Types of Event Marketing Explained: Find The Right Mix
17 min read • Sun, Nov 16th
marketing
If you’re still “posting and praying” that people discover your event, you’re leaving money on the table at best, and running unprofitable events at worst.
Event marketing is the system you build to turn ideas into registrations, and registrations into profit. It’s not just “doing some social posts.” It’s the full mix of channels, messages, and touchpoints you use to drive attendance, engagement, and ROI.
The good news: people want to go to events. In Loopyah’s Event Attendee Study 2025–2026, over a third of event goers said they’re attending more events than last year, and almost 29% expect to attend more next year. At the same time, 37.2% say rising costs are forcing them to cut back—so your event has to feel worth it.
This guide breaks down the main types of event marketing, when to use each one, and how to combine them into a profitable, data-driven strategy. By the end, you’ll know exactly which levers to pull for your next launch.
Event marketing is the set of activities you use to promote an event and hit specific business goals—usually:
Drive registrations and ticket sales
Increase attendance and engagement on the day
Generate leads, pipeline, and repeat customers
According to multiple CMO surveys, events and sponsorships still take a big chunk of offline budgets even as total marketing budgets shrink. Why? Because done right, events move the needle on revenue, retention, and brand faster than most channels.
But that only happens when promotion is tight. In our Loopyah study:
65.0% of event attendees say they rely on social media posts or ads to find events.
37.6% use search engines to discover what’s on.
28.8% use ticketing websites or apps.
On the decision side, our research team uncovers that of event attendees 67.0% say the lineup, performers, or speakers are “very important,” 50.4% say ticket price is very important, and 47.2% call out location. That means your marketing has to do two things at once:
Get in front of the right people in the right channels.
Prove your event is worth the time and money.
Profitability is simply the gap between what it costs you to acquire an attendee and what that attendee is worth—ticket revenue, on-site spend, sponsorship value, and post-event sales. The rest of this article is about widening that gap in your favor.
High-growth marketers don’t rely on just one channel. Gartner’s recent benchmarks show top tech marketers using an average of 16 channels across digital and offline.
You don’t need 16 to win. But you do need a smart mix that matches your audience and budget. Let’s break down the main event marketing types, why they work, and how to use them profitably.
Email is still the workhorse of profitable event marketing—especially for B2B and repeat-attendance events.
What it is: Using email campaigns to build awareness, drive registrations, and follow up after the event.
Why it works: Email is one of the highest ROI channels in marketing. Segmented and personalized emails routinely outperform “blast everyone” campaigns in opens, clicks, and conversions.
When to use it: Any time you have a list: past attendees, newsletter subscribers, customer database, community members, or partner lists.
Pro tips: Think in sequences, not one-offs: save-the-date, launch, early-bird push, “1 month / 2 weeks / 3 days to go” reminders, and post-event follow-ups.
For most events, your core flows should look like this:
Announcement & save-the-date: tease theme, dates, and first speaker/artist.
Early-bird campaign: push urgency around discounted pricing or bonuses.
Lineup/content reveal: showcase speakers, performers, and experiences.
Reminder & last-chance: countdowns, “prices rise on [date]”, “limited seats left” messages.
Pre-event logistics: tickets, maps, FAQs, and upsells (VIP, merch, add-ons).
Post-event recap: replay links, photos, feedback survey, and next-event teaser.
In our attendee study, 26.6% of ticket buyers rely on venue or event newsletters to discover events. That’s your cue to treat email as a discovery channel, not just a reminder channel.
Want help writing sequences that actually get opened? Check out our guide to event reminder emails for plug-and-play examples.
Social is the discovery engine of modern event marketing—and your best stage for hype.
What it is: Organic posts, Stories, Reels, lives, and community building on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and X.
Why it works: In our research, 65.0% of respondents said they rely on social posts or ads to find events, and over half said Facebook strongly influences their decision to attend. Social is where FOMO lives.
When to use it: Always. Especially for consumer events (music, sports, festivals) and anything targeting under-45 audiences.
Pro tips: Design content for the platform: short vertical video for TikTok and Reels, carousels and polls on Instagram, longer clips and recaps on YouTube, and value-focused posts on LinkedIn.
Content that actually drives ticket purchases (again, from the Loopyah study):
Seeing friends attending in content makes 45.6% more likely to click “buy.” Lean into user-generated content, tagged posts, and reposting attendee stories.
40.6% respond to exciting visuals or clips—think crowd shots, behind-the-scenes, soundchecks, speaker teasers.
40.4% say limited-time offers in content make them buy—use countdowns, “prices rise on Friday”, or “only 30 VIP passes left.”
Tactically, build a rhythm:
Teaser phase: cryptic posts, save-the-date, “something big is coming” Stories.
Launch phase: lineup reveal, trailer video, ticket drop announcement, link in bio everywhere.
Momentum phase: weekly content themes (speaker spotlights, FAQ Fridays, behind-the-scenes).
Final sprint: daily countdowns, last-chance offers, reposting every bit of social proof you can find.
For more big-picture ideas across channels, dig into our event marketing ideas roundup.
Need proof social is worth the effort? Pew Research reports that 85% of U.S. adults use YouTube and 70% use Facebook—massive reach across age groups. (Source)
Influencers and partners are your built-in amplification system—especially powerful when budgets are tight.
What it is: Collaborating with creators, speakers, artists, sponsors, or aligned brands to promote your event to their audiences.
Why it works: People trust people. In our study, 18.2% of attendees very often discover events via creators and 39.8% sometimes do. That’s more than half your potential audience influenced by someone else’s post.
When to use it: When you have marquee names, niche communities, or sponsors with serious reach. Great for music, creator, fitness, and B2B niche events alike.
Pro tips: Give partners a promo kit: swipeable captions, story frames, images, and unique tracking links or codes so you can see what actually converts.
Also be realistic: only 15.4% of attendees say influencer participation is “very important” in deciding to attend. Treat creators as amplification, not the whole strategy.
Paid media fills the gaps organic can’t reach and lets you scale beyond your existing audience.
What it is: Buying placements on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Google Search, and YouTube to promote your event.
Why it works: You can target by interests, behaviors, job titles, and intent. 37.6% of attendees use search engines to find events—Google Ads helps you capture that demand. Social ads put you in front of similar audiences to your best buyers.
When to use it: When you need reach fast, have aggressive sales goals, or are launching in a new market with a small email list.
Pro tips: Split your spend between awareness (broad audiences, video) and conversion (retargeting site visitors, email list, previous attendees). Keep a close eye on cost per registration.
Gartner’s 2025 research shows about 61% of total marketing spend is now digital, with paid search, display, and social leading the way—exactly where event ads live. (Source)
Content is how you warm up the market long before you ask anyone to buy.
What it is: Blogs, guides, videos, podcasts, speaker interviews, and SEO-optimized pages that tie into your event themes and audience problems.
Why it works: It positions your event as the place where serious people go for answers. It also drives organic search traffic and builds trust before you pitch tickets.
When to use it: Especially important for B2B, education, and high-ticket events where people research heavily before buying.
Pro tips: Create a dedicated event landing page optimized for your main keywords and CTAs. Turn your best sessions into pre-event content (e.g., short interview clips, Q&A blog posts).
If you don’t have a strong event page yet, fix that first. Our guide to building a high-converting event landing page will walk you through the essentials.
Word-of-mouth has always sold tickets. Affiliate and referral programs turn that into a measurable, repeatable channel.
What it is: Giving attendees, creators, partners, or media a unique link or code that earns them a reward for every sale they drive.
Why it works: 56.4% of respondents discover events via word of mouth from friends. A referral program gives them a reason to spread the word faster.
When to use it: When you have a passionate audience, creators, or a community that already talks about your brand or scene.
Pro tips: Keep rewards simple (cash, credit, upgrades, or swag) and give referrers a dashboard or regular updates so they see their impact.
PR is your ticket into media outlets you don’t own—local press, industry publications, and big blogs.
What it is: Press releases, media pitches, interviews, and feature stories about your event, speakers, or impact.
Why it works: Earned coverage carries authority and reaches people outside your bubble. It’s especially strong for community, charity, cultural, and B2B events with a clear story angle.
When to use it: When your event has a newsworthy hook—first-of-its-kind, big-name speakers, major charity impact, or ties to hot industry topics.
Pro tips: Send concise, relevant pitches with strong subject lines and a press kit (logo, photos, speaker bios, data points). Make it easy for journalists to say yes.
Community marketing means going where your people already hang out—and showing up as part of that tribe, not an interruption.
What it is: Engaging in Slack groups, Discord servers, Reddit communities, Facebook groups, local clubs, or online forums related to your niche.
Why it works: Community members trust each other. A recommendation inside a tight-knit group can convert better than a public ad.
When to use it: Great for niche B2B verticals, fandoms, gaming, tech, creator, and local hobby events.
Pro tips: Contribute value first—share tips, answer questions, offer discounts or exclusive tracks for community members. Don’t just drop a link and vanish.
Messaging is intimate. Use it wisely and it becomes your most powerful “don’t miss this” channel.
What it is: Sending texts or WhatsApp messages to opted-in attendees for key updates and offers.
Why it works: Open rates are sky-high, and people check their messages constantly—perfect for time-sensitive nudges and on-the-day information.
When to use it: For last-minute reminders (doors time, schedule changes), VIP updates, waitlist releases, and urgent offers like flash discounts when you have remaining capacity.
Pro tips: Get explicit opt-in, respect quiet hours, and keep messages short, clear, and valuable. One or two texts per event phase is plenty.
Your sponsors don’t just bring money—they can also bring an audience, if you set them up correctly.
What it is: Co-branded promotion of your event through sponsors’ email lists, social channels, websites, and physical locations.
Why it works: Sponsors already have reach and trust with audiences you want. Sports sponsorship data shows hundreds of millions in annual media value generated this way.
When to use it: Any time you have sponsors. This is one of the easiest ways to multiply your organic reach at nearly zero extra cost.
Pro tips: Hand sponsors a promo kit with ready-to-send emails, social posts, banner assets, and unique tracking links. Make it plug-and-play.
You don’t need every channel. You need the right channels for your audience, event type, and goals.
Start with where your attendees actually spend time and how they make decisions.
Discovery: 65.0% rely on social posts/ads, 56.4% on word of mouth, 37.6% on search, 28.8% on ticketing sites, and 26.6% on newsletters.
Decision: Lineup, price, and location rank highest, followed by ticket security and accessibility.
If you’re running a music festival, your buyers are probably on TikTok and Instagram, influenced by visuals and social proof. If you’re running a B2B SaaS conference, email, LinkedIn, and thought-leadership content will carry more weight.
Be specific about what success looks like. Examples:
Sell 2,000 tickets at an average order value of $75 before event day.
Generate 400 qualified leads and $1M in pipeline from a B2B conference.
Hit 80% attendance rate for a free community event with strong onsite donations or merch sales.
Those goals dictate your mix. A free community event might lean heavily on community groups, local PR, and sponsor networks. A high-ticket mastermind retreat might lean on email, retargeting, and personal referrals.
Here’s a rough starting point:
Local nightlife or concerts: Social (especially Reels/TikToks), influencer collabs, SMS, and ticketing-platform visibility.
B2B conferences: Email, LinkedIn, content marketing, retargeting ads, partner/sponsor promotion, and PR in trade media.
Community or cultural festivals: Local PR, sponsor networks, community groups, email, Facebook events, and flyers backed by digital campaigns.
Your dream mix has to fit reality—money, tools, and people.
Low budget, small team: Focus on 3–4 channels you can execute well: email, organic social, community, and sponsor/partner co-marketing.
Larger budget: Layer in paid ads, influencer campaigns, and more elaborate content (video series, podcasts).
The right online ticketing platform can cut a huge amount of manual work—automating emails, tracking sources, managing seat maps, and syncing data with your CRM so you can do more with the same team.
“Profitable event marketing is less about finding a miracle channel and more about getting a handful of good channels to work together, from first impression to post-event follow-up.”
Let’s talk money. You’re not just trying to “get the word out.” You’re trying to grow profit.
Start by knowing what an average attendee is worth and what you can afford to spend to acquire them.
From the Loopyah study:
30.6% of attendees typically spend $50–$99 per ticket including fees.
28.4% spend $100–$199, and nearly 10% spend $200+.
If your average order value is $90 and you expect an extra $30 in on-site spend, you’re at $120 total value before factoring in sponsorship revenue or lifetime value. Now decide your target customer acquisition cost (CAC)—maybe $20–$30 per attendee—and optimize channels around that.
At a minimum, you should track:
By channel: Impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), conversion rate from click to registration, and CAC (spend ÷ registrations).
Event-wide: Total registrations, attendance rate, average order value, on-site spend, merchandise sales, and sponsorship revenue.
Set up proper tracking in your analytics tool (like GA4) and in your ticketing platform so you can see which channels actually drive registrations and show-ups—not just clicks.
Automation is how you scale without burning out your team.
Automated email workflows: trigger confirmation, upsell, reminder, and post-event emails based on behavior (registered, opened, clicked, attended, no-show).
Ad retargeting: automatically reach people who viewed your event page but didn’t buy, or who abandoned checkout.
With a platform like Loopyah, you can automate key attendee communications directly from your ticketing system instead of juggling three tools. That’s less friction, more conversions.
One of the fastest ways to improve profitability is to pull cash forward—getting people to buy sooner so you can de-risk your event and bid smarter on ads.
Our attendee data shows what actually makes people buy earlier:
67.6% are motivated by early-bird discounts.
43.0% respond to early-bird bonuses (merch, early entry).
42.8% say a low-fee or fee-free window would make them buy now.
Combine these into simple, punchy offers:
“Early bird ends Sunday—save 20% and get a free poster.”
“Buy this week: no fees + early venue entry.”
Promote these across email, social, SMS, and your ticketing page. Early revenue lets you reinvest in the channels that are working.
You can have perfect marketing and still lose profit at checkout. Our study shows why attendees abandon purchases:
48.0%: unexpected fees at the end.
34.8%: price changes from demand-based pricing.
30.0%: confusing seat map or hard-to-find good seats.
19.8%: slow site or errors.
That’s all wasted marketing spend.
Fix it by:
Being upfront about fees: match your ad pricing to what people actually pay at checkout.
Using a clean, intuitive seat map: make it obvious where the value seats are and how much they cost.
Simplifying steps: cut unnecessary form fields, reduce forced account creation, and support popular payment methods (mobile wallets, buy-now-pay-later where relevant).
Once someone decides to attend, they’re primed to spend more—as long as the offers feel relevant.
VIP upgrades: priority entry, better seating, backstage or speaker access, exclusive bars or lounges.
Merch and bundles: t-shirts, posters, drink tokens, session recordings, or “bring a friend” bundles.
Post-event products: memberships, course access, next-event presales.
These offers increase revenue per attendee, which means you can afford more aggressive marketing while staying profitable.
To wrap it up, here’s a checklist you can run through for every event.
Start early: for bigger events, marketing should kick off at least 3–6 months out. Last-minute promotion is expensive and stressful.
Use a multi-channel mix: email, social, paid, partners, and community working together outperform any single channel on its own.
Create a content calendar: map announcements, reveals, offers, and reminders week by week so you’re not improvising under pressure.
Plan post-event follow-up: recap emails, surveys, upsell campaigns, and “see you next time” offers are where you lock in long-term ROI.
If you want more structure for your overall plan, pair this article with our guides on event strategy and marketing execution across the Loopyah blog.
There’s no single “best” type of event marketing. There’s only what works for your audience, your goals, and your constraints.
Email, social, paid ads, influencers, content, referrals, PR, community, messaging, and sponsor networks all have a role. The job is to pick the right combination, track what each channel contributes, and double down on the ones that move revenue—not just vanity metrics.
Your next steps:
Define clear goals and target CAC for your next event.
Choose 4–6 channels from this guide that best fit your audience and budget.
Set up tracking so you can see what’s working and refine over time.
If you’d like a platform that’s built for this kind of modern, multi-channel promotion—and a team that thinks about profitability as hard as you do—Loopyah can help.
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