Although you already be marketing your events to regional audiences and social media followers, a vast number of urban event-goers often using event discovery sites in order to make their plans. Here we explore two important ways in which you can incorporate event discovery sites into your marketing.
__________________
Guest post by Rachel Grate of Eventbrite
You may target your event ads to local audiences or your social media fans — but the people most likely to attend your event are already looking for something to do.
So how do you make sure they find your event? Most event-goers have go-to event discovery websites they rely on to make plans. In a survey of 3,000 urban event-goers in the U.S., well over half (64%) said they look to neighborhood guides when searching for things to do. Event-goers also turn to more targeted sites to discover events. Think Bandsintown or Spotify for music fans, Lanyrd for conference-goers, or Facebook Events or Eventbrite for those looking for personalized recommendations.
It goes without saying that getting your event on top discovery sites can drastically increase your reach and sales. And that your ticketing or registration partner should help you get your event on those sites. Here’s how:
Sell tickets where attendees discover events
Your ticketing tech should push your events to event discovery sites automatically. But don’t stop there: this tech can also let people buy tickets directly from those sites. So where should you post your event? The most important sites for your audience likely depend on your event. Music fans may rely on Bandsintown, while conference-goers search Lanyrd.
If you use Eventbrite, you can automatically distribute your events on discovery sites across the web. These include Bandsintown, Goldstar, Songkick, Eventful — and, of course, Facebook Events.
But once you capture interest on these sites, don’t push them to your event page and risk losing their attention — and a sale. Instead, let them start the purchase process without leaving the site. With Eventbrite, you can enable event-goers to buy tickets directly on Facebook, Bandsintown, Discotech, and Goldstar, with more partners on the way.
This “distributed commerce” model is innovative today — but will soon be demanded by ticket buyers. Fans are already less likely to go directly to event pages (and leave Facebook in the process) in order to buy tickets, especially on mobile. Compared to 2016, the percentage of tickets bought on these distributed commerce sites has more than doubled.
Target your most powerful audience
Make sure your ticketing partner is actively promoting your event to their own audience of event-goers. Ideally, their site is an event discovery platform.
If you’ve partnered with Eventbrite, your event will be shown to attendees based on their locations and previous ticket purchases. This means that the audience you reach will be even more targeted — and more likely to purchase a ticket. In fact, people who discover events through the Eventbrite homepage buy tickets at twice the rate of people coming to an event page via social media.
Don’t underestimate the impact this can have on your ticket sales. Eventbrite events typically see significant sales from pages where event-goers go to find events in their area. These include the Eventbrite homepage or targeted interest and city listing pages.
By focusing your efforts on event discovery sites, you’ll reach a more targeted audience — and sell more tickets. For more expert marketing techniques, check out 7 Strategies to Sell More With Your Ticketing & Registration Technology.
Rachel is a writer for Eventbrite, where she regularly interviews organizers of the country’s most popular events, from massive music festivals to exclusive food & drink gatherings. She’s a live music lover, a foodie, and a big fan of smiles.