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Insights on events, technology, and the future of gathering
Quick answer: To define your event's target audience, start with your event goal, build an attendee persona, review past attendees, analyse competitors' events, ask other industry experts, and survey your mailing list. A clearly defined audience sharpens your planning and marketing, lifts attendee satisfaction, and improves your event's ROI.
When it comes to events, knowing who your audience is can make or break your success. Whether it's a recurring event or a brand-new launch, your marketing works hardest when it's aimed at the specific group that will benefit most from attending - and with many products and a global reach, that group can be hard for international companies to pin down.
Despite the availability of digital technologies, live events still offer great opportunities for lead conversion, brand positioning, and raising public awareness. The six steps below help you identify your ideal audience so your event has a positive impact on both your brand reputation and your ROI.
Your event goal points directly at your audience: decide first whether you're building a community, raising brand awareness, or driving sales, and the right audience follows. If you're looking to engage with your existing customers
If your goal is to close deals, target your in-pipe or late-stage prospects and high-value accounts. Get input from your leadership and sales teams - they often know exactly who would benefit most from attending - and consider reaching out to external event partners who can share information on their expected attendees. Collaborating with your stakeholders like this can improve registration numbers and help you connect with your target audience far more effectively.
An attendee persona is a made-up profile of your ideal attendee - including details like age, background, and lifestyle - that helps you figure out who you're trying to attract to your in-person event, hybrid event, or virtual event. Think, too, about whether you're aiming for a local or international audience, depending on logistical and resource factors.
Once you have your persona, it becomes much easier to visualize your target audience and use it as a guide for marketing and lead generation. Just don't get too hung up on someone's professional background when accepting attendees - the persona should be a helpful tool, not a rulebook.
If you've hosted a similar event before, you're already a few steps ahead. Look at your past attendees to understand your target demographic, and use any feedback from previous events to judge whether you attracted the right crowd - even a top-notch event suffers if the wrong people are in the room. Your ticketing platform holds rich data on previous attendees, so make use of it.
No previous event or attendee data? You can still learn a lot from similar events and the people who attend them. Channel your inner detective: study their website, writing style, social media strategy, content format, and engagement. Jot everything down and scrutinize it to gain insights into the target audience you should promote your event to.
If you know someone who has planned similar events, consider asking for their advice over coffee. Find out about their target audience, where to find them, and which marketing strategies they've found effective. Just be mindful not to approach someone currently planning a similar event - friendly competition is great, but let's keep it friendly.
If you've got a mailing list of subscribers, don't let it go to waste. A pre-event survey helps you get to know your audience better and understand why they're interested in your event. Questions you could ask include:
What topics would you like to be covered at the event?
Who do you want to see perform or speak at the event?
Are you planning on attending in-person or virtually?
Where do you usually go to find out about upcoming events?
What kind of food or drinks are you into?
Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself that would be helpful for us to know?
Inform your existing B2C and B2B networks first, as a professional courtesy. Whether you're a big global player or a local business, your network deserves to know about your upcoming event before anyone else. When you reach out, invite them to the event and explain its purpose, logistics, and how it can benefit their company or career - and if your event is international, get your invitation professionally localized.
Live events are great opportunities to connect with your network and explore new projects and investments, so treat every invitation as the start of that conversation.
Knowing your event's target audience pays off in four main ways:
Understanding your target audience allows you to plan an event customized to their specific preferences and requirements - a more engaging, unforgettable experience that resonates with your attendees.
Once you've identified your target audience, you can develop marketing messages that appeal to them directly, helping you attract more attendees and foster greater engagement.
An event tailored to its audience earns positive feedback and word-of-mouth marketing that attracts more attendees to future events - leading to higher revenue and a better return on investment.
When attendees feel an event is designed specifically for them, they're more likely to be satisfied with their experience, which lifts attendee retention rates and your event's reputation.
Choosing your audience carefully benefits both you and your attendees, so set strict filtering rules for your in-person event - particularly for international events - and double-check the attendance list before the event date. Event technology takes the tedium out of this: Canapii provides a centralized event management platform for registration, ticketing, scheduling, and analytics, and has powered 2,000+ events for 300,000+ attendees across 45+ countries. It saves you time and keeps all the information you need for a memorable, successful event in one place.
The specific group of people most likely to benefit from attending your event - defined by factors like goals, demographics, background, and interests - and the group your marketing should be tailored to.
Identify your event goal, build an attendee persona, review past attendees, analyse competitors' events, ask other industry experts, and survey your mailing list.
A made-up profile of your ideal attendee - covering details like age, background, and lifestyle - used as a guide for marketing and lead generation, not as a strict rulebook.
It improves event planning, sharpens your marketing, increases ROI, and lifts attendee satisfaction, because every decision is made with the right people in mind.
Canapii brings registration, ticketing, scheduling, and analytics into one platform, so you can focus on the audience you've worked hard to define. Get in touch to host your next event with Canapii.