When it comes to marketing an event, the combination of digital marketing, website development, and social media can make or break your success. Whether you’re organizing a local festival or a large-scale community event, these tools can amplify your reach, engage your audience, and turn casual browsers into enthusiastic attendees.

I’ve had the privilege of working on some exciting events, including the Upland Lemon Festival, Palm Springs Pinot Noir Festival, and the CV ArtFest. Each of these required a tailored approach to digital marketing, web design, and social media strategy. Here’s what you need to know when planning your next event.

1. Digital Marketing: Your Foundation for Success

Digital marketing is essential for reaching a broad audience and driving ticket sales or event attendance. A successful strategy includes paid ads, organic content, and email marketing. Here are key elements to focus on:

SEO and PPC Ads

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): When people search for events like yours, make sure your event website appears in search results. Optimizing your event website for local SEO can bring in traffic from people looking for things to do in your area.

For instance, when working on events like the Upland Lemon Festival, we made sure keywords such as “Upland events” and “family festival Upland” were integrated into the site’s content, which helped boost traffic and visibility.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: Running targeted ads on Google and social media platforms is a quick way to get in front of your ideal audience. Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads allow you to reach specific demographics who are more likely to attend your event.

Email Campaigns

Never underestimate the power of a well-crafted email campaign. Build your email list from past attendees, website visitors, or social media followers, and send engaging, informative emails leading up to the event. Working with the Palm Springs Pinot Noir Festival, we have found that timely email campaigns remind the audience of early bird ticket sales, event highlights, and special offers—driving conversions and building excitement.

2. Website Development: Your Event’s Digital Home

Your event website is often the first touchpoint potential attendees have with your event. It’s where they’ll go to learn more, buy tickets, and get essential details. A well-designed, user-friendly website is key to a successful event marketing strategy.

Create a Seamless User Experience

Make it easy for visitors to navigate your website and find important information like event schedules, ticketing options, and FAQs. A complicated site can frustrate users and lead to drop-offs.

When designing the website for CV ArtFest, I ensured the site had a clean, visually engaging design with clear calls-to-action, making it easy for visitors to explore the art exhibits, check the schedule, and find their way to the event.

Mobile Optimization

With so many people browsing on their phones, mobile optimization is crucial. Your event website needs to look just as great and function just as smoothly on a mobile device as it does on a desktop. This ensures that anyone scrolling through event options while out and about can still get the full experience and purchase tickets seamlessly.

Integrate Social Proof

Attendees want to know they’re going to a well-organized and fun event. Adding testimonials, reviews, or social media feeds showcasing excitement from previous events can add credibility and drive more ticket sales.

Add a FAQ Section

People have questions…and you have answers. Be sure to create a Frequently Asked Questions section with things like where the event is located, what items are allowed and prohibited, refund policy and other items that potential attendees want to know. Not only will this help answer their questions, it will also populate in search engines, helping optimize SEO for the event.

3. Social Media: The Real-Time Engagement Tool

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are where your audience hangs out and looks for upcoming events. It’s an ideal space to not only promote but also engage your attendees before, during, and after the event.

Post Engaging Content

While promoting ticket sales is important, it’s essential not to overwhelm your audience with constant sales pitches. Instead, mix it up by posting engaging content that sparks interest and excitement for the event.

• Behind-the-Scenes: Give your audience a peek at the event planning process. Show behind-the-scenes photos or videos of the venue setup, interviews with performers or artists, or even a day in the life of the event organizers.
• Countdowns and Polls: Build anticipation by sharing countdowns to the event date or running interactive polls about what attendees are most excited about.

For the Palm Springs Pinot Noir Festival, we regularly post updates about the participating wineries, sharing stories about them, which makes the event feel more personal and engaging for wine enthusiasts.

Create a Facebook Event

Creating an official Facebook Event is a must. Not only does it serve as an easy way for people to RSVP and share with their friends, but it also sends reminders and updates leading up to the event.

Get Creative

Event marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, so don’t be afraid to try something new and different to generate buzz and excitement. Here are a few ideas:

• Instagram Takeovers: Partner with an influencer, performer, or artist involved in your event and let them take over your Instagram account for a day. This gives their followers a reason to check out your event and brings new energy to your feed.
• Live Streams: Host live Q&A sessions with performers or event organizers, or give sneak peeks of the event setup in real-time. This interactive content can build excitement and increase engagement.

Leverage Paid Ads

While organic social media content is important, paid ads can boost your reach and target specific audiences, but don’t rely solely on them. Paid ads are great for reaching new people, especially those who might not have heard of your event, but they should work in tandem with organic, engaging content and items like PPC and programmatic display ads.

• Target the right audience: Use Facebook and Instagram ads to target your ideal attendees based on demographics, location, and interests.
• Budget wisely: Set a budget that works for you, and monitor the ads to ensure they’re driving the right kind of engagement and ticket sales. Be sure to setup the correct tags and pixels correctly, so campaigns can be optimized for conversions.

4. Post-Event Marketing: Keeping the Momentum

Just because the event is over doesn’t mean your marketing stops. Use post-event content to keep your brand top of mind for future events.

Share Event Highlights

Post videos, photos, and user-generated content after the event to maintain engagement and get people excited for your next event. After the Upland Lemon Festival, we posted highlight reels and attendee testimonials, keeping the buzz alive and encouraging social shares.

Collect Feedback and Build for the Future

Send out follow-up surveys to attendees to gather feedback, and use this to improve future events. Collect emails from attendees and keep them in the loop for next year’s event with updates and announcements.

Conclusion

Effective event marketing requires a blend of digital marketing, web development, and social media strategy to drive attendance and create an unforgettable experience. Whether it’s building an optimized event website, launching targeted PPC campaigns, or engaging with your audience on social media, these elements work together to amplify your event’s reach and success.

I’ve had the privilege of working with events like the Feels Like Home Festival, Taste of Jalisco Festival, and Nights in Northwood, each presenting unique opportunities and challenges. If you’re planning an event and need help with your digital marketing or website, I’d love to collaborate to make it a success.

Ready to get started? Contact me today, and let’s make your next event shine!