In a world where literally everyone is trying to market their event or shout about their latest product, it is becoming increasingly difficult to capture people’s attention and convince them that what you have to offer is exactly what they want. So - how do you cut through the noise when what you’re promoting is an (arguably uninspiring) business networking event?

1. First things first: nail your event website's SEO

Sending the right signals to Google will have a massive impact on the amount of visitors who stumble across your webpage - this is where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes in. Not sure where to start? No problem, you can get the wheels in motion by downloading your free step-by-step guide below.

2. Run a social media competition

This kind of social media marketing activity is great for spreading awareness of your event to a bigger audience. Why not ask your followers to like and share one of your posts in order to win some free tickets to your networking event? It's a great and simple way to create lots of chatter and a bit of a buzz around your meet-up or conference!

3. Blog about it!

Content is king, people. Whatever topic your networking event covers, be sure to provide attendees with extra information to help them understand how they'll benefit from attending (or what they’ll miss out on if they don’t attend!)

You can see an example of the kinds of blogs we write to promote our Digital Gaggle events here.

If you need some quick content ideas, why not try:

• Writing up interviews with some of the speakers either before or after your event
• Creating a regular round-up of relevant industry updates (which is of interest to your attendees)
• Publishing a review of the events you've hosted so far so that potential registrants can see what your meet-ups have to offer
  
  

Once you've written your *amazing* piece of content, make sure you include a CTA (like the one pictured below) within the body of your post directing people to sign up to your next event,

This is an example of a CTA - if you click it, you won't go anywhere!

4. Make friends and be social!

It’s so important to network with people in your industry. The more connections you have (both IRL and online) the easier you’ll find it to spread the word about your networking events. Why not use Eventbrite to compile a list of relevant events for your industry in your area and attend a couple each month? You’ll make tons of connections and you could invite them to attend your first event for free. When you're building genuine relationships with people in your community, they'll become evangelists of your work and your events (assuming your events are mind-blowingly good, which, of course, they are).

5. Get a killer website

This is a given. Make sure your website is working as hard as it can be to promote your networking event. Does your site make your event sound exciting? Is it easy for visitors to find out information about the event and why they will benefit from attending? Do you make the path to purchase clear and accessible if someone wants to purchase a ticket? Great! Then you're ticking all the boxes. A good example of an event website which cuts straight to to the point is HubSpot's INBOUND website show below.

6. Create video content to advertise your event

You know that video is a big deal now, right? More than three quarters (76%) of users say they have visited a company’s website after watching one of their video ads on social media. If you want to get on the video bandwagon, it needn't be anything super fancy. Just create a short, engaging piece of content (with subtitles if there's people talking) for your social channels and you’ll stand more of a chance of being noticed amongst all the online noise.