Marketing undergoes major transformations practically every year. The forms of promotion are multiple, and with this article you will be able to get an idea of some of the current methods to advertise your events. From here we encourage you to explore new methods. The only limit is your creativity.
Índice
1. Mailing.
A good mailing campaign to potential attendees at your event is a great form of advertising. It is very direct and you can control the openings, readings and clicks on the emails you send. It is also a good indicator of the expectation that your show is generating. The only (but not trivial) difficulty is that you need to have the emails of your potential customers and they, in addition, must have accepted your RGPD (General Data Protection Regulation), with which they will have given you permission to send them advertising. 
In this sense, we believe that there are 2 main formulas to carry out mailing campaigns that no promoter should overlook. The first is very basic, but often overlooked. When a customer buys a ticket, depending on which portal they use, you can get their email. However, we recommend that you be very strict with the RGPD. Sometimes, with external ticket machines you will get their emails, but only to send them the entry or other “transactional” information. You will not be able to send them advertising of other events. Find out about the policy of each sales platform and / or modify your own to comply with these requirements. In this way, every time a customer buys a ticket, you have their email to campaign later. When several events have passed you will have a large list of emails with which to report the events that your developer is carrying out. The second, not so basic but very useful, is to offer incentives to the potential client to leave their email before your event. The simplest and most direct example is to make an attractive raffle whose participation requires that you leave us your email. Create your own landing page, read the rules for making raffles / contests (you must comply with the law in this regard) and make it attractive. In this way, you will create a flow that will nurture you from numerous contacts. For example: a raffle on Facebook or Instagram for merchandising + meetandgreet + 2 tickets> to participate share the image and sign up here (you redirect to your landing page)> the user signs up and accepts your RGPD> you promote the raffle by Facebook Ads to your potential audience> you get a great reach for your event poster by promotion + by people sharing + a base of “leads” that you know are interested in your event> programs 2 or 3 mailing campaigns for that group of registered people as the date of your event approaches.
2. Free (organic) advertising in RRSS.
It is the most basic advertising and it is the one that you can do from the social networks of your developer. Below we list several fundamental points for this type of advertising:
- Make a schedule of publications, do not just upload the poster. Videos of the artists who are going to perform, gif of the event with information, videoflyer, raffle, details about the event, images from past editions … all kinds of content that allows you to make your audience fall in love with your event.
- Use the three main social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) but focus on one. If you are a macro festival or a super promoter, maybe you can tackle all three. If not, focus your efforts on the platform your target audience is on, and share that same content on the remaining two to keep them active.
- Secure advertising on the digital profiles of everyone involved in the production, not just your page. Check that the groups publish, ask their members and other stakeholders to share and invite their contacts to the event.
- Share on Facebook groups. Make profiles of people on Facebook who act as “Public Relations” and add with them all the members of the groups of that social network. Thus, when you share it in these groups, these people will receive a notification.
- Finally, do a checklist of all of the above. Success is in the details, but the details require organization. For this there are tools such as Trello, Wounderlist or Excel. Wear whichever is most comfortable for you, but make sure everything is accomplished.
3. Paid advertising: Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads and Google Ads.
This type of advertising is already the order of the day in music events. However, the advertising tools of Facebook, Instagram and Google Ads have very high levels of complexity. You can do simple campaigns but you can also become a true expert and make advertising a key to your event. These new methods constitute a world unto itself. We do not want to extend ourselves more than necessary. So we leave you a series of links from which you can learn to use them. Facebook & Instagram Being from the same company, your advertising is configured from the same administration panel. However, in both you can configure simple campaigns directly from the page or the Instagram application. Its format consists of audiovisual content that you can project in different places on both social networks. Learn how to do an effective promotion with Vilma Nuñez: Instagram
Learn how to do an effective promotion with Vilma Nuñez: Facebook Google ADS Google’s advertising campaign tool maintains a logic very similar to that of Facebook, as it is also based on segmenting the public and sending them advertising, although with some variations. With Google you can advertise in:
- YouTube as a video or banner.
- Google searches segmenting by word searches (SEM).
- Variety of pages with banners and videos.
- Advertising in Gmail trays.
Become a Google ADS expert with Neil Patel.
4. Signage.
Locations Where the posters stick will be one of the most crucial decisions. It is not only important to know where the largest number of people pass, but also where the people who are interested in seeing them pass by. Therefore, you should find:
- The main routes.
- The routes of the public that interests you.
Normally, the puncher already has her routes. Another option is for you to have your own team of punchers. However, it is very difficult to achieve an impact similar to that of a company specialized in this type of action. Negotiate with the puncher the places where the posters will be placed. Professional companies have located the walls where it is legal to hit, so you will prevent the city cleaning company from removing them and you will not expose yourself to possible fines, which is an added job if you have your own team of hitters. Paste dates The dates during which the hits will vary will vary depending on your event, whether it is a festival, a smaller concert or a macro festival. But there is no doubt that the month before the event is the most important. Paste type The two most important aspects of the type of post is the size of the sign and how it is taped to the wall. Regarding size, it is logical that, the larger, the more likely it is to be seen, but there are fewer places to be able to place them. By cons, the smaller it is, the more possibilities to play with the space. Any corner of the wall will be suitable for loose gluing. As for how it is glued, the most common is with adhesive tape and glue. Adhesive tape is easier, but it lasts much less. A tail has more complexity but, in return, we ensure greater durability. Providers In each city there is usually a reduced number of punchers, who are in charge of distributing the majority of the city’s posters, since they are the ones who know the ideal areas to carry out this type of action. The reality is that if we want a powerful punch we will have to pay it at the price that one of these companies sells it to us. The hits we can make ourselves or other small hitters are at risk of being covered by the big ones.
5. Media.
The basic objective is to achieve diffusion in the media whose audiences make up your potential clients. For this, the first thing is to understand the typologies of the media:
- By magnitude: there are small, medium and large.
- By location: they can be local, regional, national or international.
- By specialization: if they are generalists or specialized subjects.
- By type of medium: digital, physical, radio, television, etc.
On the other hand, the advertising that they can do to us can be free or paid.
- For paid advertising you just have to have money. You can appear where you decide.
- For free advertising you have to have a media plan. The basis for appearing in the different media is to go to those who will consider you of interest to their audience. You will have to provide him with a press release or a suitable dossier.
Advertising sponsorships: A good resource for working with the media is proposing mutual advertising. Thus, you include their logo on your poster and agree on a number of mentions on your social networks, in exchange for a certain number of publications on their digital profiles or other types of media appearances. It is necessary to clarify that the good relationship with the media is a key to its proper functioning. The exchange of favors is very common. If you can get her certain interviews with your artists, welcome to everyone. It is also important to have your own media database segmented by the above criteria. In this way, for each event you can choose the most appropriate means. Another important type of communication is the bulletins that include the cultural programs. In each city there are several of this type. They are focused on offering citizens information on the different events that are going to take place, either in full or in certain genres. Find this type of media and be sure to inform them of your event so that they add you to their programming. The easiest way to start is to prepare the press release informing about the activity you are going to carry out and send it to the media that configure your database. The succession of events will contribute to generating professional relationships with the different communication professionals. Take care of them and never leave them aside. We leave you a link to learn how to make a good press release.
6. Big Data to find your audience.
To know how to focus your advertising you need to know your audience. What age and sex are you, what social networks and streaming platforms do you use or what cities are you in. So you can invest resources and efforts in more effective and profitable advertising. You can find all this information by requesting reports from your artists on Drop.Show. You can start now by requesting a free trial. Use this information to segment online advertising, decide which networks to invest the most in, know where to make physical hits, or which artists on your poster to give more prominence. To use Big Data correctly when targeting your advertising, we recommend our article 5 Tips to effectively advertise your concert thanks to Big Data