The Power Of Local Area Events
We know businesses and brands are continually looking for cost-effective ways to grow awareness, a great way to do this is through events. Proven to be both affordable and high impact, participating in or hosting local area events is a great way to get your brand out there more. Events not only serve as excellent networking opportunities but also the perfect platform to capture content and showcase what you do.
One of the main reasons (and primary benefits) of local area events is the networking opportunities they present. Events can bring together a diverse group of individuals, including potential customers, fellow business owners, and industry influencers. Establishing connections within your local community can lead to collaborations, partnerships, and long-term customer relationships. Face-to-face interactions at these events create a personal touch that goes beyond digital communication, fostering trust and brand loyalty.
Putting on a beautiful event also gives you the chance to capture the atmosphere and showcase your brand in action. Events provide endless possibilities for creating compelling content, whether through social media posts, reels and stories, blog articles, in person surveys, or video content, you can leverage the unique aspects of the event to tell your brand story. Even better if you can encourage others to share and tag you too!
Our Success Story: Almost Free Marketing
We have experienced firsthand the effectiveness of local area events as a nearly free marketing activity.
Our client (Burn Cottage Retreat) wanted to promote their tourism property and showcase the venue as an option for special events. In order to create a special event to photograph for their website and social media channels, we partnered with a local community childcare centre (*tip: pick a partner with a good database or strong local following) and approached suppliers with a pitch. We asked for the contribution of their services (food, music, wine) at cost, in return we provided beautiful content for the suppliers to use, raved about each supplier in the local newspaper release, and made sure every person in our combined databases knew who these amazing suppliers were.
We sold tickets through the daycare and managed to pay for the event costs, raise $5000 for Molyneux Educare and capture wonderful footage and photos of Burn Cottage Retreat all dressed up and ready for a party!! The event met its objectives and was a huge success, it was an example of how we can work collaboratively to create marketing activities that are both beneficial to the community and fulfil their purpose from a business standpoint.
How to run your own event:
- Find a venue that wants to promote itself! They will be more likely to work with you on pricing, dates and general willingness. Some great local options are the Barrett Show Home (or any show home), a new bar or restaurant, a hotel or lodge.
- Decide your objective - are you trying to increase your database? Are you trying to make sales, are you trying to increase the number of people following your brand online? Maybe you want to do all three! By knowing what your objective is before you start will help you craft messaging for promoting the event, as well as information and details needed during the event.
- Choose your benefits! Work out how you can benefit the people participating, or partnering to help you deliver the event. If you have an email database and a social following exposure for your suppliers may have value! For us we are good at video, so we offer video and reels in return, for you that may not work but don't be afraid to offer good old fashioned contra to help reduce your costs!
- Start finding help! Once you have your list of benefits sorted then you can start pitching to suppliers to provide support to your event.
- Planning your dates and all the finer details will help you market the event to your local community and don't forget to ask your partners too. As well as your local coffee shop, the gas station notice board, and local community Facebook pages, tell anyone willing to help you spread the word!
- After the event, sending an image and brief write up to the local paper may see an article get written about you.
- ALWAYS say thank you to your partners and sponsors.
- Follow up with everyone you possibly can who attended the event.
- Reference the event regularly and keep using that content!!
Local area events stand as a testament to the power of community engagement in marketing. Their affordability, networking potential, and content creation opportunities make them a valuable tool. If you would like to run your own event, or have a chat about your marketing and how you can increase exposure next year, reach out to our team, we would love to help!