13 smart, affordable ways to promote events

Nearly 90% of executives believe in the power of events, and 30% of marketers say events are the single most effective marketing channel, according to the Bizzabo Event Marketing Benchmarks and Trends report.

Of course, people must know about the event for it succeed. Try these 13 steps to maximize your event marketing efforts.

Start early. Get PR involved early in the planning process to help select a date and location, advises Sabrina Hutchinson, CEO of Defiant Public Relations. Events may gain little media attention if scheduled on the same date as another major event. Events in locations far from the central hub of cities also tend to draw less coverage.

Plan a wide-ranging media strategy. Identify all the national, regional and local news, trade, business and broadcast sources that have audiences likely to be interested in the event. Review the publications, and determine how they typically handle event announcements. Will they run stories or just a listing? What types of stories promoting events do they favor? Might they interview the featured speaker? Will they send a reporter or video crew to the event?