8 Proven Strategies To Promote Your Conference & Boost Delegate Attendance

Securing attendee registrations is often one of the most challenging aspects of event planning. To create an unforgettable and impactful conference, it’s crucial to implement strategic marketing and promotion techniques. By leveraging the right tactics, you can not only boost registrations but also set the stage for an exceptional event. Here are 8 proven conference marketing strategies designed to maximise attendance and deliver outstanding results.

Richard Brethour-Bell

1. Leverage your speakers and sponsors

Your speakers and sponsors are valuable allies in boosting conference attendance. Make it simple for them to promote their involvement by providing marketing kits filled with ready-to-use materials such as digital and social media content, email templates, images and postcards.

These resources allow them to easily share event details with their networks, expanding your reach and creating extra excitement around your conference.

2. Boost attendance with incentives and promotions

Create urgency through tactics that drive early registrations. Offer early bird discounts, limit ticket sales to short windows, or run flash sales to encourage swift action.

Leverage social media to host engaging competitions, such as a photo-captioning contest (ask us about our clip-on Koala contest!) or a giveaway where participants like, follow, share, and tag a friend.

Entice potential attendees with exciting prizes like VIP access or free tickets to your conference. Social media contests like these often spark high engagement, as they align with familiar promotions users see in their feeds. If you want people to spread the word about your event, give them a compelling reason to do so.

3. Harness the power of influencers

The ideal influencer for your event is someone already connected to it, such as a keynote speaker. Partnering with them as a promotional influencer benefits everyone, as higher attendance means greater exposure for their work.

If a keynote speaker isn’t an option or you’d like to expand your reach, consider collaborating with prominent figures within your industry, such as thought leaders and industry experts. Establishing a partnership with them can significantly boost your event’s visibility through endorsement to their network.

When reaching out, ask if they’d be open to promoting your event on their website or social media. Keep in mind that some people may request a financial incentive, as this is a revenue stream for many influencers. Having a budget in place for influencer partnerships can be an effective marketing strategy.

4. Drive engagement with an email marketing campaign

A well-planned email marketing campaign can attract new registrations and convert interested prospects into attendees - all with minimal investment.

Instead of sending mass emails, segment your list for more targeted messaging. Here are three key groups to focus on:

Previous Attendees: Engage this group with a soft sell, using videos and images from last year’s event to remind them of what they loved.
Past Registrants Who Didn’t Attend: Reconnect with those who signed up but couldn’t make it, highlighting what they missed through compelling content.
Interested Individuals Who Haven’t Registered: Persuade this audience by showcasing past highlights alongside exciting new content.

For a comprehensive content guide to help plan emails for your Sydney conference, visit our Event Organiser Toolkit here.

5. Maximise reach with a social media campaign

Social media is one of the most effective tools for marketing your conference, helping you connect with your target audience and boost engagement.

Start by creating a unique, memorable event hashtag. It should be easy to read, specific enough to tie back to your conference, and general enough to be easily remembered - incorporating the conference title and year is a great approach.

Once you’ve established your hashtag, use it consistently across all conference-related posts and encourage your planning team, speakers, and influencers to do the same. This strategy makes it easier for your audience to find, follow, and share event content across platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

For access to our social media playbook and content guide for your Sydney conference, visit our Event Organiser Toolkit here.

6. Build excitement and credibility with testimonials

Attendee testimonials are a powerful way to boost delegate attendance by showcasing the real impact of your conference.

Drive the impact of your online content by including quotes, video testimonials, or case studies from past attendees to highlight their experiences and key takeaways. Integrate these testimonials into your website, email campaigns, and social media content to create an authentic and persuasive message. Pair testimonials with high-quality images or video clips from previous events to enhance their credibility and engagement.

By consistently incorporating attendee stories into your marketing, you provide potential delegates with compelling evidence of your event’s value, making them more likely to register and attend.

7. Create an optimised website for a seamless registration experience

Your event website is often the first stop for potential attendees and speakers, making it essential that they can quickly find the information they need. A well-designed site should be user-friendly, visually appealing, and compatible across both desktop and mobile devices.

Ensure the registration process is simple and efficient, with a clearly visible sign-up page. Prominently display key details such as the conference schedule, keynote speakers, seminar topics, and sponsors. A well-structured, easy-to-navigate site enhances the user experience and encourages more registrations.

Using an event website builder can help you set up a professional, high-performing site quickly and effectively.

To maximise your website’s visibility on Google, apply search engine optimisation (SEO) principles. This involves structuring your site and incorporating relevant keywords that potential attendees and speakers are actively searching for. A strong SEO strategy will help your site rank higher in search results, making it easier for your target audience to find your event.

There are many tools available for keyword research—try searching for “free keyword research tools” or “SEO tools” to find the best fit for your needs.

For access to images and written content to help build your Sydney conference website, visit our Event Organiser Toolkit here.

8. Convert interested visitors into attendees through remarketing

A remarketing campaign is a powerful way to reconnect with people who have already shown interest in your event. Using Google Ads or Facebook Ads Manager, you can target individuals who visited your website but didn’t complete their registration, reminding them of the event and encouraging them to take the next step.

Setting up a remarketing campaign may sound technical, but there are many ways to make the process easier. If you have a web developer or marketing team, they can manage the process for you. Alternatively, if you're handling it yourself, platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads Manager provide step-by-step guides to help you get started. Many digital marketing agencies also offer affordable services to set up and run remarketing campaigns on your behalf.

By keeping your event visible to interested visitors, remarketing can significantly increase your registration numbers and overall attendance.

Take your event to the next level

Implementing the right marketing strategies can make a significant difference in boosting attendance and engagement at your event. From leveraging speakers and influencers to optimising your website, social media, and email campaigns, every tactic plays a role in maximising your reach.

To streamline your planning and access expert resources, visit our Event Organiser Toolkit. Inside, you’ll find comprehensive planning tools and resources with practical information to maximise delegate attendance.