Have you been thinking about planning an event to market your business, but you’re not sure where to begin? As someone who does both event management and marketing, this is a topic that I tend to get a lot of questions about. Whether coming from a place of overwhelm, confusion, or frustration, the question around event marketing tends to be pretty basic: “Should I plan a live event?”

That is really the question I tend to get. It’s clear to me that event marketing feels like a scary topic to a lot of people. So, let’s address some of the benefits and the drawbacks to help narrow it down if you are thinking about event marketing for your business.

The Benefits

There are a few great things about events.

First, events are actually big, complex marketing campaigns. Events are a backdrop, giving you context to reach out to different constituent groups in high volume over a period of months or even longer. In a world where you need to make as many impressions as you can with your audience to get them to consider your marketing message, events give you all the reasons you need to reach out often.  (Read here for more ideas on how to make the most of a campaign).

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You can use events to prime your audience for your next message. While you have their full attention during or afterwards, you can let them know about what’s coming up.  You likely will have more power to convert during this window of time. After the event, you can utilize gratitude, recognition, recaps, and stories of the event to keep reaching out to your audience and reminding them of the next step. If you plan for how to make the most of your event, there is no end to how much you can get out of it.

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One of the other huge advantages of an event is the ability to create social proof around your brand.  Guests help invite other people, attendees commit and announce their plans to take part in your event, people talk about how they got you a great auction item or donated to your cause.  Event marketing paves the way for word of mouth.

The Drawbacks

A lot of times events are thrown together more quickly than they should be. Having planned Olympic Winter Games starting many years ahead of time or fundraisers starting 6 months to a year ahead of time, I can tell you that most people don’t think the process through anywhere near as much as they should.  To get the most from your event marketing, you have to get an early lead.

To get the most from your event #marketing, you have to get an early lead. #business #smb Share on X

As someone who looks at events with both an event management and a marketing brain, I see all kinds of ways to leverage events with your marketing message all throughout the process.  But for most people who plan events, this is not intuitive.  When you aren’t aware of all the different types of opportunities you have to maximize your messaging through partnership or communication with your key constituents, those opportunities tend to pass you by.

One of the traps that people tend to fall into is being caught off guard by the sudden spike in workload that events cause. Deadlines seem realistic and far away when you first start planning. A month or two out, you find yourself pouring time and energy into them. This can be stressful, and this is where you get in trouble. When the event ends, it feels like the dust has settled and you can breathe again…but post-event is actually when some of the best marketing can happen!  Pace yourself so you can squeeze every last drop from your event.

And, of course, events cost money. Do you need a venue? Food? Drinks? Entertainment? AV? You have to know what kind of event you want to plan, and then you have to budget for it. Some events can be simple, and there are certainly ways to keep them simple when need be, but event marketing and experiential marketing cost money! Be prepared for that. Plus, the more formal or complicated the event, the more you need to keep an eye out for hidden costs and budget traps that experienced planners might already know about.

Events can be a great way to market your business and get your message out there, but be aware that this is a potentially higher degree of difficulty type of marketing to do. If you are seriously considering using an event to market your business, these are some of the factors to consider.

If you are seriously considering planning an event for your business, but you are not sure what you need to do first, I recommend you download this free event checklist to help you get started!