Running events are a great way to get people involved in a healthy activity and included in a community event. The excitement and build up to an event can motivate participants to start running in preparation, or it can be an opportunity for experienced runners to compete against one another. No matter what your event is about, you’re going to need runners to show up! Here are some tips that will help you promote your running event and attract more participants.
Use digital and traditional marketing channels.
- Social media: Use your social media channels to promote the event, such as Facebook and Twitter, create unique hashtags to help identify your event.
- Email marketing: Email your database with information about the event, including registration links and other details. This can be done through an email newsletter or a simple email blast to everyone on your list.
- Traditional advertising: Run ads in local newspapers and magazines, on radio stations or television channels that reach your target market (runners or people wanting to start running).
If you are able to create a Facebook event page for your event then this is a great way to keep people up to date on all the latest developments, whether it be changes in venue, registration info and prices or other relevant details. You can also use this space to promote any relevant blog posts that were published as part of your pre-event marketing strategy.
Use a visual race brand identity.
Custom Race Medal with The Chicago Area Runners Association Logo as Focus
- Use a consistent color scheme throughout your marketing materials and event swag. For example, if you use blue and green as the primary colors in your logo and posters, then those same colors should be used throughout all other designs that carry the same branding elements (e.g., website, medals, apparel).
- Use a consistent logo. A logo is an important part of any company’s brand identity because it acts as an identifier for customers to identify with. Make sure that when someone sees your logo, they immediately know who it represents and why they should care about it. Use that logo as part of your medal design where and when possible.
Publish compelling content.
Publishing compelling running event content is a great way to get people excited about your race. You can use a variety of content types, including:
- Images and videos – be sure these include your medal and shirt designs; runners love to see the swag in advance.
- Infographics – if you have a way to show how popular your race has been in the past, or to showcase a specific element of your event in a graph, do it and share!
- Blog posts and articles (including interviews) – runners love to hear from other runners and especially about race experiences, special finishes, and personal bests.
Use social media to share these pieces of content so that they reach more people than just those who follow you on Facebook or Twitter. And don’t forget an email newsletter!
Putting captivating content out about your race, on Facebook and other platforms like Twitter or Instagram (ideally all three!) makes it easier for runners to find you. You can also use blogs, email newsletters and other forms of communication with subscribers who have opted-in before sending out any new messages, so they know what’s coming up next!
Remember: if you don’t tell them about something cool happening soon enough then chances are someone else will beat you at getting them excited about attending a different race/event, etc.…. This might mean publishing a post or article once per month leading up until registration opens so that potential registrants are already familiar with your event.
Make it easy to sign up.
- Make it easy for your want-to-be participants, this might be the most important tip of all!
- Include a link to the registration page on your website, as well as social media pages.
- Send an email with a registration link to all of your subscribers or use pop-up windows on your website to capture email addresses and phone numbers from interested runners.
Hopefully, this post has given you some ideas for how to promote your running event. If you’re looking for more tips and information on marketing, check out our other blog posts on the subject! Our main goal is to help you make your event the best it can be! Questions about how we can help? Contact us today!