Conferences are an effective way to establish and build your company’s presence. By hosting a well-attended and thought-provoking conference you can solidify brand positioning and dramatically improve reputation within your industry.

However, with the average person’s attention span now limited to a startling eight seconds, driving engagement at your event can be a very difficult task. So how do you get your attendees excited about your show? Here are four recommendations to use digital to promote your event or conference.

The Power of #Hashtags

Since the very beginnings of social media, the hashtag has established itself as an important marketing tool, driving engagement and discoverability across all the major platforms, including the leading business network, LinkedIn. Utilised correctly, hashtags can be a very powerful way to promote your conference, stimulating conversation before, during and after the event.

Not only does the hashtag allow for real-time engagement, but also presents the opportunity for those not attending the event to participate by following the communication stream. This not only boosts overall engagement during the show, it considerably widens the conference’s overall reach and could very well boost footfall at next year’s event.

Use Visuals To Drive Engagement

Your audience wants to relate to you and your brand, so give them that opportunity! Share interesting imagery to build excitement about your next conference, including what to expect, speakers and important delegates, sponsors, key messaging and more.

Utilising video to promote your event is another great way to capture your audience’s interest, and time-lapse footage showing the buzz of the conference from start to finish is an incredibly powerful way to market your show as THE must-attend event for next year.

Target Social Influencers

s the world of social media continues to grow, utilising key influencers could become the secret weapon to your success. Start by identifying those influencers who have a strong online presence and whose opinion matters to your audience. You could even invite them to be a keynote speaker at your conference, or ask them to run a Q&A session on their perspective of the industry. This way, when they promote their appearance at the show you get the net benefit of exposure to their audience.

Listen, Listen, Listen

Millions of posts, comments and reviews are written every day, but how many are actually acknowledged by brands?

Anyone can broadcast a message, but businesses that actually listen stand out and truly connect with their audience. This enhances the user experience and develops a loyal following for the brand. Use your online social streams to get your audiences input on all aspects of your conference using tools such as Twitter polls, Facebook post reactions and thought-provoking discussions and debates.

Conclusion

Conferences are a critically important marketing tool for many brands, helping them to reach new prospects and maintain relationships with customers, developing leads and driving sales. As the digital event space continues to grow, it’s now essential that companies use this opportunity to advertise their conference to reach and connect with new audiences. To find out how Identity could help promote your next conference, please contact us on telephone number 01323 469111 or by email to letstalk@identitygroup.co.uk.