Hosting an in-store event can (and should be) fun! Check out these three important tips on how to keep your customers coming back to your events again and again!
- Plan ahead and have a clear CTA. Respect that your customers have busy schedules. Give them enough time to plan to attend. Depending on the event, start inviting people 2-4 weeks ahead of time and tell them WHY they should come to your event. The name of the event and the first 1-2 sentences of the description should include all the information a person would need to know to decide if this event is for them.
- Offer extras that encourage people to stay awhile. Food and drink are always standard crowd-pleasers, but consider discounts, gifts with purchase, Instagrammable photo walls, swag, face-painting, games, drawings, projects, etc. exclusive to the event.
- Collect info and be consistent. While you have people in your store, invite them to Like you on Facebook, Follow you on Instagram, join your email list, opt-in for your loyalty program, etc. Then (very important) make sure to follow up! Post a thank-you message on the Facebook Event Page. Send an email. Post a video to your FB and IG. Then do it all over again and have another great event. 😊
If you’ve been following us for any period of time, you already know what I’m going to suggest to get people to your event- send an invite email to your lists and advertise your event with a Facebook and Instagram ad. Psst… Facebook makes this pretty simple with an Event Response ad that you can find under Engagement in Ads Manager.
Pro Tip: When setting up your Event on Facebook, use an image that represents the feelings or experience people will have at the event. If you have images of a packed store from a previous event, use that. Don’t use a “flyer” image that simply shows the event name, date, and time. It’s messy to look at and all that info is already listed below the image. 😊
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