College events can be a cornerstone of in-person, interactive student engagement—but only if the target audience knows that they are happening. Event promotion is a critical component of a campus event planning strategy, so choosing the right college event promotion tools can make or break a successful event.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular college event promotion tools and how they provide the marketing tools to implement a promotion strategy that will get results.
Benefits of Event Marketing and Promotion in Higher Ed
Students are busy. They have classes to attend, active social lives to manage, work schedules, and family obligations. Despite these demands on their attention, students want to feel engaged and active in their campus communities.
Event marketing needs to reach students where they are and integrate seamless outreach so that students know about upcoming events and can stay informed with updates. So any successful campus event marketing strategy needs to include functionality that makes it as easy as possible for the target audience to find events, sign up to attend, and get reminder notifications.
A robust event marketing strategy has many benefits for coordinators and event managers:
- Reach the target audience where they are (such as via social media posts and campus calendars).
- Increase ticket sales and RSVPs.
- Drive word-of-mouth promotion and organic interest.
- Track demographics and key event data points for future planning.
- Provide real-time updates and notifications for a smooth event experience.
The Types of Event Promotion Tools to Know
Event promotion involves a complex web of moving parts and stakeholders. Various college event promotion tools with customizable features are available to help event planners navigate these requirements.
Website and Event Calendar
College events should be smoothly integrated into the existing campus brand. After all, current students, prospective students, and the community at large already look to a school’s website for information.
A well-integrated event calendar turns an existing college website into a centralized hub for event planning. Participants know exactly where to look for information. Also, attendee management is simplified by the cohesion of an integrated calendar.
Graphic Design
It’s not enough to simply post information about event details. So marketing efforts need to include graphic design to make visually appealing elements that will break through the noise and make the target audience pay attention.
Graphic design tools give event planners the resources they need to create eye-catching promos, SEO-optimized copy, and visual elements that align with the campus brand.
Social Media Management
Social media is a key tool for event marketing. But it must be leveraged properly for event promotion.
Social media college event promotion tools can help event planners:
- Choose relevant hashtags
- Promote meaningful giveaways
- Partner with influencers
- Offer live streams to help potential attendees find events and get excited about participation
Organic sharing and social media engagement will also give events a visibility boost.
Digital Advertising
Effective digital advertisement tools will provide metrics that allow for tracking specific audiences based on relevant demographics. They also provide event planners with the information they need to make future campaigns increasingly successful.
The right digital advertising tools drive direct responses for event registrations and make for accurate, thorough planning data.
Email Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to reach potential attendees, follow up after the event, and then create a sense of connection with the target community.
Powerful email marketing tools will help event planners:
- Craft effective subject lines
- Time their messages with user metrics
- Drive more participation and engagement
The 7 Best Tools to Promote College Events
You want event management software that can do it all, and there are many tools on the market that deliver powerful integrations and high functionality.
1. Concept3D
Concept3D offers robust event management software with a range of features and integrations. With a centralized event calendar, Concept3D allows campuses to easily coordinate a wide variety of events and also gives event planners the tools they need to make their events successful.
Key Features and Benefits
Concept3D offers many marketing tools designed for maximum functionality for promoting college events:
- Native email newsletter tools
- Scheduled social media posting
- Templates built around effective graphic design principles
- Automated SEO
- Event landing pages for easy sharing
- Integrated ticketing and registration tools
2. Canva
Canva is a graphic design tool that makes marketing—both physical and digital—easier and also more visually appealing. Creators can craft flyers, videos, social media posts, and more, all within a platform that allows for customizable branding.
Key Features and Benefits
Canva’s powerful design suite provides a range of features and benefits for college event promotion:
- Email campaign templates
- Customizable branding kits
- Easy-to-use design tools
3. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a robust social media management tool. It allows users to schedule posts and then receive important reporting metrics. Users can also manage various social media channels from a centralized location.
Key Features and Benefits
Hootsuite can provide college event planners with the tools they need to post across multiple social media platforms with ease:
- Automation and AI tools for easy copy generation
- Marketing campaign monitoring that allows for real-time adjustment
- Analytics and reporting to make the most of event promotion planning
4. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is a popular email management tool that allows for branded marketing campaigns and customizable email templates for the professional delivery of key event information.
Key Features and Benefits
College event managers can leverage Mailchimp’s suite of email campaign tools to target potential attendees with engaging messaging:
- Segmentation to engage users around key demographics
- Templates for easy designing and cohesive branding
- Automations for strategic notifications leading up to events
5. Splash
Splash is an event management platform that provides a range of tools so that event marketers can easily create, share, and manage events. It can be used for college event promotion as a core event website.
Key Features and Benefits
College event managers can use Splash to simplify the event management process and market events effectively with:
- Templates for eye-catching event designs
- Audience engagement tools
- Wide range of marketing and event management integrations
6. Eventbrite
As a self-service ticketing solution for event management, Eventbrite offers many key college event promotion tools that would be helpful for colleges.
Key Features and Benefits
Using Eventbrite to create an event hub allows college event promotion across many useful features:
- Social media ad tools across multiple platforms
- Email marketing tools
- Automated event notifications
7. HubSpot
College event promoters can use HubSpot as a centralized location for marketing events. It offers marketing, sales, and customer service solutions.
Key features and benefits
HubSpot is a robust platform that offers a wide variety of tools, many of which can be leveraged for college event promotion:
- Personalized, targeted ads
- Dashboards and reporting for data analysis before the next event
- Optimized email marketing tools
Tips for Promoting College Events Effectively
The primary goal for college event promotion is more engagement. That shows up in increased ticket sales, more RSVPs, organic word-of-mouth promotion, and engaged attendance with satisfied participants.
So to achieve those goals, college event promoters should ensure that their marketing plan includes these effective strategies:
- Reach your target audience where they are. First, promote college campus events on social media platforms. Then, promote through email blasts that ensure your audience is aware of events without having to seek them out. As University Business explains, leveraging technological tools can allow even a small school with a minimal marketing team to have a huge reach and see successful results.
- Centralize the campus calendar. College events participants expect to be able to find all the information they need for participation in the existing college website. Leverage these expectations and traffic sources. Create a centralized campus calendar with everything your participants need to understand the event, sign up, and engage fully.
- Provide event landing pages with relevant information. Once you’ve gotten your target audience’s attention, make it as easy as possible to learn everything they need to know about the event with individual event pages that provide key event details and ticket sales all in one place.
- Diversify marketing efforts across platforms. When you are handling college event promotion, you’re reaching across a wide range of demographics with a variety of interests and habits. Also, make sure your marketing efforts reflect this diversity. From flyers on bulletin boards to partnerships with campus departments, there are many ways to take your marketing to the next level.
- Embrace digital and hybrid events. Traditional, in-person events are still a significant part of campus culture. However, your event promotion ideas should include a range of event types, including webinars, hybrid events, and virtual activities.
Promote Events and Drive Student Engagement With Concept3D
College event promotion has many components for successful marketing. With Concept3D’s robust and flexible college event promotion tools, you can promote your events and drive student engagement.
Some event management offerings may provide partial solutions (such as graphic design tools) but don’t provide everything in a single, easy-to-use platform. Others may offer more tools than a college event management team needs, creating bloat and training confusion.
Meanwhile, Concept3D offers all of the tools your school needs to successfully create, manage, and promote events. Its focus is on a centralized calendar that provides access for multiple users.
Contact Concept3D today to get a demo of our college event promotion tools, and then find out how you can take control of your event management today!