LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 740 million members worldwide. With its huge user base and variety of features, LinkedIn provides an excellent opportunity for event organizers and marketers to promote their events and reach their target audience.
Promote Events on Your Company Page
Having a LinkedIn Company Page is essential for promoting your events. You can provide key details about the event like date, time, location, agenda, speakers etc. on the products/services tab of your page. Share pictures, videos, presentations etc. to give visual glimpses of the event. Post updates regularly about the event timeline, speaker announcements, early bird discounts etc. to generate hype.
You can also create a showcase page for the event with more details like ticket categories, pricing, sponsors, partners etc. And link it to your Company page. Use catchy banners, images and videos on the page to highlight the key aspects of the event.
Keep posting regular updates about the event on your Company page to keep your audience informed and engaged. Track metrics like page views, post reach/engagement, link clicks etc. to optimize your approach.
Leverage Your LinkedIn Network
Tap into your 1st degree LinkedIn connections to promote your event. Share personalized messages highlighting how the event would benefit them. Offer them special discounts or early bird rates to incentivize sign ups. Ask satisfied clients to post testimonials about your events to build credibility.
Join relevant LinkedIn groups related to your event’s theme and share information about the event. But avoid overt self-promotion and try to contribute value to the group discussions. You can also start a LinkedIn Group specifically for the event to directly engage your target attendees.
Follow relevant LinkedIn Influencers who can help amplify your event promotion. Share details with them and request them to spread the word with their followers. You can even invite them as speakers or panelists if it aligns with your event agenda.
Run Targeted LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn ads allow you to reach your target audience beyond your network. You can run Sponsored Content, Message Ads, Text Ads etc. strategically positioned around keywords that your potential attendees would likely search for.
Target your ads by criteria like job roles, company sizes, locations etc. relevant to your event. For example, an event on Big Data can target Data Scientists, Analytics Managers in Large Enterprises based in a certain city.
Experiment with different ad formats and target segments to identify high converting ads. Track metrics like CTR, conversion rate, cost per lead etc. to optimize your ads. Retarget past event attendees to maximize conversions.
Drive Registrations with Landing Pages
Drive traffic from your LinkedIn activities to customized landing pages for converting visitors into attendees. Create dedicated pages for webinars, conferences, meetups etc. with clear call-to-action buttons for registration or ticket purchase.
Include testimonials, sponsors’ logos, key highlights, agenda, speaker profiles etc. on the pages to establish credibility. Make the registration process quick and seamless. Offer discounts for early registrations to nudge sign ups.
Promote the landing pages through LinkedIn posts, ads and on your website. Insert links in your employee email signatures. Share links on relevant LinkedIn groups and with influencer connections. Track conversion rates to improve landing pages.
Engage Attendees during the Event
Use LinkedIn Live video streaming to broadcast key sessions and moments from your events live. This helps attract new audiences beyond physical attendees. You can also share recordings later as vidoe posts to maximize reach. Encourage attendees to post photos, selfies, quotes with event hashtags.
Set up a custom LinkedIn hashtag for the event. Monitor it closely to join relevant conversations, answer questions and re-share attendee posts. This helps amplify positive word-of-mouth on the platform. Send personalized LinkedIn messages to attendees post-event to get feedback.
Offer attendees “I Attended” digital badges to share on their profiles. Profile badges enhance their professional brands while acting as social proof for your events. Make thank you posts tagging attendees post-event to keep the conversations going.
Nurture Leads with Content Marketing
Create and share relevant content before, during and after your events. Publish blog posts, how-to guides, infographics, videos etc. around key topics and speakers of your event. This establishes your brand as a thought leader in the space and nurtures leads.
Repurpose event presentations, recordings into content assets like slideshares, podcasts, videocasts etc. Post detailed event summaries, photo albums, quotes etc. Post event to keep the momentum going. Nurture leads generated from events through content into potential returning attendees.
Make use of LinkedIn content marketing features like Showcase Pages to house all your content assets. Publish long-form posts, newsletters etc. to engage connections through quality content regularly.
Partner with Sponsors and Exhibitors
Offer event sponsorship packages to relevant brands who can promote your event to their audience. Share sponsor content on your Company Page and tag them to expand reach. Offer branding or speaking opportunities for sponsors with higher packages.
Similarly, partner with exhibitors and companies holding demo booths at your events. Engage their followers and connections through promotions on your LinkedIn Page to drive booth visits.
Tag sponsors and exhibitors during live event promotion on LinkedIn to involve them. After the events, post dedicated thank you notes tagging and mentioning them for their support. This builds enduring partnerships for future events.
Tap into LinkedIn’s Event Features
LinkedIn itself offers several features to create and promote events. You can create LinkedIn events with details like invites, agenda, speakers etc. Promote these to your connections and members of relevant groups. Interested people can follow event updates and mark their attendance.
Turn physical events into hybrid ones with LinkedIn’s live streaming capabilities.Broadcast keynotes, sessions etc. to engage both physical and virtual audiences. You can also create targeted ads promoting your LinkedIn hosted events.
LinkedIn also provides detailed analytics for events like number of views, followers, registrations etc. These insights can be used to refine your event marketing and track ROI.
Retarget Attendees for Future Events
Build custom audience lists and lead databases of past event attendees segmented by their demographics, interests etc. Retarget them through LinkedIn ads and content marketing for future events.
Offer special loyalty discounts, early bird rates etc exclusively for past attendees to incentivize repeat purchases. Share personalized invites and emailers informing them about the next event.
Send exclusive content like presentations, newsletters, research reports etc. only for past attendees as a loyalty program. This nurtures them into repeat customers over time.
Conclusion
LinkedIn provides a versatile platform to market events at every stage – before, during and after. Utilize all of LinkedIn’s features from Company Pages to ads to live videos for event promotion.
Engage target audiences through multiple touchpoints – organic content, ads, influencers, groups etc. Track attendee acquisition metrics to refine your event marketing strategy on LinkedIn. Partner with sponsors and exhibitors to expand your reach.
With a strategic approach, LinkedIn’s unmatched professional reach can be leveraged to take your event marketing to the next level.
