How to sell more tickets to your community event

I've seen organizations rely solely on social media to get the word out about their fundraising event, conference or community gathering.

This may have worked ten years ago, but not so much with today's algorithm-based platforms. Social media is a great tool in the toolbox, but it's time consuming to produce and it can be hard to find your audience there.

In addition to organic social media, here's what I recommend:

1. Partner marketing

Reach out to your community partners, past attendees, or sponsors. Ask them to share your event on their socials, in their newsletter, or with a poster in their location. This is often the most effective way to reach your unique audience, because you're borrowing trust that's already been built.

2. Social media ads

Meta ads and LinkedIn ads can be very effective for finding your people. You can target manually, but Meta's AI is genuinely good right now at finding your audience if your graphics and copy are specific. For example, if I were promoting a tournament for queer Nova Scotian hockey players, I'd include copy that calls that out directly: "Queer hockey players in NS!"

3. Event listings

Use event calendars or listing platforms where your audience would naturally look. Your town or municipality, tourism listings, local news outlets, and industry-specific event calendars are all good places to start. If your event is in the Halifax area or your target audience lives in the Halifax region, The Coast has a great calendar. It also may be worth listing your event on Eventbrite, even if you're not selling tickets through their platform.

4. Email marketing

If you have an email list, use it! People there have already opted in, which makes it one of your highest-converting channels. A simple save-the-date, a reminder a few weeks out and a last-call email a few days before the event can do a lot of heavy lifting.

5. Influencer and ambassador partnerships

Local influencers or well-connected community members can be SO helpful in getting the word out. Their audience already trusts them, which gives your event a level of credibility an ad can't.

6. Press outreach

Pitch local media, especially if your event has a strong human interest angle, has something new, or is hitting a milestone (like a first or tenth year). A news story often carries more weight than an ad and can reach people who wouldn't otherwise see your other marketing.

There are plenty of other tactics beyond these three, and how you approach them depends entirely on your event, your industry and your audience. But partner marketing, paid social and event listings are a solid place to start.

Ready to build your plan? Book a 90-minute strategy session and let's get those tickets moving!