Event venue marketing, at times, can prove to be a tough nut to crack. It’s a strategy that requires ingenious creativity and deliberate planning on your part. Successful venue marketing is when you are booked out for the whole season or at least the next month. And to achieve such a feat, you must know how to hold a captivating event filled with vibrant experiences.
This article discusses the specifics of event venue marketing strategies. You’ll be learning how to market an event venue and necessary trips and tricks of the craft.
What is venue marketing?
Venue marketing is nothing but a promotional approach where you rent your location to sponsors for events. It’s an ongoing marketing strategy that helps venue owners find suitable clients and likeable sponsors.
The reason why venue marketing is necessary is the event industry size.
The UK event industry touched £26.6 billion market value in 2022. This shows that the market is regaining strength after the pandemic and is expected to grow further. It’s supported by recent market research, which states that 60% of UK residents believe events reduce their feelings of isolation. And that’s a good thing for venue owners, right? You can capitalise on opportunities by following effective venue marketing strategies.
Common Event Venue Marketing Strategies
An event venue is a canvas waiting to be painted with stories, emotions, and memories. It can be a sprawling garden, an ancient museum, a chic event space, or a lavish hotel. Regardless of its position and dimensions, your venue must hold the potential to host moments that linger in the hearts of your customers.
The success of event venue marketing is directly associated with your promotional strategy. Industry experts recommend incorporating multiple venue marketing strategies for better ROI (return over investment).
Some of the best strategies include:
- Building a website for event venue marketing
- Blogging and content marketing
- Focusing on SEO for venues
- Emphasising Paid marketing (PPC)
- Running email campaigns
- Establishing a presence on social media
There are several other strategies through which you can do digital marketing for venues. For instance, you can incorporate stunning visuals and display videos on your website or in paid ads. Your goal should be to make your event venue visually appealing to the target audience.
How To Market An Event Venue – 11 Industry Secrets
Learning how to attract customers to your venue requires a deep market analysis.
For example, music venue marketing involves understanding your venue partner’s needs. You must know what type of audience they want to target as you may have to rent AV hire and stage design services. If your place meets such requirements, you can market your venue services better to the target audience.
The below tips will help you master how to market an event venue.
Understand Your Audience
Your first step should be to understand the audience you’re aiming to attract. Of course, you can only market your event venue to some customers or certain businesses. So, before you turn the spotlight onto your venue, ask yourself who you want to rent to.
Are they trendsetters seeking novelty?
Are you targeting traditionalists who cherish the familiar?
Are you a concert performance location planning to do music venue marketing?
The key here is to dive deep into your audience’s preferences, behaviours, and aspirations. This knowledge will help you construct a solid marketing strategy to resonate with the target audience. However, don’t forget to consider the competition while focusing on ROI.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
Your second step should be making the event venue visually appealing for customers. For this purpose, compliment your venue with LED Video wall rentals. Adding AV equipment will add an elegant touch and help you market your event venue. Businesses prefer event venues with the ability and equipment to make their speakers and presenters prominent.
Additionally, rent third-party lighting hire services to ensure your client picks suitable illumination. However, we recommend hiring experienced event production services with skilled technicians.
Craft Your Brand Aura
Event venue marketing is all about selling the experience not only to event organisers but to attendees as well. Therefore, you must highlight the overall aura, not just the physical space. Your customers should feel the heartbeat of your brand when they interact, making them yearn to experience what you offer. So, utilise the colours and design elements as brushstrokes to infuse life into your venue’s persona.
Let your customers know that it’s an experience waiting to be embraced. It’s up to them how effectively they want to set the mood, create ambience, and evoke emotions.
Establish Your Online Presence
Today, about 67% of buyers who want to book event spaces start their journey online. So, you are missing out big time if you aren’t doing digital marketing.
The best way to establish an online presence for your event venue is through website development. Think of it as a grand red carpet which can lead high-value customers towards you. However, ensure that your website offers an enchanting experience to online visitors and represents alluring visuals. Let them take a virtual tour, feeling the floor underfoot and imagining the laughter that will soon fill the air.
Make Your Business Search Engine Friendly
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the key to online event venue marketing. It’s like a map that helps you guide customers to your digital venue when they are looking for similar places. The trick is to optimise your website for relevant keywords your audience uses online. You can bring your event venue under the spotlight in the digital world with little effort.
Utilise Social Media Platforms
When it comes to events, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” And social media channels are the perfect platforms for visual storytelling. Every time your venue hosts an event, retell the tales on social media. Sharing event visuals is a great way to let your target audience know how your venue can improve their events.
The key here is to choose the right hashtags and the correct platform for social media.
For instance, X (formerly Twitter) is ideal for brief posts, whereas Facebook is great for long storytelling. Similarly, Instagram and Snapchat are visually poetic, while LinkedIn is suitable for targeting businesses and corporations.
You can share moments of joy and celebrations captured in candid clicks. Also, post snippets of event preparations and the stories of your staff members behind the scenes.
By using the right hashtags, you can engage your audience and encourage them to participate in the narrative. You can also ask guests and event organisers or planners to share their experiences about your venue. Another social media tip for event venue marketing is to spark conversations by posing questions and creative stories.
Remember, social media isn’t just a mirror reflecting your venue; it’s a stage where your customers shine.
Don’t Forget Content Marketing
A lot of event venue owners undermine the importance of content marketing. This event venue marketing strategy can take your business outside physical walls. In fact, it helps you build authority and portrays you as an industry leader. All you need to do is share event planning tips, trends, and advice that resonate with your audience.
So, establish your expertise by creating a blog filled with insightful content. Your readers will naturally gravitate towards your venue after gaining knowledge from your content.
Pay Attention to Email Marketing
Email marketing works for events, and it also helps venue owners secure the leads. It established a more personal connection between people who rent venues and those who are looking for event locations. However, you must first collect and curate email addresses and then nurture your audience.
Your aim should be to educate and engage the audience without sounding like an immature salesperson. Try sharing helpful information, event marketing tips, and industry insights while highlighting the benefits of your venue. Share exclusive offers or packages if you think it might attract them to visit your venue.
Host Events for Promotions
We have mentioned the importance of social media marketing and why you should be sharing alluring visuals. But what to do if you are new to business or don’t have such clients?
Well, the answer is simple. You can host theme events for charitable organisations or solely for promotional purposes. However, while doing so, ensure that your event aligns with your event venue marketing goals. Hosting a musical performance for promotion is useless if you plan to host business events inside the venue.
Exploit User-Generated Content
Another excellent venue marketing strategy is to utilise user-generated content. If your customers have made an incredible event video, promote it on your social media channels. Share their Instagram stories to your handle only to connect with potential customers. This is a great way to get noticed and establish your presence inside their community.
Do Networking for Event Venue Marketing
One of the most prominent event venue marketing strategies is collaboration and networking. When you connect and partner with event organisers, planners, and photographers, it expands your reach. They will happily refer your venue services to customers who are looking for ideal locations.
Similarly, an experienced event production company can help you get more clients while infusing fresh ideas into your venue’s charm. You can also highlight your event venue by participating in relevant webinars, trade shows, and workshops.
Final Thoughts
Event venue marketing is a continuous process that requires consistent efforts for customer engagement. You can only master the tricks of the art by learning how to market an event venue. For this, you must ensure your venue location has the right AV equipment before you start working on event venue marketing strategies.
EMS Events can help you portray the best version of your event venue. As an event production company with 25 years of experience, we know the trade secrets. Contact Us to join hands, and we’ll help you put your best foot forward in the event industry.
