Is the email list of past-attendees your most relied upon marketing tool? If so, we’ve got bad news. The new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has made it harder for marketers to use customers’ data without their “informed and unambiguous” consent. In other words, email-blasting your attendance list is no longer an option when promoting your event.
Luckily, conference organizers have begun to embrace digital advertising in recent years. But it’s not enough to simply place an ad online. Audiences lose interest faster than ever before, so knowing how to attract and maintain their attention is vital.
With that in mind, here are our top four tips to help move your ad impressions into registrations when promoting your next event.
It’s not uncommon for event organizers to presume that a click means a commitment, but slow down there! Redirecting them straight to the registration page can cause even the most committed of attendees to abandon. They need to be teased with information about the event, so first redirect them to a landing page which doesn’t require any details, sign-ups or payment.
The headline of the landing page should match that of the advertisement, and the important part of the message should stand out significantly from the rest (more on this in point 4). It’s no secret that mobile users have surpassed desktop users, so make sure the page can be read on all devices.
Measuring return on investment (ROI) is crucial whenever money is being spent, and this can be done by tracking conversions. If you’re wanting to track registrations, for example, place a pixel on the ‘thank you page’ (the page shown after a person signs up). This will identify which registrants came from which of your ads, so you know which campaigns were the most effective.
It goes without saying that your readers shouldn’t be confused about the intended purpose, but one of the easiest (and most common) ways to do this is by cluttering the page with competing links.
Including a clear call to action (i.e. register now, submit abstract, etc.) is paramount when trying to direct them to the next step. If the copy is long, the CTA can be repeated throughout to reinforce the message, but make sure it’s the same CTA!
Ever heard the saying less is more? Well it doesn’t apply to the context of targeting – at least not at the start.
A new ad campaign is an opportunity to learn about your audience. While it’s easy to assume that you know who they are and where they are, start with broad targeting to collect enough data to optimize and learn.
For example, you could set the geographic targeting to global at the beginning, and as the campaign progresses you could narrow down the targeting to the better performing regions. Performance might happen in places that you would not have otherwise expected.
Each of these four suggestions serves the same purpose – to lower the chance of your audience losing interest. And trust us – they lose interest really, really easily. Pay attention to your landing page and targeting, and your audience will pay attention to you.
Interested in promoting your next event to a scientific audience? Find out more about our conference solutions here.
