We recognize the importance of engaging and growing your community, and we believe events are one of the most effective ways to achieve that. Let’s explore how you can boost attendance by optimizing the way you showcase events on your website.
Optimize event discovery
Discovery starts with centralization; specifically, a central calendar that lists all of your events in one place. And not just your own events. It’s also important to include adjacent events in the community that are organized by other chapters, affiliates, partners, etc. This allows you to position your brand as the source of relevant events for your industry.
Provide robust search functionality
Next, take a look at search functionality. Does the event section on your website include a search box? The easier it is for people to quickly find what they need, the better. Make sure users can search for events using event names or keywords and include a robust list of search filters, such as location, event type, topic and price.
Include landing pages in your calendar
We also suggest adding landing pages to your event calendar that are dedicated to specific topics or geographies. Including links to landing pages right in the calendar makes it so much easier for people to quickly learn more about the event.
Promote your event online
To reach new audiences, promote your event on the channels they use. This could include platforms like LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, or other popular event listing services. Choose the channels where your audience is most active, and consider including well-known event marketplaces to expand your reach.
Add venue details
Adding details beyond the venue’s name and address can help people decide whether or not to attend. Is the venue near public transit? Is parking readily available (and is it free)? Is it wheelchair accessible?
Centralize event registration
Imagine hosting an event on a third-party platform. While these tools can help you reach a larger audience, the platform, not your organization, often captures attendee data. And that’s the beauty of centralizing registration for all event types (online, offline, free and paid) – you’ll develop a fuller picture of your community members and offer more events they care about.
Socialize event registration
To increase awareness and word-of-mouth promotion, make it easy for people to discuss and share your events. Turn on comments on your event page so people can chat with each other. Add social sharing capabilities, use a dedicated hashtag for the event, and show a list of who is planning to attend.
Keep the conversation going after the event
Sharing before the event is important, but so is sharing after the event. If people had a great time and learned a lot, give them the option to share their experience with their networks. Invite attendees to add their own photos to the event page to encourage more interaction and ongoing engagement.
Integrate SEO best practices
Make sure people can find your events outside your website and social channels by fully optimizing each event page for search. Choose a primary keyword or phrase you want to rank for, and include it naturally in your event title and description. And make sure you write 160-character descriptions for each event page.
To find out how Localist Events calendar software can help your organization achieve your goals, schedule a personalized demo.