How to Leverage Attendee Testimonials as an Event Marketing Tool

No matter how much or how little your event marketing budget may be, your most powerful marketing strategy could cost you very little or even nothing. Customer reviews are a powerful tool. According to recent research, 91% of consumers read online reviews and 84% trust reviews as much as a personal endorsement.

Savvy event planners also use reviews strategically as a marketing tactic. Gather positive customer testimonials about your event in the form of written words, recorded audio, or video. Make these testimonials available to the public through multiple messaging tactics and include an urgent call to action in order to sell more tickets online.

Here are 7 actionable tactics that you can use to promote your next event with testimonials.

1. Blog Content
   If you have a blog on your event page, use it to tell your attendees’ stories. Create and post a video of an attendee telling their event story or write a post of a conversation you had with them regarding their experience. Or ask an attendee to write a guest post highlighting the benefits he or she gained from attending. Once the blog is posted, promote the post by sending out an email or posting the link on social media.
2. Case Studies for Sponsor Packages
   Selling sponsorships is a great fundraising idea to raise revenue. Use both attendees and sponsor testimonials as selling points for sponsorship. Prospective sponsors want to see that your event attracts satisfied repeat customers AND sponsors. Create a testimonial sell sheet or webpage highlighting the benefits of sponsoring your event and include in your proposal packages.
3. Talking Points for “Getting Your Boss to Agree”
   If you are planning a conference or educational event, create talking points for prospective attendees to use in order to convince their boss or company to commit the budget for attendance. Use testimonials that focuses on what past attendees have learned or lucrative connections they made in order to show the value of your event.
4. Recommendations on Event Ticketing Page
   Studies show that positive customer reviews spark a higher purchase average and a faster purchase. Include short impactful text quotes and photos or short videos from past happy customers on your event ticketing page to inspire purchase. Make sure there is a large and colorful “Buy Now” button prominently displayed near the quotes to inspire a quick decision. A good event management software like Eventzilla should make this idea very easy to implement.
5. Media Interviews
   If you have articulate attendees who are willing to talk to reporters, pitch their personal event experience to your media list as a human interest or industry story. Make sure to highlight how your event benefitted your attendee’s career or life so that the story has merit for the media outlet and is not just perceived as a promotional tool.
6. Email Drip Marketing Campaign
   Testimonials are great content builders for a drip marketing email campaign. A drip marketing campaign involves sending information to prospects repeatedly over time in order to nurture ticket sales. Create video chapters of past event attendees talking about their experiences. Include one chapter each in a series of emails. With an interesting story, recipients will want to see what happens next and open each email to find out.
7. Paid Ads
   If you are going to pay for ads, make them as effective as possible. Customer reviews can help. Including images or video of a satisfied past attendee and their story in a paid ad communicates event value. In all cases, make sure to include a strong call to action to register on your ticketing website. As the event industry becomes more competitive, your creative event planning skills are tested, and budgets are stretched, using customer testimonials will become even more of an effective marketing strategy. Start thinking now about how you can add this influential technique to your marketing toolbox.Organizing an event? Setup your event registration page in minutes! It is free to create an account and list your event.