For far too long, women have been consistently overlooked for leadership roles. But if last year’s Fortune500 rankings are anything to go by, the tide is slowly turning.
The 2023 issue featured 53 women-led companies for the first time in the magazine’s history. While this is encouraging news, there’s still some way to go.
To create a future free from gender bias, we need to feature more women in leadership conferences while encouraging younger professionals to attend. If you’re planning to host a conference for executives, here are some proven strategies for reaching out to potential attendees and attracting the right panelists.
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Use Social Media to Promote Panelists
LinkedIn recently found that men are 33% more likely than women to be promoted to leadership roles. Those who’ve made it to your conference have already fought against the odds to get where they are and probably have an inspirational story to tell.
This isn’t just good material for panel discussions, it’s also inspirational content for social media. In the weeks leading up to your conference, create multiple high-quality posts introducing your panelists, share brief descriptions of their work, and include relevant quotes and designations to let attendees know what to expect.
Use a mix of hashtags and target niche groups to enhance visibility.
At the same time, it’s highly likely that the thought leaders on your panel command a significant social media following of their own. In this case, ask them if they would be comfortable sharing details of the conference on their social media accounts and websites if they have them.
You could also consider partnering with prominent social media influencers who share the same goals and would be willing to promote your event.
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Run Targeted Ads
Social media ads are not only a cost-effective way to enhance the visibility of an event, they’re exceptionally handy at targeting specific groups and demographics.
On Facebook and Instagram, for instance, ads can be targeted according to users’ interests, genders, relationship statuses, educational achievements, ages, and more. Similarly, TikTok allows you to create lookalike audiences to target, while X and Twitter appeal to more professional audiences.
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of advertising on each platform, and learning how to craft more compelling posters will help you reach out to more female professionals, aspiring leaders, and other relevant audiences with little investment.
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Partner With Women-Focused Organizations
Several women-centric mentorship programs, dedicated groups, and professional associations have been working for years to encourage and guide more women into taking leadership roles.
Collaborating with such organizations is another great way to expand your network while enhancing the credibility of your conference.
Moreover, these partnerships can also lead to sponsorship opportunities, which are, of course, crucial for future events.
The Harvard Business Review found that women attendees were twice more likely to get a promotion within a year and three times more likely to receive a 10% pay increase. These statistics make a strong case when you’re trying to secure sponsorships and striving to get more women-focused groups on board.
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Distribute Flyers
A solid marketing strategy always involves a good mix of online and offline activity. While it’s important to have a strong social media presence and a search-engine optimized website, consider supplementing them with a more manual approach.
Flyers can be distributed in public places across business districts, in restaurants and cafes, and—with prior permission—at other conferences and private workspaces.
Alternatively, if you already have a comprehensive email list, you could email the flyers directly to potential attendees.
Who you give your flyers to is important but so is the content. Promotional flyers must be attractive enough to capture attention and should list relevant information about your conference.
It’s a tricky balance to maintain, we know. Fortunately, there are several conference flyer templates available online to inspire and show you the way.
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Offer Discounts and Group Rates
While tickets can be sold on your personal website, you’ll most likely partner with an established booking platform for convenience and to enhance visibility and credibility. This is the best place to advertise various discounts and other promotional offers to boost sales.
A common event promotion tactic is the “early bird discount.” But the more creative you get with your offerings, the more likely they are to work for the attendees and you.
For example, you could consider a “friend discount” that encourages women who’ve already booked their passes to refer the event to a friend in exchange for two tickets at a discounted price. Alternatively, you could have a lower rate for larger groups of women.
For these promotions to work, however, they must be marketed well. If no one knows about your discount, there’s no point in offering one at all.
So, apart from promoting it on the relevant booking platform, consider creating a few social media posts that highlight your discounts.
Several tools can help you design promotional material. One such tool is PosterMyWall. In its massive library, you’ll find over a million templates that easily let you craft social media posts, create flyers, design promotional emails, and more.
