Fundraising season is coming underway, and it is likely that your organization also has a fundraising party or camp on the horizon. To ensure success, a key aspect is strategic marketing. We all understand that events could be costly, and when you have tight budgets, it is tempting to ignore marketing efforts. Fortunately, there are many simple and affordable ways to inform the word. Here are a few tips on how to market fundraising events.
How to Market Fundra
ising Events
Don’t know how to market fundraising events? You should build a brand for your event, choose star features, take advantage of sponsors and more.
1. Build a Brand for Your Event
Creating a uniform brand for your fundraising event will help you ensure that every marketing material is simply identifiable. By doing this, people can easily recognize your organization no matter when or where they notice it, thus making them remember your event. For example, you can create a logo, choose a standardized color tone, images, or fonts for marketing décor and materials. Also, consider building a fan page on social media or your site.
2. Choose Star Features
A star feature is the most unique aspect of your fundraising event which can attract attendees. After determining these main attractions, just center marketing efforts around them, but make sure to focus on your main goals. Some common features include headlining bands or big auction items.
3. Take Advantage of Sponsors
While sponsors could help fund an event, they could also be useful in attracting attendees. Many guests might have a relationship or affinity with several businesses, so if you market these sponsorships, it is likely to pull in those companies. You can do this simply by adding the slogans or logos of your sponsors on marketing materials. Also, consider working with them to think up a plan to market both sides.
4. Publicize
The next step is to spread and publicize your event to the world. Keep in mind this task should play two roles: promoting and building hype. Ideally, you need to plan your advertising strategies several months before events and set up the radio, magazine, or newspaper ads to highlight your unique features. Do not forget to post fliers or posters around the neighborhood and plan promotions on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.
5. Amplify with On-Site Marketing
Even once your fundraising event has started, your marketing efforts don’t end. You will have to prepare to market online donations after and during the event to ensure that attendees can express their thoughts and satisfaction. Also, capitalize on the success of your event and use it to gear up hype for the next one. It is a good idea to hire a videographer or photographer to capture key moments and use these pictures or videos for marketing purposes. Also, encourage your participants to share on social media by providing them with creative costume pieces or crazy props.
The Bottom Line
Don’t know how to market fundraising events? Marketing is essential to ensure that your fundraising events can attract many people and so that you can reap all of the benefits of a fundraiser. After all, if there are no attendees, you can’t raise as much money as expected. With a bit of planning and research, you can apply these strategies and promote your efforts.