Hosting a Virtual Summit: Reach More Attendees With Content Marketing

If you’re hosting a virtual summit for your wellness business, you likely have one clear goal: reach more people. What’s more, you’re not alone. A survey from vFairs found that 88 percent of respondents hosted at least one virtual event in 2022 and 46 percent hosted at least four. 

What was the key indicator of success for these respondents? For 93 percent, it was the attendance rate. So the question then becomes: how do you actually get people to your virtual summit?

That’s where your content marketing comes into play—but it’s so much more than creating a few social media posts. You have to consider specific audience details, how you can leverage the audience of your speakers and guests, and so much more. 

If you’re debating hosting a virtual event, or already have one planned, use this guide to help your wellness business reach more of the people who would love to attend!

Virtual summits have become a powerful tool for wellness entrepreneurs, marketers, and business owners to reach a wider audience, establish thought leadership, and drive business growth. But how does this actually translate to success for your business? Here are a few of the most notable benefits of this marketing strategy. 

A virtual summit allows you to connect with a global audience because there are no geographical barriers. This means you can reach potential customers, clients, and collaborators who may not have discovered you otherwise. This can be especially helpful if you have a small following or don’t get a lot of website traffic; this can be the boost you need.

Hosting a virtual summit for your wellness business positions you as an authority in your niche. You have a unique area of expertise, and this is your chance to showcase it on a larger scale while also providing value. By curating and presenting high-quality content from industry experts, in addition to your own, you elevate your own credibility. This can attract new customers and build trust.

Virtual summits are a powerful lead generation tool when set up correctly. By offering valuable content, you can capture email addresses and build a highly engaged subscriber list. These leads can be nurtured into loyal customers through targeted follow-up strategies. You can also prepare a time-sensitive offering specific for attendees to get conversions right then and there, rather than adding them to an email list.

Hosting a summit gives you an easy opportunity to collaborate with experts and thought leaders in your field—even better when they have a larger audience that you can leverage to drive attendees. This not only adds value to your event but also opens doors to potential partnerships and future collaborations.

A well-executed virtual summit can significantly increase brand awareness. As attendees share their experiences and the valuable content they’ve learned, your brand name and message will reach a wider audience. Make sure you re-share as much as possible to show your audience and potential customers that other people are talking about you.

A great summit idea isn’t enough to drive attendees. In fact, only 50 percent of online event registrants translate to live attendees. You need to have a clear content marketing plan to get in front of people, drive interest, and ultimately, get them to sign up. 

The more sign ups, the higher number of live attendees you’re likely to have. Whether your summit is paid or free, this is key to your success. Here’s what you need to know to leverage content marketing to drive attendees. 

First and foremost, you need to have a defined purpose. Is it to educate, inspire, or provide networking opportunities? Is it to sell a specific program or product? Determine this and then define your target audience and their specific pain points or needs. This will help you curate relevant content and attract the right attendees.

This is easy enough to say, but how do you know what “engaging content” actually is? To figure out how to create content that will amplify your reach, look at your analytics. For example, on Instagram, figure out which content is consistently being shared, commented on, and saved. This is your most engaging content and what you’ll replicate for your Instagram posts leading up to the event.

Repeat this for any other channel where you’ll promote your event, like email, podcast, or other social platforms. 

If you’re including other speakers for your summit, make promotion a mandatory part of their participation. This is best practice and will not come as a surprise for them. You may, for example, require them to send at least two emails, post at least three times on their feed and re-share at least five times to their stories on Instagram.

Decide this upfront and be clear about it when they sign on. If they don’t know this is what you need, they won’t know to do it.

Don’t just start creating content. You need a clear promotional plan to leverage everything you create and make sure that you’re casting a wide enough net. Look at all your potential channels, from social media to email and partnerships with influencers and then get clear on how all of that comes together.

Don’t forget to consider how you can get in front of other audiences to promote this. For example, podcasts are a great way to reach a larger or different audience. The podcast needs to be relevant, with a similar audience to yours, to make this work, so be selective with your choices. Similarly, you may schedule a few Instagram or Facebook Live’s with others in your industry who are willing to let you share about it.

Create content that highlights how the attendee will transform when they join this event. What can they expect to happen as a result of being there? With so many online events happening since the Pandemic, there are a lot of options—so how will yours change, support, or impact them? This should be the cornerstone of all your content.

Hosting a virtual summit can be a valuable growth tool for wellness entrepreneurs, marketers, and business owners. But don’t just create content and hope it will work. Be intentional with what you’re creating and why you’re creating it. Don’t forget to leverage the audiences of your speakers and others within the industry so you can reach the people who want to attend, even if they’re not already in your sphere.