Better Connections, Better Marketing ... Pop Up Jawns
Create a unique event to better connect with your audience and drum up business buzz
Years ago, I worked at a startup that specialized in pop-up events. In more recent years, I’ve been keeping an eye on the fascinating and tried-and-true ways that pop ups and special events in the Akron-area have been marketing their unique events.
So this week, I’m providing some tips and tricks for marketing your pop up and special events. Because you’re now thinking of doing one … right? 😉
This advice will apply to those who only do pop ups and also those who are considering a one-time special event to promote a product launch or collaboration. Like always, I feel anyone will be able to take away something to use in their marketing.
(And, no, I’m not from Philly.)
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Branding 101
Before we dive in to marketing your pop up, what does your baseline marketing and branding look like? Be sure to ask yourself the following questions:
Are your logo and brand colors in good shape?
Do you have a solid answer as to what sets you apart from the competition?
What traditional marketing tactics are you already using? (print ads, flyers, direct mail, referrals, etc.)
What digital marketing tactics are you already using? (website, SEO, social media, email, PPC ads, etc.)
Who is your target audience? And does that align with who is actually buying your products and/or services?
Having a solid foundation in marketing and branding will ensure your pop up is successful and continues to gain steam if it becomes a recurring event.
Types of Events & Pop-Ups
The next major step is to decide the type of event you want to host. Whichever one you decide upon, make sure you create added value — potentially through limited edition products, cool experiences, and so on — to entice customers to attend.
Here are some examples. (Just remember that creativity rules … so take this list, throw it out the window, and develop your own incredible type of pop up.)
Freestanding and semi-permanent pop-up shops: Long- and short-term leases for a retail space in which you’ll sell your products for a selected time framed
Location: Within another space or business; mobile pop-ups; temporary structures or kiosks; etc.
Good for: Those who are more certain they want to have a brick-and-mortar store in the near future
Temporary pop-up shop: An even shorter-term lease for a retail space or special event
Location: Within another space or business; mobile pop-ups; temporary structures or kiosks; etc.
Good for: Those want to test the waters of and gain insights to running a physical shop; or those who want to better connect with their customers in person
One-time pop-up event: Hosted for a few hours or over a few days in one location, most likely to not become permanent or reoccurring
Location: Within another space or business; temporary structures or kiosks; outdoors or under party tents; as part of another event; etc.
Good for: Those looking to generate buzz and leverage exclusivity while better connecting with their customers in person
Immersive experience: Invites people to play and use all of their senses in a unique way with your brand and products
Location: The sky’s the limit—pick a location or partnership that will elevate the overall experience
Good for: Those who want their customers to experience new ways to use their products, get a behind-the-scenes look as to how products are made, or even heighten their products with experiential elements.
Marketing for Pop Ups and Special Events
Overall marketing advice
You now how I said you should have a good foundation of marketing and branding to begin with? Well…
Make sure things like your social media bios are updated, contact forms and links on your website are working, and other general marketing tactics are run through before you start publicizing your event.
You don’t want to announce something new and noteworthy and then confuse the public with minor details about your usual business that should have been caught first.
And, while marketing your pop up, be sure to stick to your brand’s voice, tone, language, colors, logos, etc. Having cohesive messaging and branding will help on a subconscious level and create more trust with your audience and potential event attendees.
Spread the word
Use your main marketing channels to encourage folks to come to your pop-up event. Consider your website, social media accounts, email lists and such on the digital marketing side.
Also consider working with bloggers and influencers (of any size who have a strong relationship with their followers) to help create buzz. And be sure to add your event to digital calendars and online bulletin boards for your community.
How about a giveaway? Activate your online audiences to share your content as part of entering a giveaway for event tickets (if ticketed), exclusive merch, a popular product, etc. This will help your messaging reach an even bigger audience.
As for traditional marketing, you may want to consider mailing or handing out flyers, writing a press release and submitting it to news organizations, asking to be interviewed by regional radio stations or tv news programs, and so on.
Local news outlets are often looking for fun and innovative events to highlight in the area, so many would be more than happy to help you spread the word.
Overall, you want to create FOMO — a fear of missing out. Be sure to hype up your event and why people should attend, no matter the marketing channel.
Feature other vendors and related info
When developing content (whether digital or print, written or imagery), consider ways you could include other facets of your pop up that go beyond the who what where when.
Feature vendors, entertainment, and food that might be available. If you have unique activities, photo ops and other activations, highlight those too! (Pro tip: During the event, be sure to have clear signage that encourages folks to not only participate in the activations but also to post about them on social media.)
Create built-in ways for your audience to help spread the word, especially if it’s a multi-day event. (This can also help with post-event marketing… more on that in a bit.)
If it’s a community-based event, you may even want to highlight things to do before and after your event. That way folks from out of town will be more encouraged to attend, and local folks can make a day of it if they choose.
Much of marketing is simply storytelling. So find the interesting stories related to your pop up that you can share in order to create buzz.
You could even highlight the location your pop up will be in. Are you activating a typically unused space? Partnering with another business? Building an interesting structure to house the event? This can also be part of the storytelling!
Feature specific details
In addition to the fun stuff like giveaways, storytelling and being on the radio, make sure you add clear details about specifics.
Consider information regarding:
Tickets and when and where to buy them (if it’s a ticketed event)
Where to park and/or encouraging public transportation
Whether the event happens rain or shine
A schedule, if varying activities are happening during the pop up
Where to enter the event (especially if it’s not obvious)
And I know in the last section I glossed over the who what where when. But. Make sure this information is clear and easy to find in any and all marketing and press related to your pop up.
For example, let’s say you do a giveaway on Instagram. In your Reel, you list the giveaway rules and prize and explain why you’re hosting a pop up. However, you omit the date, time and location.
You may think you can get away with it, because you don’t want to pull focus from your giveaway. However, this Reel will likely be seen by a much wider audience than you’re used to. If those folks can’t easily find details on your pop up after a couple of clicks, they’re going to abandon all thought of going.
(Ask me how I know. 🙈)
Don’t be afraid of stating the obvious over and over again. Sometimes people aren’t paying full attention, sometimes the algorithm does you dirty, and sometimes news orgs don’t include all the needed details. So when possible, be sure to include the obvious, because it won’t always be obvious to folks.
(Again, ask me how I know. 🤣)
Don’t forget about post-event marketing
With all the prep work needed to host an event, it’s easy to overlook the importance of post-event marketing—or to feel alright in skipping it when the time comes, when your feet hurt, and you have to clean up your event space, and then go back to the drawing board for another event or new product launch or—
Ok, breathe. If you build post-event marketing in to your pop up strategy, you’ll set yourself up for success.
Sometimes it’s helpful to work backwards, so let’s do that.
If this is your first-ever pop up and you’re considering making it an annual or recurring event, you probably relied on old imagery or stock photos for the original event. So plan the images and video you may want to use for next year—and capture it during the initial event.
Think about highlighting attendees or community partners after the event. Will you want photos and video of them? Do you want reviews or testimonials about your event, products or overall business? Will they be providing them on camera or will you write them down? Are there people or businesses you’ll want to thank afterwards?
Should you prepare captions, a press release or other media before the event so it’s ready (or nearly ready) to go after? Don’t assume you can do something like this last minute, because your brain may be fried by then.
Do you have an employee or volunteer to capture and share images or video while the event is happening?
Will you host a flash sale after the event for those who couldn’t attend? Or to simply capitalize on the added positive press? Did you hand out exclusive offers and coupon codes during the event? And will you have ample stock and packaging to mail out orders after the fact?
There are many ways to go about pop-event marketing. The biggest key is to strategize *while* you are planning your marketing strategy that leads up to the event. You don’t want to be caught scrambling.
Pop up and connect
Whether you sell products or services, and whether you run an e-commerce shop or already have a physical location, there are an incredible variety of ways to host a pop up or unique event. You can make it a highly exclusive, one-time experience, or make pop up shops the heart of your business.
These types of events are just one more way to better connect with your current audience and potential customers. And don’t we all want to do that?
Take care, birdies! 💙
Let’s Upgrade Your Digital Marketing Together
My digital marketing consulting schedule is now open. I also offer specialized services, digital marketing resources, career chats and mentoring sessions.
Whether you need advice on where to focus your marketing efforts or another set of eyes on your social media content, I’m here to help. My focus is on small and micro businesses, but I’m willing to connect with anyone wanting to better connect with their online audiences.
Check it out and share with a friend or fellow entrepreneur who may be interested.