The ROI of Public Relations for Your Event

Any event planner understands all too well that planning a trade show or conference requires some investment. But did you know publicizing your event actually has a tangible impact on increasing your return on investment? Strategic public relations efforts boost your event’s awareness and credibility which can lead to greater event attendance and considerable revenue. Events benefit from public relations by expanding brand exposure to attract new leads, gaining more event attendees to garner revenue, and heightening your brand credibility to bring in investors. Continue reading to learn how public relations can result in a positive ROI for your upcoming events.

How Does Public Relations Garner a Positive ROI?

Public relations can augment your event’s marketing strategies by magnifying the depth of reach. Measuring the ROI of publicizing an event may differ depending on your key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of attendees, exhibitor satisfaction, amount of media coverage, and positive buzz generated. Below are a few examples of potential KPIs and how to measure ROI for each of them.

Amplify Event Awareness

If your KPI is to amplify awareness of your event, the most effective way to measure ROI is by viewing the traffic analytics to quantify how much awareness is being generated. Let’s say a publicist gets you on a podcast and featured in a digital magazine. The ROI of the podcast would be measured by how many people tuned in and listened to your episode. Likewise, consider how many people visited the digital magazine article featuring your event. How many people shared the article on social media or emailed it to a friend? These numbers will better help you understand how your public relations investment is paying off.

Increase Event Participation

This is probably one of the most important metrics to measure when determining the ROI of public relations for your event. At the end of the day, an event is pointless without the exhibitors and attendees. Which is why you should utilize public relations to achieve your goal of maximizing the exposure about the event to attract exhibitors and attendees. The best way to measure ROI in this instance is to figure out how many participants heard about your event through your PR efforts and media placements.

This can be done by including a trackable hyperlink in a news release or article for people to register or include a “How did you hear about us?” required input segment on the event application form. A drop down menu can allow attendees to choose between options like, social media, news, advertisements, etc. If you want to get even more granular, you can include options for each of your different media hits in the industry trades or business publications where news about the event appeared. From here, you can see just how many event attendees your public relations strategy brought in. Furthermore, you can even take that number of attendees and multiply it by the cost of a ticket to determine the total revenue gained from each media hit.

Incorporate Earned Media Coverage into Marketing Materials

Public relations and marketing are essentially two sides of the same coin. And when they work together, magic happens. As you develop marketing materials for your upcoming event like signage and digital advertisements, consider adding an excerpt from one of your media hits or an impactful quote from a high-profile publication regarding your event. For example, let’s say you develop a digital marketing campaign that includes an excerpt from Forbes calling your event, “The #1 Must-Attend Trade Show for 2021.” Boom! You just earned instant credibility and trust. Keep in mind, the ROI might be slightly tricky to quantify in this case. However, there’s a competitive advantage that comes with third party validation that you simply can’t put a price on.

In an effort to quantifiably measure this KPI, you can track the number of leads generated from these marketing materials. Compare the number of leads originating from this particular advertising campaign versus the number of leads brought in from a campaign that doesn’t include the Forbes recognition. The difference in numbers will prove how effective your public relations efforts are. Odds are the ad featuring Forbes — the third party validation — will perform better and attract more leads.

Earn Media Coverage After the Event

Just because the event is over, doesn’t mean people are done talking about it! Gaining media coverage after the event keeps the industry talking about your trade show or conference. By keeping your event in the spotlight, your brand awareness will continue to skyrocket. Believe it or not, 70% of marketers say the most common metric to judge event ROI is the amount of media exposure generated.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, public relations is one of the best ways to improve your credibility, drive event awareness, and help strengthen and secure a positive ROI on your next event. By helping you attract new leads, event exhibitors, attendees and sponsors, the right public relations strategy and execution will deliver a positive impact not only on your next event, but on your business as a whole. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get exhibitors registered and the media talking so that your next event is your best one yet.

Ready to begin? Contact our expert publicists to get started on boosting your event’s exposure, improving your brand’s credibility, and achieving a positive ROI.