Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased desire to host virtual events. Hence, the competitive rivalry between Virtual Event Platform (VEP) providers. The key to success in the VEP business market is a unique online event marketing strategy. The strategy must increase engagement among attendees and develop a larger network for future events. An established network will be a key step in making your VEP stand out among other competitors. Word of mouth remains a powerful tool for recognition, especially through satisfied customers. In today’s digital age, where word of mouth is largely digitalized, social media platforms and the internet significantly influence the success of Virtual Event Platforms (VEPs).

The purpose of VEPs is to utilize virtual event planning from onsite event planning. You can save time and resources used to find the right venue and reallocate those resources to establish the right marketing plan. Event promotion can be done through social media marketing, email marketing, ad campaigns and other promotional tools which will be further elaborated.

Email Marketing:

Email marketing promotes events and serves as reminders to join them. Emails act as invitations to Virtual Event Platforms (VEPs) due to their affordability, ease of use, and ability to target specific audiences, whether large or mid-sized. Through emails, companies can send exclusive ads, campaigns, newsletters, or general VEP information. Pre-event emails attract attendees, while post-event emails solicit feedback for improvement. Attendees value follow-up emails, and feeling their input enhances overall VEP performance.

Having a well-crafted set of emails is crucial for your online marketing campaign. These include announcement emails for your Virtual Event Platform (VEP), registration forms, and pre-event reminders. Event insight emails provide customers with a glimpse into the VEP experience. Using automation software or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools streamlines email marketing by scheduling emails to targeted audiences at specific times, ensuring timely communication.

Social media:

Social media should be a number one priority for VEPs. Nowadays everyone is constantly “online” and integrating VEPs into social media platforms will increase the awareness of online events. There are different ways how social media can be used in a promotional aspect for VEPs. The first example is Instagram stories, they can drive traffic to your VEP by building hype. It can be a short video or picture, but anything mentioning your VEP can be a good way to showcase it. The second way is live streaming, if your event is hybrid, meaning some people are attending onsite and others online. Live streaming can portray everything in real-time and market the event on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. It can also boost engagement during the event and be an informational tool for everyone. Another great social media tool is Facebook Events because it is used to inform the audience about the specifics of the event and allows interaction with attendees. People can like, share and comment so in the end your VEP will be very recognizable.

Influencer Marketing:

Take advantage of the powers of an influencer. With their high number of followers and subscribers, they will get the news about your VEP to a larger audience. They can reach beyond your target audience and boost attendance in general. It is always useful to get outside of your audience’s scope and broaden your horizons. Depending on the theme of the event with the help of influencers you can collaborate with other industry leaders who can be keynote speakers during the event. Influencer marketing will boost attendance registration because your event will look more intriguing and interesting.

Google ads:

Keywords on Google are used to rank a business or any published content against its competitors. With the help of the Google ads tool, you can discover what relevant keywords people are searching for regarding the theme of your event and incorporate those keywords in your event content. Google ads can be a promotional tool for VEPs and any events that VEPs host. You can research relevant words that are related to VEPs and incorporate them into your website and content in general and this will enhance your search potential. Your VEP website will be ranked higher on the Google search page and in turn, be more popular than competitor’s.

Sponsors of the events spreading the word:

When sponsors of the event spread the word about using VEPs, it benefits stakeholders, VEPs and sponsors themselves. If sponsors notify their contacts about the event, it immediately boosts the attendance list. Sponsors must provide their contacts with all the information about the event, social media details and any other content about the VEP and the event. The better that everyone is informed the more successful the event will be.

Final thoughts on promoting VEPs:

To sum up there are many techniques on how to promote VEPs and virtual events. The most important step is to have all the information prepared and that those details are available to potential customers. Not everyone is the same and the more ways people have to obtain the information the better. Social media platforms have a huge impact in today’s world, and they are a major word of mouth. To ensure widespread awareness of your Virtual Event Platform (VEP), it’s imperative to utilize all social media platforms and engage in influencer marketing. Influencers serve as conduits between social media users and companies seeking promotion to specific target groups. Whichever path you choose to take, always know your target audience and how to appeal to them. Having all the facts does most of the job in marketing virtual events. Check out AVIANET’s Virtual Event Platform