16 Event Marketing Strategies for 2025 (+Examples)

Event marketing can have a huge impact on your business. Connecting with customers at events can generate immediate or long-term return on investment (ROI), grow your brand, and build customer loyalty.

Yet planning an event takes months of work. You can’t risk having a low sign-up rate—the success of the event and your performance review depends on it.

There are plenty of ways to promote events to your target audience. By the end of this comprehensive guide, you'll have 10 event marketing strategies to explore, along with examples to inspire your event planning.

What is an event marketing?

Event marketing is the practice of hosting in-person, hybrid, or online events to promote a product or service. The purpose of these events is usually to entertain, educate, or connect with potential customers.

What is an event marketing strategy?

An event marketing strategy is a plan for using an event to promote a brand or product. Your strategy could be a high-level timeline of promotional activities or a granular, step-by-step breakdown of attendee touchpoints.

Types of event marketing (with examples)

Most event marketing focuses on three types of occasions:

• In-person
• Online
• Hybrid

In-person event marketing

These live events happen face-to-face (not virtually). They allow prospects to interact with you and your products or servives firsthand. Examples include:

• Sponsored marathons, half-marathons, and 5K walks
• In-person conferences
• Launch parties for new products
• Anniversary celebrations
• Trade fairs
• Pop-up shops

Online event marketing

Online marketing events happen virtually and are only accessible through a meeting link. These events reach a wider (even global) audience. You will likely need an event marketing tool or software to host this kind of event.

However, since it requires less effort for people to attend, the signups to attendance ratio are usually lower than in-person events. Use cases include:

• Webinars
• Deminars
• Workshops
• Conferences
• Master classes
• Seminars

Hybrid event marketing

Another great event marketing example is a hybrid event. These events can be attended virtually and in-person, meaning they’re more easily accessible to a wider audience.

It usually works by recording and streaming a real-life event to online attendees. Some of the best event marketing examples for a dual audience include:

• Industry summits
• Master classes
• Product launches
• Fundraises
• Seminars

Why you should include events in your marketing strategy

Events make great marketing tools because they maximize your one-to-many marketing efforts. They also help:

• Build or improve brand awareness at every stage of the event (before, during, and after)
• Generate leads and engage with previously captured leads
• Share insights and research behind products or services with potential customers
• Involve prospects in the marketing process and make them feel part of something bigger
• Promote products, services, or new functionality
• Invite others to network and build relationships with industry peers
• Increase client satisfaction and engagement
• Invite potential customers to give feedback
• Reach a wider audience

The event marketing industry is growing exponentially

According to a study conducted by Verified Market Research (2022), the events industry is expected to reach USD 2,194.40 billion in worth by 2028. That means people are and will continue to invest in events for marketing purposes.

A great deal of B2B marketing events are profitable over time

Markletic reports that 45% of B2B event organizers expect at least a 3x ROI one year after the event. This means that for B2B marketing, events are highly profitable in the long run.

The tech that you use matters in virtual and hybrid marketing events

Having the perfect event technology is critical for a successful virtual event experience. In fact, Markletic shared early this year that 70% of their surveyed marketers agree that having a quality microphone is crucial for these events. A good camera is also important according to 60% of the surveyed people.

A marketing event usually improves the perception of the brand among attendees

Earlier this year, Visme shared that 74% of the surveyed attendees leave the event with a positive impression of the brand. This leads to them doing further research about the brand and potentially becoming customers.

How do you plan an event marketing strategy?

Before you can implement an effective event marketing strategy, you have to plan it out. To do that, you need to define your objectives, understand your audience, and establish a timeline for planning, promoting, and pulling off your event.

1. Define your objectives and set KPIs
2. Evaluate your resources
3. Research your target audience
4. Choose an event format
5. Decide on the basic details of your event
6. Establish a timeline
7. Map out your touch points
8. Write an event marketing plan template

1. Define your objectives and set KPIs

Goals are your strategy’s best friend. Use one of these goal-setting approaches as a guide:

• S.M.A.R.T. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Use it to focus your efforts on attainable and result-driven goals.
• B.H.A.G. Big, hairy, audacious goals. Use it to set unrealistic but inspiring goals.
• H.A.R.D. Heartfelt, animated, required, and difficult. Use this strategy to set personal growth goals.

Assign specific key performance indicators (KPIs) to each objective so you can measure the success of the event. If you’re hosting an online one, set virtual event metrics and track them using the Livestorm analytics dashboard.

Examples of B2B event marketing goals and objectives include:

• Get more than 50% of attendance rate out of signups
• Increase the prospects list by 50 names and contact information
• Get a score of at least 4.5/5 in the post-attendance feedback survey

2. Evaluate your resources

Setting boundaries for your project will help avoid making promises you can't deliver or blowing your department budget. Evaluate all your available resources, including:

• Budget. Do you have any money assigned to spend on paid ads, influencer marketing, or offline marketing? How much?
• Team members and capabilities. Who will be working with you on this event? Do they know how to approach the planned tasks? Do you need to request hiring approvals?
• Time capacity. Does your team have the bandwidth to take on additional responsibilities? Will it delay the deliverables?
• Tools. Do you need to pay for any specific tools (e.g. social media scheduling platforms)? Does your team know how to use them?

Plan to close potential gaps before you start promoting your event.

3. Research your target audience

Your event marketing strategy should be tightly linked to your target audience so you can craft posts that speak directly to them. You should know everything about your audience:

• Their likes and dislikes
• Time preferences
• Media consumption habits
• Who are the influencers they follow
• How they spend their free time
• How old they are
• What’s their field of study
• What’s their favorite social media and social media group/community

This information will simplify the decision-making process on further steps like deciding the format of your webinar and identifying touch points with your audience.

4. Decide on the basic details of your event

The right event marketing strategy depends on the event format you use. Define the:

• Format. Will it be in-person, virtual, or hybrid?
• Content-type. Are you hosting a conference, seminar, webinar, or trade show?
• Location. Where is this happening? Do you need to book a venue? Do you have the right online events platform to host this event?
• Speakers. Who is leading the event? Can you use the speakers as part of your promotion strategy?
• Potential automations. How much manual intervention does the strategy require? Can you automate email campaigns and retarget ads? Do you need to manually invite every single attendee or buy personalized gifts?

5. Establish a timeline

There are three phases to any event:

• Pre-event. This is when you build your event registration page, email cadence, and social media marketing campaigns.
• During the event. This is when you deliver the content and implement engagement strategies.
• Post-event. This is when you send follow-up emails, analyze your metrics, and gather feedback.

Plan ahead by preparing a timeline with a list of everything that needs to happen for each stage. If you’re hosting an event on-demand, determine whether or not you'll need recurring promotional activities.

You may find project management methodologies useful for laying out your timeline. For example, you could build a Gantt chart where you can assign tasks with deadlines and detailed responsibilities.

6. Map out your touch points

Leads need to be exposed to the same information several times before they click or convert. Map out the places where your audience will hear from you, what you’ll be including in those communications, and in which format. Drip registrants with information and reminders to drive attendance.

Here's an example of successful event marketing touch points. Your potential attendee:

1. Gets an email recommendation from your event three months in advance
2. Sees an Instagram ad a week after they get the email
3. Listens to an influencer talking about your event in their Instagram stories three days after they saw the ad
4. Sees an ad while searching for something online a week after they listened to the influencer
5. Someone hands them a poster with your event information on campus 9 weeks before the event
6. Listens to their favorite influencer giving out a discount code seven weeks before the event
7. Opens the landing page and signs up seven weeks before the event
8. Gets a confirmation email right after they sign up
9. Gets an email with further information a few days prior to the event

You can also list the things that happen during and after the event:

• Gets to the venue/joins the event– what do they see?
• Gets a gift for attending the event– what is it?
• Gets an email to fill out a feedback survey– how does it look?
• Offer a discounted rate for the next event if they post an Instagram story and tag you– how do you verify they’ve posted the story?
• Get an Amazon gift card if they leave a review on your website– how much? Who sends it?

7. Write an event marketing template

A great way to save time in the future is to build an event marketing strategy template. This gives you easy access to the basic steps you need to follow for planning an event. Write one for live, hybrid, or online events to simplify your process and elevate your event marketing strategy

16 Event marketing strategies and ideas

It’s time to take action! Approach this list with a mix-and-match mentality. Use the information you gathered during the planning stages to come up with your unique promotion strategy. In this section, you’ll find ideas to help you:

1. Design an event website or landing page
2. Plan amazing content
3. Produce a promo video
4. Create an email marketing campaign
5. Run advertising campaigns
6. Promote on social media
7. Prepare a press release
8. Partner with influencers
9. Create a sense of urgency and build FOMO
10. Get attendees to share on social media
11. Live stream in-person events
12. Try online event marketing
13. Plan interactive elements
14. Measure success using event analytics
15. Gather audience feedback
16. Record and share the event

1. Design an event website or landing page

No matter which event type you plan to host, you need a registration page. The format might vary depending on the type of event. Every landing page should contain event details like:

• The date and location
• Informative but compelling explanation of the event
• Unique value proposition that speaks to your target audience
• Form for people to sign up
• Clear CTA button
• The price
• A summary of the event
• The event agenda
• A short bio of the speakers
• A way to contact your support team

Send further information via email like any required pre-reads, recommended hotels and maps with accessibility, or fun things to do in the event destination.

If you’re hosting an online event, you can use Livestorm to create your registration page with a custom form. If you’re hosting a hybrid or in-person event, use tools like Carrd or Swipe Pages to easily create these event landing pages.

2. Plan amazing content

The best strategy is to host an event that impresses the audience and adds so much value that they can’t help but talk about it afterward.

• If you’re hosting an in-person event. Make sure the speaker is engaging and captivating. Foster opportunities for people to connect with each other and have organic fun. Incorporate ice breakers and give each one of the participants a giveaway present.
• If you’re hosting a hybrid event. Guarantee the event is equally enjoyable for the people online as to the ones that are physically there. Use a virtual conference tool like Livestorm to display virtual attendees’ questions or poll results on a screen.
• If you’re hosting an online event. Identify opportunities to make your event more engaging with features that invite your audience to participate and avoid getting bored. It’s part of virtual conference best practices to use polls, Q&As, virtual whiteboards, or share your screen to cast videos to engage your audience.

3. Produce a promo video

To tease the event speakers or topics, include a promo video in your marketing campaign. Determine whether you want it to be animated or want someone to memorize a script and record it. Either way, you’ll need to:

• Hire experts to record, animate, direct, write the script, and edit
• Ensure you’re following brand guidelines and that the information is clear
• Make it short
• Tailor the video to each event marketing platform, as you can’t post the same video on Twitter and TikTok since the formatting and audience are different.

If you’re handling content marketing in-house, consider following an event marketing trend to make it more organic. Use tools like CapCut to edit your video, or use Instagram Reels templates. Take a look at this video as an event marketing example from Delack Media Group:

4. Create an email marketing campaign

Draft customized emails with links to your event page, a visually appealing event banner, and engaging copy. Include links in each email that enable readers to register or share the event with their network.

For example, an email sequence for a virtual product launch could include:

• Invitation. Introduce the product, event details, event page, and discount code on bulk registrations
• Invitation reminder. Tease the product and include a countdown to the event
• Confirmation email. Provide registrants with information about how to access the event.
• Final reminder. Send registrants an email reminder 24-48 hours before the event to boost attendance rates.

You can use mass email marketing services like Mailchimp to customize email templates and create automated workflows for sending campaigns.

Pro tip: use Livestorm’s MailChimp and Mailjet integrations to automate email reminders, create plain text or HTML emails, and manage your email list during event promotion.

5. Run advertising campaigns

What's more effective than word of mouth? Paid advertising campaigns.

Here’s how to market an event via paid placements:

• Set up remarketing campaigns to target users who viewed a certain page on your website or engaged with your emails.
• Target lookalike audiences from your existing customer list across channels like Google Ads, YouTube Ads, and Facebook Audience Insights.
• Track conversions and analyze data like clicks, impressions, and time spent on page, to understand how well the ads perform.
• Test different ad formats and copy to understand what resonates with your target audience.
• Ensure you update or create new ads when key event details change, such as dates, guest speakers, or links to the registration page.

Pro tip: Livestorm integrates with Google Ads and Google Analytics so you can track and capture traffic data from campaigns and retarget leads with relevant content.

6. Promote on social media

Social media is ideal for broadcasting your event, creating buzz, and engaging your audience before it even begins. Use relevant hashtags and tag guest speakers to get noticed. You can also use these social media event promotion ideas:

• Share video snippets from your marketing assets
• Tag key influencers in the industry and ask them to share the event with followers
• Conduct fun quizzes or contests on Twitter and Instagram like asking followers to guess something exciting about your product
• Share behind-the-scenes content leading up to the event day
• Create a dedicated hashtag for your event to help attendees follow the conversation about it online

You can also use event marketing tools like LinkedIn Live Events to share your event with first-degree connects and business page followers.

Pro tip: host giveaways and contests that encourage audiences to “tag a friend” or “share this post and win a prize” to increase your event’s visibility and drive more sign-ups.

7. Prepare a press release

Include public relations tasks as part of your event marketing. Give the media a press release with your well-designed assets to start generating buzz.

A press release can be as simple as a Google Doc that outlines your event, mentions sponsors, and links to promotional resources. Send it to news outlets and influencers or post it on your website.

8. Partner with influencers

People tend to trust other people over brands. Use these event marketing tools to find niche influencers to promote your online, hybrid, or in-person event:

• Google. Use this formula to find experts in your field: “[industry or niche] + experts/influencers/speakers/bloggers/tiktokers”
• BuzzSumo. Go to the influencers tab on this platform to discover influencing experts on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.
• X lists. Look at other influencers’ X lists. You can find those in their profiles by clicking on the three dots next to the follow button.

9. Create a sense of urgency and build FOMO

Create different pricing tiers with early bird tickets offered at a discounted rate as a registration incentive. When you release tickets in stages, it generates a sense of urgency.

So, people will want to buy the cheapest ticket and will buy it faster. You can even use a price optimization tool, like the one on Eventbrite, to automate price changes.

Pro tip: If you’re using Livestorm to plan, host, and analyze your virtual or hybrid events, connect it to Eventbrite directly and redirect attendees from your registration page to it without any trouble.

10. Get attendees to share on social media

The only way to get people to attend your event is by promoting it, and one of the most powerful marketing channels to do it is through social media. You should design a social media campaign that invites followers and non-followers to sign up for your event.

A good idea for promoting your online event is by giving away free access to competition winners. This will help you generate FOMO among your followers and have others sign-up just to avoid missing it in case they don’t win.

Create a branded hashtag for the event and think of initiatives that invite your attendees to announce on social media they’re going to your event. To do so:

• Plan a giveaway that requires people to use the hashtag online
• Make the experience highly “Instagrammable”
  • If it’s a virtual event, go beyond the screen and surprise them with a gift that you deliver to their homes.
  • If it’s an in-person event, add backings for people to take pictures, brand everything, and make the catering appealing and eye-catching.
• Offer a discounted rate for future events to the ones who post online using the hashtag before, during, or after the event

11. Live stream in-person events

Don’t let all of your efforts disappear after one event. Record and stream your live events online to reach a wider audience. Make sure you have the right equipment and team to record high-quality video and audio.

Use a platform like Livestorm to create a registration page for people to sign-up for the livestream. Also, use the same platform to create an on-demand video and gate it, so anyone can watch the event at their own pace when they share their contact information.

12. Try online event marketing

Many in-person events can happen virtually. All you need is superb virtual event software that lets you talk and engage with your audience.

Livestorm is your best option for interactive virtual events, as it includes comprehensive event planning, hosting, engagement, and analytics features. These include:

• Creating landing pages and adding custom fields to registration forms
• Setting recurring events if you’re running a virtual conference with multiple sessions
• Customizing your room, emails, and landing pages to show your branding
• Sending automated emails with reminders
• Exporting all your attendees’ contact information
• Using engagement features like:
  • In-app file sharing
  • Emoji reactions
  • Q&As, polls, and private and public chats
  • Virtual and interactive whiteboard
  • Breakout rooms
  • Call to action (CTA) button
• Accessing your data analytics and getting a participation report
• Giving easy access to participants as it’s a browser-based platform

13. Plan interactive elements

If you’re hosting an online or hybrid event, ensure your event includes interactive elements. If you’re using Livestorm to plan, promote, and host your event, you can make use of these interactive elements to enhance the user experience:

• Live polls
• Q&A
• Live chat
• Emoji reactions
• CTAs

You can replace these elements when hosting in-person events by asking people to speak up, raise their hands, or scan a QR code.

14. Measure success using event analytics

Event analytics help you measure the success of your event. Livestorm gives you useful insights like the number of attendees, replay views, number of sessions, average duration, and traffic data. Use this data to evaluate your event’s performance, identify areas that need improvement, and create a better event marketing plan.

For example, if you notice that channels like email, social media, and organic search drive more traffic than paid ads, you can focus your next event on optimizing those channels. Similarly, if you notice that the average duration of your event is lower than you expected, you can focus on creating more engaging and interactive sessions.

15. Gather audience feedback

Feedback is crucial for growth, and only your attendees can let you know if they found the event useful, entertaining, or a huge waste of time. There are three things you can do to gather feedback during the event (if it’s a presentation):

• Ask people at the beginning about their expectations. This will let you tailor the content and ensure you address people’s needs.
• Use quick polls or ask questions for people to answer by a show of hands. This will allow you to get a sense of how people are feeling in the middle of the event.
• Send a Typeform with a few questions after the event. This enables you to gather anonymous and more detailed feedback from your event. You can automate this with Livestorm.

16. Record and share the event

Marketing for an event includes thinking about how to make your event shareable before, during, and after it’s done. If you’re hosting an in-person, online, or hybrid event like a niche conference, make sure to record it.

You can use this evergreen content by repurposing it and using it as a lead magnet. For example, if you do an online personal branding conference, you can then use the recording to create different video modules for people to access once they share their email with you.

What’s the best way to promote your event?

You need a strategy to market your event—a list of coordinated actions you’ll take to reach out to potential attendees and get them to sign up. Pick out the actions you’ll take as part of your event marketing plan.

• The best way to promote an in-person or hybrid event is to mix offline with online marketing strategies. Try these ideas:
  • Create an event website that has a registration form and it’s packed with your event information.
  • Get more participants by opening the event to a global audience by live streaming.
  • Create Instagrammable_ _moments to leverage user-generated content (UGC).
• The best way to promote a virtual event is to focus mostly on online promotion that has a clear call to action that takes potential attendees to your registration page. To achieve this, try these promotion strategies:
  • Design a custom registration page. If you’re using Livestorm, you can do this directly from the platform and customize it to suit your branding.
  • Find potential partners and influencers with a quick Google search, on BuzzSumo, or by reviewing other influencers' Twitter lists.
  • Define a pricing strategy and generate FOMO.

The best event marketing strategy is the one that suits your business goals and gets your audience buzzing about your brand. You should also aim to minimize repetitive tasks by automating as much as possible. Try using a platform like Livestorm to automatically send email reminders and set recurring events, taking the hassle out of virtual event management.

Should you host conferences and event marketing?

Yes, event marketing can make your business profitable. To get the most ROI and achieve event success, you have to come up with a strategy that helps you measure your event marketing initiatives and tailor them to a clear goal.

The first thing that you need to do is define the type of event that you want to host. You can have virtual, live, or hybrid events. Then, you’ll need to:

• Plan ahead and make an event marketing template for the future
• Promote your event on social media and other channels
• Record the session for future repurposing
• Measure the event’s success

If you’re hosting an online or hybrid event, you’ll also need to add “choosing the right virtual event marketing software” to the list. In that case, Livestorm is one of the most complete options for hosting large (3,000 attendees), interactive, and analytical platforms you’ll find.

Plan your next event with the right platform

When it comes to hosting a successful event, capturing leads and nurturing relationships are key. Get creative with your pre-event marketing and promotional strategies, host giveaways, and leverage paid advertising.

Keep your audience engaged during the event with interactive polls, downloadable PDFs, and CTA buttons. After the event, schedule automated follow-up emails, send surveys, and analyze event metrics to create an even better experience for your next event.

With Livestorm’s intuitive platform and customizable features like automated emails, live polls, analytics, and integrations, you can create an unforgettable experience for your attendees every time. Livestorm makes online events effortless and engaging for you and your attendees.

Frequently asked questions about event marketing

What does an event marketer do?

An event marketer is responsible for planning, organizing, and executing marketing events. Depending on the marketing strategy, the event marketer might also manage other marketing aspects like networking and public relations.

What is an example of event marketing?

One of the most common examples of event marketing is a product launch. Apple is quite popular for hosting hybrid marketing events to announce the launch of their newest products.

How effective is event marketing?

Event marketing is highly effective, when done correctly it can help businesses to

• Increase brand awareness
• Boost sales and revenue
• Build trust and close relationships with their customers

When should you start event marketing?

You should start event marketing as soon as it aligns with your strategy. Because contrary to popular belief, event marketing doesn’t need to be expensive. You can start with an online webinar or conference, and then slowly grow into a hybrid or in-person event with thousands of attendees.

What are the 5 essential features of event marketing?

These are the five essential features of event marketing:

1. Have clear goals and objectives
2. Promote and send reminders
3. Choose the right venue or platform
4. Have a clear CTA
5. Analyze your results