In the world of membership organisations, promoting an event effectively is essential for maximizing attendance and engagement.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising offers a targeted and cost-effective way for membership organisations to reach their audience, whether it’s an open event or a specific paid event.
This article will walk you through the essentials of PPC for event promotion, helping you attract the right audience and generate higher attendance.
1. Define Your Event Goals and Audience
Before diving into PPC, clarify what success looks like for your event. Are you aiming for sign-ups, paid ticket sales, or brand exposure? Identify your audience segments—members, prospective members, or the general public—and tailor your message accordingly.
Example Goal Setting:
- Open Event: Increase brand awareness and drive attendance with a specific sign-up target. Take the opportunity to sign up members at or short after the event.
- Paid Event: Drive ticket sales and focus on high-intent audiences, such as existing members or prospective members interested in similar topics that are keen to invest.
2. Choose the Right Platform
PPC campaigns can be set up across multiple platforms. Each has unique benefits, so choose one that aligns with your audience’s behaviour.
- Google Ads: Ideal for reaching those actively searching for events or related topics.
- Facebook & Instagram Ads: Great for visual storytelling, targeting by interests, and reaching a broad or niche audience.
- LinkedIn Ads: Especially effective for professional events, allowing targeting based on job titles, industry, and seniority.
3. Craft Compelling Ad Copy and Visuals
Keep the words limit low, your ad copy should be precise and impactful. Include the event’s unique value proposition—what will attendees gain? Use action-oriented language and create the famous FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to encourage sign-ups.
Sample Copy for an Open Event: “Join us for the Discover Digital “Digital Clinic”, an exclusive gathering of Digital Transformation Professionals! Register now and connect with the biggest brains in Digital. Spots are limited. Reserve yours today!”
Sample Copy for a Paid Event: “Don’t miss out on the Discover Digital Persona Workshop! Get in-depth insights from industry experts. Early-bird tickets are available. Book now to save your spot!”
4. Set Up Targeted Audience Segments
The strength of PPC lies in targeting. Use your membership data to create lookalike audiences or retarget website visitors who’ve shown interest in similar events.
- Retargeting: Reach out to users who have visited your site or event page but haven’t registered YET.
- Interest Targeting: Target people with specific interests that align with your event theme.
- Custom Audiences: If you’re promoting to existing members, upload your member list for direct targeting.
5. Optimize for Conversions
Setting up conversion tracking is essential for measuring PPC effectiveness. Create landing pages that are tailored to each audience and ad set. Make sure your CTA (Call to Action) is clear and that the registration or payment process is streamlined.
Landing Page Tips:
- Include event highlights, a clear CTA button, and testimonials from past attendees (if available). Testimonials are incredibly powerful.
- Ensure the page is mobile-friendly and loads quickly, as this impacts both ad performance and user experience.
6. Monitor and Adjust Campaigns
PPC requires monitoring and tweaking for optimal results. Track metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per conversion. If certain ads or keywords are underperforming, make adjustments to improve results. At the start you will need to keep a very close to your campaigns. Its not unheard from our digital consultants to check client’s campaigns multiple times a day and keep finetuning them. Think of your campaign like a plant, the more you observe it, water it at the same time and trim it when necessary the more it will flourish. Leave it to survive on its own and soon it will give up. Keep your eyes on the campaign!
Final Thoughts
PPC advertising can be a great tool for promoting membership events, driving attendance, and enhancing visibility. By setting clear goals, targeting the right audiences, and monitoring your campaign, you can ensure a successful turnout and drive engagement for your membership organisation.
Discover Digital is an award-winning Digital Agency with a core focus on Digital Strategy, Digital Marketing, UX Design, Solutions Architecture and CMS and CRM Integrations. Get in touch at [email protected]
Leave A Comment