7 Ways to Assess Your Calendar Promotion 

Whether you’re introducing the calendar for the first time, re-launching with a new brand, or simply want to increase the impact of your events, this is the checklist you’ll need to make sure your promotion bases are covered.

Permanent Promotion

1. One click access from your website’s homepage

How quickly can the average user find the events calendar?  The simplest way to make sure events are seen is to ensure your audience can intuitively navigate to your platform. 

• Best Practice: Have an entire section of your homepage dedicated to events—a Localist Widget would be perfect for this (see below for more details)!
• Recommended: Have a top level navigation link.
• Satisfactory: Have a secondary link in a menu.
• Not Recommended: Needing 2+ clicks to find events.

2. Once click access from landing pages 

How quickly can the average user find specific subsets of events?  When using Widgets throughout your website, users can discover events passively in their own time and on their own path if they are not actively looking. Here’s some ideas:

• Do you have a landing page that highlights news? → Include an upcoming events Widget alongside this content. 
• Do you have landing pages that align with your Event Types? → Include a Widget spotlighting exhibitions.
• Do you have landing pages that align with your Target Audiences? → Include a Widget for alumni.
• Do you have landing pages that align with your Topics? → Include a Widget promoting sustainability.
• Do you have Group, Department, or Place pages? → Include a Widget including all of their upcoming events.
• Do you use Tags to group like-events together? → Include a Widget for an upcoming festival. 

Ongoing Promotion

While it’s important to promote the calendar at launch, it’s also just as important to continue these efforts as your community is constantly changing and growing.

1. Newsletters

How often are you including event content in your newsletters?  Like placing Widgets on landing pages alongside other content, newsletters are an excellent medium for promoting your events with other notable content. Depending on the newsletter, promoting events could look like:

• A section with events listed, 
• A call out to a related event, 
• Or a general call-to-action for the events calendar 

 Are you providing an events newsletter?  If you aren’t already providing a newsletter that highlights events then we’ve got you covered with our newsletter tool, Bulletin. Check out our Bulletin LocaList to learn more about this feature here! Users can also get a personalized list of events in their inboxes weekly with Digest! We highly recommend proactively educating and encouraging your community to use this tool.

2. News articles/blogs

How often are you including event content in your articles/blogs?  In a similar vein, look for opportunities to highlight or drive traffic to your events or platform when publishing news articles and blogs. 

• If your article is about a recent event then be sure to include a call-to-action to find more upcoming events.
• If your article is of a particular theme, such as wellness, highlight upcoming events that align with the initiative like group fitness events.

3. Social media

How often are events highlighted on social media? Posting consistently about events on social media doesn’t mean you’ll sound like a broken record. Beyond periodically plugging the events calendar in its entirety, you can highlight the diversity of your events and connect with your audience by posting about: 

• Important one-off events, like a conference or festival,
• A unique series, like a lecture or exhibition 
• Topical efforts, like sustainability or outdoor recreation,
• Or thematic events, like Halloween or 4th of July

Bonus! You can also utilize our convenient Event Promotion tool to post events on social media directly from the Localist Admin Add Event form.

4. Digital signage 

Are you using digital signage as a promotional tool? If you’re already utilizing digital signage—TVs, digital billboards, video walls etc.— then you should consider adding events here too! Using the same strategies as above, look for ways to promote the entire calendar, an individual event, or a special series. 

5. Include events in printed collateral

Are you providing printed collateral to your community? Last, but not least, don’t forget about any printed materials your organization may circulate. Think of flyers, brochures, playbills, campus newspapers, table-top ads etc. and apply the same promotional efforts listed above for your events.