Promoting events can be tricky as you have to act fast and are often working against time constraints. A great way to combat this is using PPC for event marketing as it’s a relatively fast type of marketing that you can get up and running in a short period. Below, I take a look at this and how you can customise your PPC ads to promote your business events.
The Benefit of PPC Marketing for Events Promotion
Let’s first take a look at the benefits of PPC for event marketing compared to other marketing methods:
- The ads are instantly live and can have an immediate effect.
- You only pay for results so it’s cost-effective.
- Ads can be heavily customised to suit different event types.
- It can also boost SEO, website traffic, and other marketing channels.
- The workload can be reduced with PPC automation.
7 Ways to Customise Your PPC Ads for Promoting Events
When crafting PPC for event marketing you have to take a slightly different approach and this is something a company offering PPC services could help with. You are concentrating on a specific event and creating a one-off ad campaign so it’s important to optimise it and try to get the most out of it.
Remember to utilise local targeting
Local targeting is key for events as you are more likely to attract a local audience who can easily attend (unless it’s something like a national tradeshow or huge concert where you want to draw in a wider audience).
You have to use geo-targeting that reflects the context of the event. For example, if you are doing a craft stall at a local tradeshow, your target audience is going to be local too. In contrast, something digital like a webinar could have worldwide appeal so local targeting would not be appropriate.
Consider the timing of your PPC ads
The timing is also especially important for your PPC ad campaign and you can take several routes. Firstly, you could simply promote the event on the day hoping to attract people who have some spare time – this works best for weekends when people are less likely to be working.
Alternatively, a more effective method is to build up the PPC campaign in advance of the event – such as a few weeks before the date. This gives people time to plan, adjust their plans, and also build excitement for the event.
Set an end deadline for your PPC ads
I can’t count the times I’ve seen promotions for events and shows that have already happened! This is just lazy and it’s one of the first things you should do when creating your PPC ads for an event – set a clear end date!
You don’t want to accidentally keep the ad running past the event date as this looks bad and can cause a heap of annoyance.
Make the ad copy engaging and audience-specific
We all know that the ad copy including the main text and heading is crucial to the success of PPC campaigns and this holds for event marketing. You’ve got to pique people’s interest and give them a reason to attend!
Try to stir an emotional response and emphasise the benefits of attending the event or what they stand to gain from it. Also, make sure you include a CTA such as a link to a landing page where customers can buy tickets to the event or register interest.
Include a timer countdown
You’ve probably seen timer countdowns on PPC ads and search results and they can be effective as they instil a sense of excitement and urgency. For example, let’s say you are promoting a festival that starts on the 15th of November.
You could include a timer countdown that starts a week before on the 8th that says “X days to go”. This is simple to do and might seem insignificant but it’s just another detail that can make your PPC for event marketing more effective.
Add pressure by including a ticket inventory
In a similar manner to the above, why not add a ticket inventory counter to your PPC ads too? For example, your event may have a limited number of spaces available so you add a counter that shows how many are left such as “Only X tickets left on sale!”.
This creates a sense of urgency, taps into the FOMO, and also helps show the popularity of the event as the tickets are selling out fast!
Leverage other marketing channels to enhance your PPC
If you are using a cross-channel approach to marketing you can leverage your other marketing channels to boost the PPC campaign. For example, Google Ads has the customer match feature which allows you to connect your ads to users who already have interactions with your business.
You could, therefore, use various customer match parameters such as customers who have received emails, or customers who have visited your website. This type of targeted PPC works great as people who already have an interest in your company are more likely to attend an event.
Make Your Event Shine With Effective PPC Marketing
Making time-limited PPC ads for your events is a quick and effective way to boost interest and get bums on seats. Not only that, but it also has the added benefit of boosting SEO, website traffic, and customer engagement which is never a bad thing!
When creating your PPC for event marketing, remember to set an end date for your ads, consider if local targeting is relevant, and make use of “pressurising” features like timer countdowns and ticket inventory counters to bump up the excitement and interest.
