7 PPC Strategies to Convert with Your Event Marketing
Leveraging Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is crucial for driving attendance to your events. In our Sevinar with Laura Davidson from Tag Digital, we dove into insights and tips that will help event marketers optimize their PPC campaigns to maximize results and enhance attendee registration.
1. Understanding the Power of PPC
Laura highlighted how PPC operates as an auction system, where supply and demand determine the cost of reaching your target audience. Industries with a niche audience, such as agriculture, chemistry, and fashion, tend to have higher cost per click (CPC) rates due to increased demand.
To counteract higher CPC, event marketers can explore alternative channels like display advertising and social media to capture audience attention without relying solely on search.
2. Choose the Right Channels
Different channels offer varying levels of effectiveness and cost, depending on your industry verticals.
- LinkedIn, while expensive, provides high-quality leads with specific job titles and company insights.
- Meta offers volume, but the quality may not always match that of LinkedIn.
- Google offers a diverse range of advertising options, including search, display, retargeting, and video.
Event marketers should allocate their budget based on the channels that align with their target audience and goals.
3. Timing is Everything
When planning your PPC campaigns, timing plays a crucial role. If multiple events are happening simultaneously, even in different countries, event marketers need to be mindful of increased competition for ad space.
Laura advises against bidding on competitor terms, which often results in inflated costs and minimal return on investment. Instead, focus on delivering a clear message and capturing the attention of your target audience.
4. The Impact of Event Size on Performance
Cost per acquisition (CPA) can be significantly impacted by an event’s size. Larger events tend to have lower CPAs, as the volume allows for more efficient ad targeting. However, smaller and more niche events may have higher CPAs due to limited search volume.
In these cases, event marketers need to expand their targeting by incorporating broader industry-related keywords or targeting adjacent segments within the industry. By doing so, marketers can attract new audiences and create opportunities for growth.
5. Leveraging Machine Learning for Enhanced PPC Targeting
Laura emphasizes the significance of harnessing machine learning capabilities offered by advertising platforms. The more data marketers can feed into these platforms, the smarter they become in identifying and targeting the right audience.
This approach allows event marketers to predict audience behavior and serve ads to individuals who are most likely to attend their event. However, it is important to note that predictive advertising typically requires a larger budget, which is more prevalent in bigger events where more data is available.
6. The Power of Always-On PPC Campaigns
To stay top of mind and maximize event attendance, event marketers should adopt an “always-on” approach. Laura suggests investing throughout the year rather than solely focusing on short-term campaigns.
By maintaining a consistent presence and offering valuable content, event marketers can build a robust database of first-party data through email marketing. This approach guarantees that potential attendees are familiar with the event even before the registration period begins.
7. Conversion Rates for Attendees
Your type of event and registration fee structures can vary, which means so can your conversion rates. According to Laura, free registration often leads to conversion rates ranging between 40% to 60%, while paid events offer higher overall conversion rates of 80% to 90%.
Laura emphasizes the willingness of attendees to pay for events with valuable content, ensuring a higher commitment and attendance rate. The conversion rates may vary further depending on whether the event is held in-person or digitally.
More Tips for Successful PPC Campaigns
To achieve the best results with your PPC campaigns, Laura recommends a few key tips:
- Start small and gradually expand based on budget constraints.
- Begin with search, retargeting, and social advertising on platforms like LinkedIn and Meta.
- Track your conversions regularly to measure your campaign effectiveness.
- Experiment! Don’t be afraid to test different formats and content types to stand out from the competition.
Ultimately, the most effective content revolves around speakers, sponsorships, and engaging user-generated content.
Bottom line
Incorporating PPC into your event marketing strategy is no longer an option but a necessity. Understanding the dynamics of CPC, timing, event size, and effective content creation is crucial for successful campaigns. By adopting an always-on approach, leveraging machine learning, and testing various channels, event marketers can enhance attendee conversion rates and maximize event attendance. Stay ahead of the competition, stand out with engaging content, and drive successful PPC campaigns to ensure the success of your upcoming events.
If you’re looking for those alternative channels to drive conversions for your next event, look no further than Snöball’s conversions through influencer marketing!
Find out how Snöball can add up to 30% more registrants to your events.
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