By Shannon Kinney

Event marketing is a great way to build awareness of your brand and put your business out in front of the local community, touching both new and existing clients. Each event should be looked at as an opportunity to grow your business.

Here are some tips on how to make the most out of your event marketing:

1)     Choose the right event. If you are trying to reach families, maybe don’t sign up for the craft beer festival. The local food and crafts festival, that has a children’s area, might make more sense.

2)     Add some sort of value to the attendees, beyond just information about your product or service. Offer a discount, samples, branded promotional items, an activity or a game. This will help make customers feel like they are receiving something valuable, that isn’t just information.

3)     Have some sort of “Enter to Win” promotion at your area so you can collect leads and valuable data. If you are planning on adding them to your email database, be sure to include permission in your forms. Can’t give away your product or service? That’s okay. Think about giving away a gift certificate to a local restaurant or a $100 Amazon gift card.

4)     Make sure you have the right people at your table/booth/tent that represent you well. You want to make sure you have people who are approachable and friendly. Choose representatives that aren’t scared to strike up a conversation with a stranger or walk right up to people to invite them over to your area.

5)     Partner with your local radio station. With on-site events your business has the opportunity to be out in front of potential customers and interact with the local community. Radio stations are at hundreds of events within their local community each year. Why not partner with your local radio station to showcase your company in your community?

Spring, summer and fall are all great times for events and there are a ton happening around you. Start small and grow your business!