For the most part, school events can be daunting to manage and put together. Apart from trying to coordinate various teams and projects, you also have to make sure that the attendance meets (if not surpasses) your expectations. And in order to draw crowds to your event, you would need to up the ante on your marketing and explore various channels for promotion.
Whether it’s a concert, a fundraiser, a sports fest, a theater show, or a school dance, your event can sustain a good turnout if you know how to use some marketing tools in your arsenal. With that said, here are some tips to help you maximize various channels to successfully promote your next school event.
Level Up Your On-Campus Promotions
Eye-catching posters and flyers have stood the test of time when it comes to promoting school events. Most of the time, it’s the unique, striking designs in bold colors that can catch any passerby’s attention and consider dropping by. To start, you can enlist the help of students who are savvy in graphic design to help you out. Or, you can take advantage of free and easy-to-use websites that often come with pre-designed templates for those with little to no design experience.
Use Trendy and Practical Marketing Materials
In addition to posters and flyers, it might help to have other promotional materials in the lead-up to the event. Rubber bracelets, for example, can be attention-grabbing marketing materials and serve as great giveaways for events such as fun runs, fashion shows, and even baking competitions. If they are well-designed and broadcast your school’s name, these bracelets can be trendy fashion pieces as well as a great way to show school spirit.
Aside from rubber event wristbands, you may want to use practical items like mugs, pens, and lanyards designed to promote your event. Generally, these materials offer more brand exposure since people use them every day.
Harness the Power of Social Media
It’s pretty much a no-brainer for any promoter to take advantage of social media and the internet. To capture the attention of netizens, consider setting up an event page where you can post engaging content such as teasers, short clips, videos of previous events, or even memes to boost the hype around your event. With the variety of social media channels we have these days, the possibilities for grabbing attention online are endless.
Utilize the School’s Own Media
Although thinking out of the box for promoting events is ideal, one should never discount what school-owned media can bring to the table. Aside from using social media channels, you can bring your promotional materials to your school’s app, website, radio station, or any other form of media. Apps and websites, in particular, are visited not just by the school community, but also outsiders who are interested in the school. You can use this avenue to reach parents and prospective students who may want to visit and get a sense of the campus life. Essentially, promoting your event in your school app or website is a great way to entice audiences that might eventually become part of the broader school community.
Apply Email Marketing Tactics
Sometimes, directly reaching out to potential audiences is the best way to draw a crowd. If your school has a mailing list, consider using it to target recipients with your promo materials. To make email blasts a lot easier, it may also help to use tools such as free email marketing services. When sending emails, make sure to add a strong call to action (CTA) that will direct users to school websites, apps, and event-specific pages where they can see more details and RSVP.
If you really want to level up your mailing strategy, you can go the old-fashioned route and send physical invitations to your target audience. According to a report from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), direct mail sent individually to houses delivers a response rate of roughly 30 times more than email. To add a personal touch to your promotional mail, consider incorporating small details such as decorative ribbons, handwritten signatures, and wax seals, among others.
Incentivize Attendees to Gather Their Friends
If you are still working to reach your target audience count, you may want to apply some business strategies to gather more crowds. For instance, you can offer freebies and extra prizes to attendees who will bring along a friend. It may also help to have fun games and raffle prizes to entice others into checking out your event and staying through the end.
Get the Hype Going Throughout the Event
If there is still some room left for more people at your event, you can do some signal-boosting by continually posting updates online and encouraging attendees to do the same. Aside from posting pictures, you can also do live streaming to give people an idea of what’s in store at the school event—be it a bake sale, stage play, charity walk, or something else.
The Bottom Line: Successful Marketing Transcends Online and Offline Avenues
Promoting events, be it for school or otherwise, entails pulling out all the stops in the physical and digital landscapes. Broadcasting a one-time school gathering can be challenging, but when done efficiently, you can set the stage for future successful events. The next time you need to handle the marketing side of your next school event, be sure to remember these tips for drawing eyes—and feet—to gatherings at your school.
