Key Strategies to Generate Pre-Event Buzz for Pop-Ups

Pulling off an experiential marketing event like a brand activation or pop-up takes careful planning and execution — and for many brands, it represents a hefty chunk of their annual marketing efforts. One way to make sure that hard work (and budget) delivers the desired results is to generate substantial pre-event buzz. Whether it’s a pop-up shop, a product launch, or another experiential event, building excitement among members of your target audience is essential to ensuring attendance levels that justify the time, effort, and expense that went into it. Here are some ways to generate that buzz.

Produce an event your audience wants

Well ahead of your intended event date, start researching your target audience’s interests and motivations, then use this research to “create buyer personas to identify their preferences, interests, and pain points,” says an article on gradientexperience.com. By understanding how your audience thinks, you can better communicate with them in advance and create an experience they won’t want to miss. The information you gather will be useful for other marketing efforts, too, which makes it worth doing regardless of the timetable for the event.

Pro tip: If you have prior direct contact with your audience, such as a customer survey, ask them directly about what kinds of events they’d attend and what they’d expect from the experience. As you build pre-event buzz, make a point of promoting aspects of the event that align with their preferences.

Incorporate the goals you set for the event

What do you want to achieve with your event — raise brand awareness? Increase website traffic? Connect with your target audience? Every aspect of the event, even the pre-event buzz, should contribute toward your goals. Defining those goals will not only help you plan an event that engages your target audience but also shape how you promote it. For example, if you want to grow your email list, build opportunities to solicit email addresses into social media posts promoting the event.

Make showing up easy

According to a 2023 article by Marketing Insider Group, 96% of event participants look for information about the event online beforehand. Make finding that info easy by incorporating it into all your communication channels. Via every means at your disposal — social media channels, emails, weekly/monthly newsletters, your website — communicate about the event. Start two or three months in advance, and include as much key information as you can, such as date, time, location, and where to go or whom to contact with questions. Create a landing page on your website that’s solely about the event, and update it as new details are settled. Start this process early, but also expand and update this information as you close in on the event date.

Blog about the event

Write about the event and post it to your website. “Blogging about your event is a good SEO boost and it gives you something other than your event landing page to link to from social media,” says Marketing Insider Group. Incorporate information about the event into blog posts; position the event as an opportunity to not only experience your brand but also learn more or connect with members of your team.

In addition to blogging, write a press release (or have your communications/PR team do it for you) and distribute it to local media and industry publications.

Use social media strategically

Create a sense of mystery and intrigue with teasers on your social media platforms. Briefly hint at the activation, then reveal details gradually. Encourage followers to guess what’s coming and to follow you for the big reveal.

Create a unique hashtag for your event. But instead of making every single post from now until event day strictly about the event itself, make frequent, brief mentions of it, include the hashtag in every post, and create a daily countdown to the event to build suspense and fear of missing out (FOMO).

Take advantage of behind-the-scenes content opportunities

Social media is the perfect place to both preview the event and post behind-the-scenes content about it, and there’s no better time to create BTS content than while you and your team are planning the event. BTS content invites followers into your brand’s world and builds excitement about seeing how it all comes together. Preview the event with not only details on this event, but also photos and other digital ‘souvenirs’ from past events. Use BTS and preview content to tell the story of the event, personalizing it and making followers feel like insiders.

Don’t forget to interact! Interacting with your social media followers by answering their questions and thanking them for their interest is always a good idea, but it’s especially helpful when promoting an event. Consider holding a live webinar or Q&A session about the event, says Marketing Insider Group. If you’re offering valuable info (or more BTS and preview content), you’ll build connections with potential attendees.

Connect with influencers

Collaborations with influencers and content creators can expand the reach and impact of your message. Select influencers who connect with your target audience and align with your brand’s core values, and let them loose (figuratively speaking) to promote your event to their followers. Invite influencers to a VIP preview event before the official opening. This gives them a chance to experience the activation or pop-up shop firsthand and create content that gets people excited.

By implementing these strategies, you can create a buzz around your pop-up shop and ensure a successful and well-attended event.

Promobile Marketing is a dynamic experiential marketing agency based in New York City. For over a decade, Promobile Marketing has collaborated with a range of brands—from budding startups to major CPG brands—on immersive marketing campaigns. Get in touch to discuss your next project.