully balance the notion of simplicity and investment. With all the sunk costs made, they will feel more compelled to attend the event.
2. Offer discounts
If you are charging for your event, the price of the ticket may daunt potential participants from registering. In such circumstances, offering discounts can be a great incentive. Early bird rates, referral promotional codes, influencer offers, discounts for more than one registration - there are a lot of ways to offer discounts to attract more attendees!
You can also consider giving sponsors or speakers a number of complimentary passes to distribute to their network to promote the event.
3. Use Social Media
Deck your social media posts with images related to your event on social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. This will help you capture people's attention and draw them in. Furthermore, using hashtags can help you get more people to see your posts. You can also run polls on social media or on your website to see what topics people are most interested in discussing at your next event. This is also a digital way to increase the event attendance for your event.
4. Build hype with reminders
Do you have the experience of missing out on a class or an event simply because you forget it? On your landing page and registration form, consider enabling the feature of adding the event to calendars. This will allow potential participants to be aware of the event, so they don't miss out.
Giving reminders for event attendance can be annoying to the attendees. Apart from spacing them out and avoiding annoying people with too many reminders, the key is to build hype with your reminders. Update your registrants with event details and progress of preparation: inform them of the keynote speakers in one email, and the menu in another; show them the set-up of the venue in one post, and the activities and the run-down of the event in another. Build their excitement for the event, so that they don't want to miss out.
Also, just before the date of the event, you can send an email to registrants to double confirm whether they are available to come. This gives you a better estimate of the attendance rate.
Following messages can also be sent once people have filled in the form. Here are the types of reminders:
- A notification the day before the event
- An email reminder one week before the event
- A text message reminder two days before the event
- An email and text message reminder on the day of the event
Exhausted by the effort needed in preparation? EventX is a one-stop platform that helps you to find the right attendees, charge your attendees for tickets and send personalized emails. In addition, our new Magic Lead button allows you generate a potential attendee list in just one click.
During and post-event
5. Offer value
The core reason why people attend events is not because of your email marketing strategies or the discounts offered - it is because your event has values to offer that set off the cost. This means we need to think from the attendees' perspective: what are they looking for when they attend an event?
A U.S. study stated that education, staying abreast of new trends and networking are the main reasons why people attend events. This implies that event organizers should put more effort into these areas. Invite keynote speakers significant in your industry, ensure your speech gives insights that cannot be easily found online, and reveal the latest trends in the industry. Other than by speech, you can consider educating your participants by other means, such as through games and workshops. For example, Facebook IQ Live event organized by Meta allows attendees to learn Facebook data by walking into different parts of the venue. 94% of the attendees reported that the event was insightful, giving them ideas on how to use Facebook for business.
6. Add a wow factor
Apart from educational values, you can attract more attendees by making your event experience extraordinary and unforgettable. Give more consideration to the experience and presentation: it can be exquisite food, Instagram-worthy event set-up, or innovative event technology, to keep up with the increasingly digital world. More than 80% of event marketers believe that event technology brings positive impact on the success of events. Event technology such as photo booths, AR and VR experiences, metaverse, NFTs etc. can definitely spice up your virtual and in-person events. Check out EventX to learn more about their virtual digital space and the latest NFT event solutions.
7. Build connections
Events provides the ground for you to network with your attendees. Don't miss out the opportunity to leave a good impression, exchange business cards and build connections. This may lock the attendees in for future events, and can possibly lead to future business opportunities.
8. Track attendance and distribute follow-up surveys
It is important to track the attendance rate during the event, which is important for the follow-up of event management. The attendance rate is an indication of how successful the event is. In addition, you can send follow-up surveys to participants who attended and did not attend the event, to understand how you can improve and increase the attendance rate for your next event. Positive comments and data collected can be used to promote your next event as well, so remember to ask for permission of data use. Some possible questions to ask include:
- Why did you attend the event?
- What is the biggest takeaway of the event?
- What is the most memorable moment in the event?
- What could we improve on?
- Would you recommend the event to others?
- How likely would you be to attend our events in the future?
- Do you have any other comments?
Afterwards, you can make testimonials and post them on your website, social media and even in emails.
This all leads up to a simple, smooth and accurate way to track attendance in the first place is paramount to your housekeeping. Using EventX's onsite check-in app, track your attendance with just a few clicks, all organized in one app.
How EventX Can Help to Boost the Event Attendance
Pre-event
- EventX helps you to generate leads and attendees
- Send emails with our customizable email templates and charge for tickets on our platform
While-event
- Scan business cards and capture leads with our lead capture app
- Quick check-in process and track event attendance easily
- Amaze your audience with VR meetings, 3D digital space and NFT as gifts
Post-event
- Find all the data you need for event performance analysis with EventX
Read 5 tips to boost your online workshop attendance to learn more about how EventX's online event platform helps you organize and boost your workshop attendance.
Conclusion
A successful event requires efforts before the event to after the event. EventX offers a one-stop platform for seamless experience to manage your event and improve your event attendance. Check it out now!
Frequently-Asked Questions about Event Attendance
How can I increase attendance at my event?
As suggested in the above, you can ask them to invest in your event well before the event starts, giving incentives such as discounts for people to join, promote your event on social media and build the hype with reminders. You should also make sure the event itself is attractive enough - offer value through education and networking opportunities, and spice up your event with amazing experiences and innovative event technologies. You can build a network of loyal customers during the event, and remember to check track attendance and collect data for the improvement of your next event.
How do I make sure my event is successful?
There are many things that can go wrong during an event, from the weather to guests not arriving on time. Here are a few tips to help make your event a success:
- Plan well in advance. Make sure you monitor the event closely - make sure the set-up is ready, the speakers are available on the day of event and prepare all of the necessary materials - like posters, tables and chairs, and registration forms - ready before guests arrive. This will save you time and hassle later on.
- Keep track of attendance. Take careful notes about who came and what they did once they arrived; this will help you determine if there were any problems with the event and how to address them.
What's the best way to track attendance at my event?
Attendance is one of the most important factors to track when hosting an event. There are a number of different ways for tracking attendance, such as printing out tickets or badges, using a registration system, or keeping track of who is in the building at specific times. EventX helps you keep track of event attendance with special name badges with QR codes that you can easily scan and identify.
Interested in our solution?
You may want to have a chat with our event consultant.