4 Considerations to Maximize Attendance at Your Next In-Person Event

Key Points

• Strategic timing, targeted promotion, and a compelling agenda are essential to driving attendance at in-person events.
• Reaching your ideal audience through personalized outreach and digital channels increases engagement and registration.
• Data-driven planning and post-event tracking help firms optimize event ROI and strengthen future marketing strategies.

After a long season of virtual conferences, seminars, gatherings, and physical distancing, many are ready to reconnect with in-person events! Data from our 2022-2023 Growth Outlook® Report for CPA Firms reveals that reinvestment in events and networking will be a significant area of anticipated spend in 2023 marketing budgets.  

If you’re prioritizing and re-investing in live events but feel a little rusty, now is a great time to evaluate your event strategies. To maximize attendance and ensure your next in-person event doesn’t disappoint, take the following considerations into account. 

Consideration: Timing 

Timing is a critical factor that can greatly impact the success of an event. Whether you’re planning a firm conference, a fundraising gala, or a community volunteer day, the timing of your event can make all the difference. Before selecting the date and time, think about your attendees. Is there a time of year they are more likely to attend? Also, think about: the time of day, day of the week, competing events, holidays, time zone differences, and event duration. All these factors influence attendance. 

Consideration: Attendance goal 

Make sure your invitation list is sufficient to meet your attendance goals.  If you want 25 people to attend your event, have at least 1000 contacts on your invitation list. 

Consideration: A compelling reason to attend 

Does your agenda pique audience interest? Your agenda and the promotional content you use to spread the word will be critical to getting people to attend your event. Put yourself in their shoes. What would make you leave your busy schedule to spend a few hours at an event? If you haven’t lined up the right speaker(s) or created compelling promotional materials, your audience will not be enticed to learn more. 

Consideration: Reaching your audience     

A successful promotional strategy will include a blend of tactics. We recently helped a firm promote their event through physical invites. One week after the invites went out, they heard crickets. The mailed invites were not working, and they needed a new approach or else they would cancel the event. With only two weeks before the event, we helped the firm go from zero to 43 registrations by adjusting their promotional plan. Here’s what we tried: 

• Email blasts 

• Instead of emailing their entire client list, we narrowed our focus to people who would genuinely be interested in the topic. Looking at data from past newsletters, we homed in on contacts who clicked on articles that aligned with their event topic. We sent this smaller list an email invite and mentioned the event in the client newsletter.  

• Social media 

• Social media awareness is a critical component of event promotion. For this firm, we spaced out a series of posts from the firm’s and the speakers’ profiles. We also tagged the association and industry groups we invited in these posts.  

• If you have the budget, another option is paid promotion. When you boost a social media post, you can select the attributes of your audience to get your event on the radar of prospects who were not on your invite list.  

• Personal outreach 

• Phone calls were very successful for this firm. We developed a script that administrative staff could use in various scenarios (voicemails, gatekeepers, and getting the person on the phone).  
• We also targeted local industry and association groups. After identifying the main contacts of these groups, we sent a personal email to extend an invitation to their members.  

An in-person event is a great way to connect with and get in front of the right people. Planning and promoting an in-person event requires careful consideration of key factors to maximize attendance. If you need assistance marketing your next in-person event or tracking its success, contact our team of experienced professionals.