How do I promote my event?
Schedule your events two months in advance to allow adequate time for promotion. This doesn’t mean you should turn down all opportunities with shorter notice, but understand that an event with no or short notice will not leave enough time for proper promotion, and may lead to a limited turnout.
Social media (Facebook and Twitter in particular) is a great tool to use for promotion. Coming up with gimmicks that will draw people to events, like door prizes, can help as well. Reaching out to local media, including newspapers, newsletters, and other forms of traditional media can help widen your reach. And, of course, inviting all your friends, your family, and co-workers is a must.
How can I use social media to promote my event?
Social media is a powerful tool for promoting events, as well as promoting your book in general. Two of the most popular social media sites for event promotion are Facebook and Twitter. Below are some ways to utilize these mediums to your advantage:
This social media site is popularly used for personal connections. It can, however, be a great tool to promote your events. Facebook allows users to “post,” or create updates in the form of photos or words, as well as share content. From utilizing Facebook’s event feature to using hashtags to widen your reach on the site, this website is great for connecting with new people and spreading the word! Here are some articles on how to utilize Facebook for promotion:
Six Ways to Effectively Promote Events on Facebook
How to Promote Your Event on Facebook
Cool Ways to Promote Your Facebook Event
For those of you who would like to learn more about the benefits of having a Facebook page, you can take a look at the marketing tip we sent out in April, “Brandylane Author Marketing Tip #2.” Attached to that email, you’ll find a ‘Facebook Guide’ that walks you through the process of creating a professional Facebook page and the benefits of doing so, if that’s something you’d like to do! If you did not receive that tip, let us know and we will be happy to send it along to you.
This social media site is well known for its 140 character limit. When making an update on this site, the user is limited to 140 characters (letters, numbers, spaces, or grammatical marks all count as characters), making it a quick moving social media site and a different experience altogether than Facebook. However, it can be just as effective for events!
Here is a great comprehensive guide on what Twitter is, how it works, and how to use it to promote events. For some additional insight on using Twitter for promotion, check out these articles:
10 Things to Promote An Event on Twitter Like a PR Pro
The 4 Most Effective Tactics for Promoting Events on Twitter
How can I use email lists?
One of the most powerful tools available to you as an author is your email list. Building an email list is a way to give direct updates about your book to readers, reviewers, friends, family, and media. Free email lists like Send In Blue or Mail Chimp allow you to build emails, grow your list, and send updates to your audience. Using these email lists to promote your events is an effective way to get the word out and increase your event turnout.
What if I don’t have a computer/access to internet?
Not a computer person? Don’t worry! There are still plenty of things you can do to promote an event offline.. Try contacting local newspapers or other media companies about your event. Tell your friends and family, create a flyer, and notify local organizations that may be interested in the event.
How can Brandylane help?
We at Brandylane help with the event promotion process, so when you schedule your event, let us know! We will promote it on our Facebook and Twitter pages the week of the event to increase awareness and attendance. If the information is sent to us far enough in advance (again, two months is preferable) we will also promote your event to media outlets, put it on Brandylane’s event calendar, and include it on local event calendars. We can’t help you if you don’t notify us, so send an email, give us a call, or drop by the office to let us know what you’re up to!
