A great event concept is nothing without the right attendees to enjoy it. Promotion is an essential element that will determine the overall success of any event.

There are two main promotion periods when announcing an event (save-the-date and launching the event online) as well as the “golden” weeks right before the event where ticket sales/registrations should start to spike. On both occasions, the marketing campaign should be well thought-out with a clear conversion strategy. In between these two periods, a steady flow of communication is also useful to keep the audience engaged and interested. 


Channels such as social media and web are great for promoting events, but events usually involve a lot of direct stakeholders such as speakers, exhibitors and partners, and tapping into this network allows for a much wider and authentic reach. 


Note: If EIT Food is at least one of the organisers of an event it must be added to the event calendar by the 15th of each month by reaching out to patricia.willems-mawenu@eitfood.eu. 



General tips for promoting an event 

If you are organising an event, following these tips will increase the reach of your event promotion:


  • Use your event hashtag: include your event hashtag across channels on all design assets, online content and printed material etc. 

  • Create a unique visual identity. While respecting EIT Food’s brand guidelines, it is important that your event has its own identity and is recognisable as a brand - see Future of Food as an example.

  • Outreach to stakeholders and mobilise your event participants: engaging with speakers and participants as well as past attendees to promote on their own channels will boost your event promotion. 

  • Activate your attendees: create pre-made copy and visuals for attendees to use and share. A digital toolkit, such as the Future of Food conference 2020 digital toolkit, is a great way to do this. 

  • SEO-proof your content: the majority of people use Google to find specific events happening around them. Following the process of search engine optimisation (SEO) will improve your Google ranking and make your event easier to find. Read How do I optimise website content? to learn more about SEO. 

  • Choose your ticketing platform: Platforms such as Eventbrite and Aventry are great options. Another option is to use FoodHIVE where you can register participants via a customisable form. You can choose to restrict the registrations for members with a FoodHIVE profile or open it up for external audiences (people who do not have a FoodHIVE profile). You can also send registration confirmation and reminder emails to registered participants. Read What is FoodHIVE and how do I use it? or reach out to foodhive@eitfood.eu for recommendations and support.

  • Publish articles or blog posts related to your event and embed your event in existing articles. See this blog about Venture Summit 2020 as an example. 

  • Think about who your target audience is and where to reach them - they probably have a preferred channel so this is the best place to start. Join existing conversations and mention your event where it makes sense offline and online.

  • Develop an email marketing plan. Think carefully about your mailing list and which key timelines you want to email about (e.g. save the date, speaker announcements etc). 

  • Utilise digital advertising. Read How do I get started with digital advertising?  


How do I promote a core EIT Food event?

A core EIT Food event is an event like Venture Summit or Future of Food conference, organised by an EIT Food Functional area team. To find out how best to promote your EIT Food event, follow the tips below:


Tip 1: Build your visual identity

A unique visual identity is key to promoting events. While respecting EIT Food’s brand guidelines, it is important that your event has its own identity and is recognisable as a brand - see Future of Food as an example. Please do not create an event logo if this is an EIT Food event. If you are unsure about how to brand your event, reach out to communication@eitfood.eu.  


Tip 2: Run a cross-channel campaign with the core communications team 

Using a cross-channel approach to promote your event will expand your reach and ensure the best exposure for your event promotion. Core channels will raise awareness and tell a brand story around the event. Reach out to the editorial team to kick-start your cross-channel campaign. 


Promoting an event on social media is a great way to reach the EIT Food community and drive engagement. To find out more, go to: How can I promote something on EIT Food’s channels? 


Before promoting an event on social media, please ensure you are aware of EIT Food’s monthly themes and topics. To find out more, go to: What is the EIT Food content calendar? 


If you would like the social media team to support your event, please reach out to socialmedia@eitfood.eu, including any links and visuals. The team will review this, see how it might fit into the social media strategy and overall content and help you choose which channels to use, how to reach your target audience and what hashtag to choose.


Outreach to social Changemakers will create engagement and add authenticity to your event. The below tweet is an example of how you can announce and promote your event as well as outreach to social Changemakers by tagging them in images and visuals. 



Supporting content such as blog posts are also a great way to promote your event, offering audiences the chance to learn more about the event and associated brand story in a different way. Click here to find out how to write a good blog post and see some examples of blogs about EIT Food events below:



Tip 3: Add your event to the EIT Food website 

All core events can be added to the EIT Food website. See a website listing example of Future of Food 2021 here. 




To find out more about how to upload to the website, go here.


In order for your event website post to rank highly by search engines and be easily findable, it is important to incorporate SEO elements into your post, such as keywords. To find out how to optimise website content, go here. 


Tip 4: Create an event website 

Creating an event website will allow all agenda, speaker, registration and logistical information to be collated in one space. This site can then be promoted across different channels to drive attendance to the event. See examples below:



If the website template on eitfood.eu does not have all the functionalities you need, you can consider creating your own website, after receiving approval from communication@eitfood.eu.


Tip 5: Drive attendance to the event via digital advertising 

Digital advertising has become an important channel for businesses and can use various channels and formats to drive attendance to events, including social media, video streaming sites like YouTube, search engine sites like Google and display ads (banners). 

 

Digital ads sit alongside other organic (unpaid) search results or social media content and purposefully appear in a similar format, usually with text stating “ad” or “sponsored” indicating that the content is paid for. To find out more, go to: How do I get started with digital advertising?


Tip 6: Agree your email marketing strategy 

Email is by far the most powerful direct marketing tool, but use it sparingly. Your email marketing strategy should have a well thought-out mailing list and be developed in a way that will not overload recipients, but instead inform them of important dates and announcements, such as save the date or speaker announcements.


Tip 7: Use the EIT Food community on FoodHIVE

Publishing your event on FoodHIVE is the ideal way to promote your event to the entire EIT Food Community - or a selected part of the network. 


Similar to the website, regional and functional colleagues are able to create events themselves from the back office of FoodHIVE. If you require access, please contact the FoodHIVE Community Manager at foodhive@eitfood.eu. 


Events overview

Event page


Internal events


As FoodHIVE provides the option to only show events in a specific group(s) instead of the general overview, you can promote any internal/private event on the platform. For example, if you are organising a partner-only event, you can feature it on the Partnership group. It will then only be visible for the members of the Partnership group, which includes all our partner contacts, RisingFoodStars and EIT Food Staff. Similarly, you can showcase staff-only events on the EIT Food Staff group. 


Public events


As opposed to internal events, FoodHIVE can also be used to publish EIT Food events that are open to the public. When events are made public, they are viewable on the events overview that is available for everyone, even for people without a FoodHIVE profile. 


If you wish to pursue or learn more about any of the above options, please write to foodhive@eitfood.eu. 


How do I promote a regional EIT Food event? 

Tip 1: Use regional channels

Using existing channels is one of the best ways to promote a regional event. This includes channels such as regional social media channels (E.g. @EITFood_NWest on Twitter), the regional section on EIT Food website, regional blogs on EIT Food website and FoodHIVE.


In order for your event website post to rank highly by search engines and be easily findable, it is important to incorporate SEO elements into your post, such as keywords. To find out how to optimise website content, go here. 


Tip 2: Drive attendance to the event via digital advertising 

Digital advertising has become an important channel for businesses and can use various channels and formats to drive attendance to events, including social media, video streaming sites like YouTube, search engine sites like Google and display ads (banners). 

 

Digital ads sit alongside other organic (unpaid) search results or social media content and purposefully appear in a similar format, usually with text stating “ad” or “sponsored” indicating that the content is paid for. To find out more, go to: How do I get started with digital advertising?


Tip 3: Promote the event on EIT Food’s core channels

If you would like to promote your event on EIT Food’s core channels, contact your editorial team member so they can share it with the core communications team well in advance. Go to How can I promote something on EIT Food’s channels? to find out more about this process.  


How do I promote an EIT Food project event? 

Tip 1: Use partner channels

Tapping into partner channels is a great way to promote a project event. This will allow you to reach larger networks as well as your existing ones. It is recommended to create a communication package consisting of all the event artwork, such as flyer designs and logos, as well as a one-pager explaining the event which partners can then use to share the event.


Tip 2: Use an event hashtag

Using an event hashtag across channels on all design assets, online content and printed material etc will boost the promotion of your EIT Food project event and allow you to track engagement. 


Tip 3: Add the event to the EIT Food website and FoodHIVE

EIT Food project partners can also add their EIT Food-funded events to FoodHIVE and the EIT Food website.

In order for your event website post to rank highly by search engines and be easily findable, it is important to incorporate SEO elements into your post, such as keywords. To find out how to optimise website content, go here. 


Tip 4: Drive attendance to the event via digital advertising 

Digital advertising has become an important channel for businesses and can use various channels and formats to drive attendance to events, including social media, video streaming sites like YouTube, search engine sites like Google and display ads (banners). 

 

Digital ads sit alongside other organic (unpaid) search results or social media content and purposefully appear in a similar format, usually with text stating “ad” or “sponsored” indicating that the content is paid for. To find out more, go to: How do I get started with digital advertising?


Tip 5: Read the “How do I promote my EIT Food project?” Comms Hub article

Read the Comms Hub article How do I promote my EIT Food project?. This article includes recommendations about target audiences, messaging, branding, measuring communication activities and more.


How do I promote a speaking engagement or booth at a non-EIT Food event? 

Tip 1: Add your speaking engagement or booth to the EIT Food website

There is a category on the website for speaking opportunities and booths. Adding this here will let others know about your appearance at an event and boost your promotion. 


In order for your event website post to rank highly by search engines and be easily findable, it is important to incorporate SEO elements into your post, such as keywords. To find out how to optimise website content, go here. 


Tip 2: Use your personal social media to promote your presence to your network

Promoting your presence at an event on your personal social media will help you reach your own networks as well as EIT Food’s. It is a good idea to join conversations around the event using the event hashtag. 


Some events will provide you with ready-made images and copy that you can use, so keep an eye out for toolkits and advice from the event organisers. 


Live-tweeting during the event or pre-scheduling some posts will boost engagement even further and position you as a thought leader.


Don’t forget to tag EIT Food as we may be able to engage with your posts when relevant.


Tip 3: Contribute a guest post to the event blog or website 

It’s a good idea to contact the event organisers and enquire about contributing a guest blog or comment to their website or other channels. Getting involved in the event campaign in this way is a great way to promote your presence. 


Tip 4: Promote your presence to the EIT Food Community on FoodHIVE

Publishing your event speaker engagement or booth on FoodHIVE is the ideal way to promote your appearance to the entire EIT Food Community - or a selected part of the network. 


If you require access to FoodHIVE, please contact the FoodHIVE Community Manager at foodhive@eitfood.eu. If you wish to pursue or learn more about your options, read What is FoodHIVE and how do I use it? Or write to foodhive@eitfood.eu for support. 


Tip 5: Add your speaking or booth engagement to your email signature 

Adding that you are attending an event to your email signature is another great way to get the word out. 


Tip 6: Email your contacts to let them know you are speaking/have a booth at an event

Email is by far the most powerful direct marketing tool. Emailing your contacts will let them know about your speaking engagement or booth in a more personal way and will encourage engagement. 


Tip 7:  Inform your network when relevant 

Informing your network about your event appearance, at other events or presentations for example, is also a good idea. Word of mouth can go a long way! 

This article was last reviewed in May 2021 and will be reviewed again August 2021.

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