Three Marketing Tips: Building Buzz and Audience for Your Event

Jun 19

Photos: Chris Schmitt Photography

In this post, I’m taking a slightly different approach with an event profile and the marketing tips I culled from it. I found the strategy Ryan Zynger of Zynger Events used for building buzz and audience offers insight into how we can all grow our circles in today’s noisy, digital world.

Recently, Ryan Zynger of Zynger Events hosted a showcase designed to tell a story about his brand, his team, and the kind of experiences they create.

He started building his event with a trending theme. The vibe was “White Lotus,” and like the show, an eclectic group of influencers, professionals and creatives RSVP’d to this urban “retreat.”

“Our goal was to reach outside of our regular circles,” Zynger said. “We didn’t invite event planners, vendors, or the people we typically see at networking events.” Instead, the focus was on connecting with fresh faces and new potential clients.

Reaching a new audience isn’t easy, especially in a city like Los Angeles. But Zynger and his team pulled it off with a creative strategy. Here are three actions they took for building buzz and audience that can work for almost anyone or any promotion.

1️⃣ RESEARCH

Zynger Events has a niche in nonprofit events. To reach comanies that would be interested in those type of events, Zynger used AI to identify decision-makers by asking it for contacts at specific companies. He then cross-checked results online to find mailing addresses and built a list for a trusted printer. His team followed up to find emails, often uncovering standard formats like firstname.lastname@company.com. “It wasn’t as difficult as you might think,” he noted. For social media influencers, they found emails and phone numbers in their bios and connected with them across platforms.

2️⃣ PRINT + DIGITAL STRATEGY

Since many leads came via physical addresses, print was key. Zynger’s team mailed invitations, then followed up with email—doubling the touchpoints to improve visibility, especially with cold contacts.

3️⃣ VIDEO FOR INFLUENCERS

To engage influencers, the team created a short video. “We found influencers were more likely to respond to DMs with a video,” Zynger said. They also texted it to guests and partners to help amplify the reach.

Multiple follow-ups before the event with emails, DMs, and texts kept the event in the minds, and calendars of the invitees.

THE RESULT
Out of 230 invites, 150 attended. A strong showing in a busy weekend of political events and a city brimming with competition.

Liese Gardner