Guest Post by Sarah Sebastian, OneCause
Your team has spent months preparing for your nonprofit’s virtual event – investing in reliable fundraising software, planning engaging activities, and perfecting the tech setup. Now it’s time to make all that hard work pay off by marketing it!
A strong marketing strategy builds anticipation, inspires participation, and expands your reach to new audiences who care about your cause. By creating excitement before the event, your organization can boost attendance and maximize fundraising success.
But first, you need to develop high-quality, emotionally compelling content for multiple channels. When you amplify your message across several communication channels (whether on your own or with the help of peer-to-peer fundraisers), you not only attract more attendees but also increase awareness for your event and mission.
Let’s explore five types of event marketing materials you can create to drive impact.
1. Event Landing Page
Once your event is announced, supporters will want to know what to expect, what makes it meaningful, how they can get involved, and why it’s an event they won’t want to miss. To keep supporters interested and engaged, your organization should develop a robust event landing page that acts as a one-stop shop for everything your supporters need to know about the event.
A strong landing page is easy to create with the right fundraising platforms, allowing you to clearly showcase the event’s value, schedule, and other features, while providing a seamless registration experience that inspires immediate action.
No matter how you design it, make sure your event landing page includes information about the event’s:
- Purpose: Explain how the event will support your mission and further your fundraising goals. Make it clear how participants can make an impact before, during, and after the event.
- Date and time: Share the full schedule so supporters know exactly what to expect and when to tune in.
- Agenda: Give a sneak peek into what’s in store, from fundraising activities to special guests and entertainment.
- Incentives: Highlight the benefits supporters will enjoy by attending, such as free raffle entries, exclusive giveaways, or prizes for top donors.
- Registration details: Make sure your sign-up process is effortless. Keep forms short, mobile-friendly, and easy to find.
Once your event landing page is live, begin to promote it on your website, social media channels, email newsletters, and through ambassador connections. Pair your promotions with powerful visuals, such as photos from previous events or graphics that showcase how the money raised will make an impact, to inspire supporters to visit the page and get involved.
2. Videos
Videos are one of the most powerful ways to bring your mission to life. They help your nonprofit tell a story, highlight the impact of your work, and encourage supporters to take part in furthering your mission. This makes video an ideal medium for promoting your upcoming event!
A strong event promotion video should have the following elements:
- Full story journey: Introduce supporters to the problem at hand, the steps your organization is taking to solve it, and how this event fits into your mission.
- Protagonists: Feature your beneficiaries as the stars of your videos. Clearly show how donations will be used and the impact they create. Consider using testimonials or footage of your nonprofit actively taking strides to improve the lives of these individuals.
- Past event highlights: If you’ve hosted this virtual event before, feature short clips from previous years to showcase the energy, excitement, and community impact.
- Call to action (CTA): Include a strong CTA to register for your event. Embed a link to your event landing page to learn more and register. Or, encourage supporters to donate before the event and help your nonprofit get an early start on reaching its fundraising goal.
Maximize the impact of your videos by sharing them across all of your other channels as part of an omnichannel marketing strategy. You can also feature these videos during the virtual event itself to keep your guests engaged and inspire giving.
3. Social Media Content
Social media is one of the most effective ways to build excitement for your virtual event. Each post is an opportunity to connect with your audience – and because social media content is so easy to share, your supporters can help multiply your reach in seconds.
With the right strategy and a consistent posting schedule, you can create unique content that drives registrations and spreads awareness for your event and cause. Here are a few types of posts that can make your social media plan stand out:
- Event announcement graphics: Create eye-catching “Save the Date” visuals that highlight important details such as the event date, time, and registration link.
- Photo and video highlights: Share clips and photos from past events, show behind-the-scenes moments, or showcase the community and people your cause supports.
- Interactive stories: Engage your audience with quick polls, quizzes, or question prompts, like “Which auction item excites you the most?”
- Infographics: Share engaging visuals that highlight your cause using statistics and impact metrics. Clearly explain the difference supporters can make by getting involved.
- Tutorials: Use photos or videos to walk supporters through using your event software, making it simple for them to participate during the event.
- Joint posts with partners: Collaborate with sponsors, vendors, or guest speakers by featuring sponsor shout-outs, co-hosted giveaways, or short interviews on your page.
- Countdown and reminder posts: Build excitement as the event approaches with posts counting down until the event and last-minute reminders.
Social media marketing can reach far beyond your organization’s existing audience. Encourage your supporters to share content, tag friends, and use event-specific hashtags to expand your reach. You can even spark engagement with fun challenges, contests, or peer-to-peer fundraising spotlights that celebrate community involvement.
By leveraging these strategies, you’re not just promoting an event – you’re building an online community that rallies behind your cause and strengthens your mission.
4. Blog Posts
Blog posts are a great way to build momentum for your event and inspire more supporters to register. By regularly publishing content on your website, you can highlight the event’s purpose and share why your cause deserves your audience’s support.
Explore these content ideas for a dose of blog post inspiration:
- Highlight the impact of donations: Show how every dollar makes a difference and directly supports your mission.
- Introduce your beneficiaries: Share authentic stories of the people or communities your event supports.
- Celebrate past successes: Recap previous events, including milestones, fundraising achievements, or memorable moments.
- Showcase the cause in action: Feature testimonials from beneficiaries, volunteers, or team members to illustrate why your cause matters.
- Offer a behind-the-scenes look: Give readers a sneak peek into the event, including planned activities or special guests.
- Preview auction items or prizes: If your virtual event includes an auction, build excitement by highlighting high-value items they can bid on or win.
- Spotlight event partners or sponsors: Recognize the organizations that help make your event possible and highlight their contributions.
- Provide tips for attendees: Offer guidance on how to make the most of the event, such as registration tips or virtual participation advice.
As you generate content, maintain a consistent posting schedule, such as once a week, to keep supporters informed and engaged. You can create this content in advance and schedule it to be published, freeing up time to focus on last minute details as the event approaches.
5. Shareable Templates for Ambassadors and Sponsors
Your organization’s ambassadors and sponsors are your most influential advocates. Empowering them with the right tools makes it easy and exciting for them to share your message and help drive registrations.
Create ready-to-use templates for emails, social posts, or text messages that ambassadors and sponsors can quickly customize and share with their personal audiences. This not only saves them time but also ensures your messaging stays on-brand. When your ambassadors feel confident about what to say and how to say it, they’re more likely to help you boost attendance and fundraising revenue.
In these templates, make sure to include the following:
- Event details: Date, time, registration links, and a brief overview of the event’s purpose.
- Key messages: Short, compelling copy about why the cause matters and how participation makes an impact.
- Visuals: Branded graphics or photos that ambassadors and sponsors can use in their posts or emails.
- Call to action: Clear instructions for how to register, donate, or participate in the virtual event.
- Hashtags and handles: Any event-specific hashtags or social media handles to include.
Additionally, consider sharing guidelines for how to use your organization’s brand colors, logos, and tone of voice. Encourage personalization wherever possible to make supporters’ outreach more genuine and engaging.
Marketing Your Event Across Channels
A thoughtful marketing strategy is the key to maximizing attendance, boosting engagement, and driving record-breaking fundraising results. As your campaign unfolds, monitor key performance metrics using your nonprofit CRM, such as blog traffic, email open rates, and social engagement. These insights will help you refine your approach and optimize content for even greater results.
With a well-executed plan and data-driven adjustments along the way, your nonprofit can amplify its reach, inspire generosity, and create a meaningful event experience that truly energizes your community.