Conference Marketing: How To Build and Promote an Event on LinkedIn

Are you using LinkedIn as part of your event marketing strategy? Are you wondering how to promote an event on LinkedIn? For event professionals, LinkedIn’s 900 million global members and 63 million company profiles make the site stand out as a premier networking and promotional platform, offering unparalleled conference and event marketing opportunities.

This article delves into the intricacies of leveraging this platform to its fullest potential, ensuring that your event reaches and resonates with your target audience. Whether you’re a seasoned event planner or just getting started, get ready to tap into a vast and engaged audience and elevate your conference marketing strategy on LinkedIn.

Understand Your Target Audience on LinkedIn

One of the first steps to enhancing your event marketing on LinkedIn is deciding who your ideal audience is and finding their professional profiles on the platform. LinkedIn offers a Sales Navigator feature, which will aid you in defining your target audience even further and more efficiently. To build your ideal audience, it will be beneficial to research LinkedIn groups and communities that you think would be most relevant to your event.

Pro tip: Roll back a little and take some time to get to know your audience by reading “6 Steps for Mapping a Meaningful Event Attendee Journey.” 

Create Engaging, Shareable Content

Creating authentic and meaningful content on LinkedIn will connect your target audience to your event and keep viewers wanting more. By sharing valuable industry insights and leadership information, you can encourage user engagement that will increase awareness about your future conferences. 

Striking visuals will attract attention while using LinkedIn articles and Pulse to your advantage will make the audience aware of conference-related content.

Build a LinkedIn Event Page 

If you arrived at this blog article looking for how to build a LinkedIn event page, hello! We’re not replicating all of the instructions here because the networking platform has already done it for you in their detailed step-by-step guide to building a LinkedIn event page. 

Need to promote your LinkedIn page event? They offer detailed instructions there too. To capture the most engagement, your event description should be compelling and clearly emphasize key details and benefits that a potential attendee wants. Your event page can be personalized; eye-catching visuals and videos will attract even more people to your profile.

Expand Your Reach Through LinkedIn Groups 

LinkedIn groups are vital to your event marketing strategy, as they help you reach new people while strengthening your connection with existing followers of your company and event profile. . It is essential to join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your event, and then become an active member by engaging with users in the group. But, be careful not to spam group members with event promotions; instead, focus on providing valuable insights that an attendee would want to hear. 

Leverage LinkedIn Ads To Extend Your Reach

LinkedIn features alternative advertising options to promote your next event. You can buy ads or sponsored content that will appear on a targeted user’s feed. 

To increase your reach, creating targeted ad campaigns or boosting your organic posts will also allow you to target your ideal audience outside your existing network. Measuring ad performance and return on investment (ROI) are critical strategies for improving your event marketing influence on LinkedIn.

Promote Through Your LinkedIn Network

An important part of promoting your event on LinkedIn is being proactive, and you could do this by reaching out to your connections and influencers you know. Personalized messages and invitations will excite attendees and make them want to learn more. You can also encourage employees and speakers to promote your event on their own profiles, which will increase your reach to people outside of your network. 

Ensure the C-suite and key stakeholders have pre-written post options ready to go because it will make it even easier to share an event on more profiles. 

Use LinkedIn Live and Video

Another useful tool on the networking platform is LinkedIn Live and Video, which can be used for live event broadcasts. For the most successful live session, you can use video for pre-event Q&A sessions with guest speakers, create appealing pre- and post-event videos for added publicity, and post video highlights to showcase the conference experience. 

These tips will engage users in the live broadcast while grabbing the attention of those who want to watch it later.

Measure Success and Iterate

When developing event marketing strategies, knowing the impact of using LinkedIn for event promotions is essential. Engagement, conversions, ticket sales, and other key performance indicators on LinkedIn will help you prove your event ROI. 

Feedback and insight from attendees are also valuable resources since they will make your future event promotions even better. Get started with our article, “51 Event Survey Questions You Need To Ask For the Best Insights.” 

10 LinkedIn Events Best Practices for Event Professionals

Wondering how to make the most of LinkedIn events? Here are 10 best practices for event professionals. 

1. Define clear objectives: Before creating your event, outline what you hope to achieve. Whether lead generation, brand awareness, or networking, a clear goal will guide your promotional efforts and content strategy.
2. Optimize your event page: Ensure your event title, description, and banner image are compelling and relevant. Use keywords related to your industry to make it easier for potential attendees to find your event.
3. Leverage video content: Use LinkedIn’s native video feature to post teaser videos, speaker interviews, or behind-the-scenes sneak peeks. Video content tends to have higher engagement rates and can pique interest in your event.
4. Engage with attendees before the event: Use the event page to post updates, share content, and answer questions. Engaging with attendees beforehand can build excitement and ensure they’re well-informed.
5. Promote through sponsored content: Consider using LinkedIn’s advertising tools to promote your event to a wider, yet targeted, audience. Sponsored content can help you reach professionals outside of your immediate network.
6. Encourage speakers and partners to share: Your event’s reach can significantly expand if speakers, sponsors, and partners share the event with their networks. Provide them with promotional materials and suggested posts to make sharing easier.
7. Use LinkedIn polls: Engage your audience by creating polls related to your event’s theme. This boosts interaction and delivers valuable insights into your attendees’ preferences and expectations.
8. Monitor analytics: LinkedIn provides detailed analytics for your event page. Regularly check these metrics to understand what’s working and where you might need to adjust your strategy.
9. Follow up post-event: After the event, use the platform to thank attendees, share highlights, and gather feedback. This helps in building long-term relationships and improving future events.
10. Stay updated on LinkedIn features: LinkedIn frequently updates its features and tools. Stay informed about the latest additions to maximize the platform’s potential for your events.

Remember, although LinkedIn is a powerful tool for event promotion, it’s essential to integrate it with your overall event marketing strategy. By following these best practices, you can effectively leverage LinkedIn’s event marketing tools to achieve your event objectives.

Get Started: Take Your Event Marketing Strategy to the Next Level

LinkedIn has a lot of influence on companies and individuals alike, and it is a vital promotional platform that you can take advantage of. The trend of event marketing on LinkedIn is here to stay, so you should be aware of the best practices for event promotions. The more efficient your event marketing strategy is on LinkedIn, the more successful your event, and future conferences, will be!

Learn more about building a high-impact event marketing plan in  “The Complete Guide to Event Marketing for 2024.”