Hosting international event planners opens up a new revenue stream, especially since venues can charge premium prices for international packages and services. It also opens up an entirely new world of potential prospects and customers. You may be thinking promoting your venue to international corporate, social, and wedding planners is simply too difficult and out of your marketing budget - but it’s easier than you think to attract and drive international event revenue. You can take advantage of many of your current marketing initiatives and expand on the language and unique services that international planners are searching for.
It’s easier than you think to attract and drive international event revenue; here's how:
Social Media
Being active on Facebook and Instagram is the easiest way to reach a global audience. There are more than 3 billion spending over 2 hours each day scrolling through their social feeds. The people are out there, however, it does take some planning and strategy to grow your audience and followers. Through the use of tagging and relevant hashtags, you will attract the people who are looking for the services you offer. When posting about events being held in your spaces, make it clear in the post descriptions and with the use of hashtags that the event or party guests have traveled internationally to host a party or event with you. Take a deep dive into How to Pick the Right Hashtags for Marketing Your Venue.
Venue Website Events Page
We know that venue listings sites, social media, Google listings, and other digital marketing tools are great ways to get your venue found by international event planners — and you do need to have a presence on them — but when it comes down to decision-making time, planners may look to your website to get the full picture of what you offer and see real-life photos and stories of guests who have traveled far to attend events held at your venue.
Be very clear on your website that you do in fact accommodate international event bookings. Incorporate it on your private events page or dedicate an entire page just for international event planning at your venue. If you leave this information off your website, most planners will assume that you don’t accept event requests from out-of-country event planners, and they move on to find a venue that does.
3 Australian Venues That Have Awesome Events Pages on Their Websites
Join A Venue Directory
Online venue directories are the ultimate way to connect professional and social event planners with the right venues. EventUp powered by Tripleseat is the leading global venue directory - this site allows prospects to search for venues using filters for any event or occasion by city, budget, guest count, amenities, and much more.
Even the best community outreach or well-planned email and social media marketing strategies can’t compete with an established online directory. Adding your venue to an online venue directory is a great “work smarter, not harder” method. It will expose your venue to a whole new grouping of potential international customers. Millions of corporate, social, and wedding planners visit EventUp each year to locate and reserve a venue they can trust.
Preferred Event Vendors
When working with international event planners don’t forget that they will most likely lean heavily on the venue to offer recommendations for anything that the venue doesn’t provide itself. Highlight any preferred vendors or hotels, if you don’t have overnight rooms, that you particularly like to work with or can vouch for. Include them in your events packet and on your website. This only helps an event planner from out of town when they’re considering elements such as flowers, linens, photography, or any other services that your venue may not provide. Ask discovery questions such as price, the overall aesthetic they are looking for, and the event vibes they are trying to achieve, so you can recommend the vendors that fit their specific needs.
Event Concierge
Really expanding beyond just recommending your preferred vendors and offering full-circle event concierge services for those planners traveling internationally to visit you. More than planning and executing a wedding or corporate retreat, build-out packages that include reserving overnight rooms, car delivery, welcome kits, excursion booking, anything that the particular event guest list may need help figuring out in order for not only the event but their entire stay to run smoothly. Guests are willing to pay premium prices for a complete experience that is planned and booked for them by an expert. Your venue can either hire an event planner that specializes in international events or contract with an agency that can assist in those areas beyond the event execution.
Virtual Tours
Nothing brings your event space to life quite like a virtual tour. Virtual tours are the perfect marketing tool to ensure your venue stays booked month after month. They're especially useful for planners who have never seen your venue in person before or maybe booking a venue in another country. What is even better is that you don’t have to be a professional videographer or hire one for thousands of dollars to create your virtual tour to make a big impact. Here are the steps you should take to create a virtual tour of your venue and event space.
Sharing your venue tours across your website, social accounts, and venue directory listings - lets thousands of event planners into your space virtually. Use these videos as a way to show off and brag about your space and all the wonderful, and unique events you can accommodate. Event planners are highly visual folks who want to see your space before they book an event with you. Providing a video tour along with your photos makes them feel as if they have visited your space in person and are comfortable enough to start their event planning journey with you.
Private Events Packet
Your private events packet is one of the first things a potential client sees when considering whether or not to book your venue. It can be the first impression by telling others what you’re about, what you offer, and how you’re unique. A well-done private events packet shows off your aesthetic, and your menu options, and offers details to help someone visualize their get-together in your space when an in-person walkthrough is not logistically possible.
Make the experience as simple and easy as you can for potential clients. Sample menus with tiered levels, easy-to-read pricing, inclusions packet, floor plans, and more.
Having visually beautiful collateral to present to your clients, helps back up the five-star, high-touch experience that you want to be selling to international planners.
Lead Magnets
Grow your marketing email subscriber list by offering specific and targeted Lead Magnets for the International audience. A lead magnet is an act of offering something for free in return for someone providing you with their contact information in the form of a personal email address. Typically, lead magnets are free pieces of downloadable content. In the hospitality industry, you can have some fun with the free offer.
Using lead magnets is the most effective way to get email sign-ups, and grow your email subscription list to use for future email marketing campaigns. Lead magnets are essential for growing your email list.
Google - My Business Profile
Google is by far the most popular search engine today, totaling nearly 87% of all searches on the Internet. And for any search that might contain local businesses in the results, a website will actually rank with its Google My Business (GMB) profile. This is why it is extremely important to make sure your restaurant has a GMB profile that is active and up to date with all of the correct information. Items that are included in your GMB profile are your website, address, hours, phone number, reviews, and other information that’s relevant to customers.
Join EventUp today to start marketing your venue to both local and international event planners so you can grow your events business and revenue.
