Most of the offline events have been using the traditional media for promotion such as prints, outdoor media, tele-marketing, etc. With so many of us spending more time in front of our computers – reading, networking, discussing, researching online, it will be more logical to spend your promotion budget on the digital space.

Here are several ways to maximize the exposure of this event using online tools.

1. Blog
Blog about the event and its related topics beforehand, this will alert your targeted audiences, get them interested to learn more and register for the event. Live blogging during the event will create a buzz for those who are unable to attend and get them interested to attend the next event (snippets of the topics). Blog after the event to provide a summary of the event and information of the upcoming events.

2. Facebook Page
Create a Facebook Page of the event where you can put up information such as venue, speakers, programmes, etc. You can post photos and videos taken at the event and tag someone to them; this will appear on the wall of this someone and can be viewed by all his connections. Interact with the profiles that like and comment on your Page.

3. Twitter
Sending out tweets to your followers is a great way to keep everyone updated on what’s happening. The micro-blogging tool is great at connecting people online and offline to your event where you can tweet sound bites of the event. You can also make use of hashtags for easier tracking and for the participants to submit questions or comment on a particular topic.

4. LinkedIn Group
Build a LinkedIn group with members who are interested in the topics that will be covered in your event. This will allow them to participate in discussion prior to your event. It will also provide you with insights on the topics which most will be interested in and that you can cover for your event. The ‘Top Influencers’ feature also allow you to identify who they are to help you with promoting your event.

5. YouTube
Using video abstracts of your previous event will give potential participants a teaser of how your event will be like. Of course, the videos should be embedded into all the social channels where the targeted audiences are.

6. Direct Mailers
Sending electronic direct mails to your database with information about your event such as Date/Time, Venue, Speakers, Videos, Social media channels, etc.

7. Website
Your event website should allow easy sharing of information where one can post it on their social media profiles. Facebook Open Graph, TweetMeme, ShareThis, AddThis are some of the tools which you should include in your website.

Lastly, you should start your online promotion as early as possible prior to your event in order to get the most out of it.