Ghosts, goblins and ghouls. Nothing sums up Halloween better- except maybe candy corn but that is open for debate. Halloween is the season of haunted houses, children’s costume parades, Halloween parties, hay rides, straw mazes, pumpkin patches and more. Regardless of what kind of Halloween event you are holding, how are you going to promote it? Most will market their event via social media or perhaps a write up in the local newspaper or some flyers you put up in the area.
1.) Get A Website
If your event has been going strong for the past few years and you foresee it carrying on in the future you should consider creating a website for it. This works especially well for attractions such as haunted houses. Unfortunately most haunted attraction websites are rather cheaply made and don’t really leave a great impression of the event or attraction. I am Halloween’s biggest fan and being so I have been to my share of haunted house attractions. I’ve seen websites that look like they were made 20 years ago or put together in 5 minutes but the attractions were phenomenal but I know a few people worried about the quality of the attraction because of the poor quality site. A website does not have to be expensive either, these simple websites can be developed for $1,000 or less. MarketingModo loves creating Halloween attraction websites so hit us up to put your site together so you can focus on your event!
2.) Get Social
Social Media is going to be huge for your Halloween attraction. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, SnapChat, Instagram. Use them all! Your audience is likely to be younger and I can guarantee you that they are going to be on social media so create a profile for your attraction on each of the major social media channels and start posting photos and info on your event. If you have photos from previous years use them as well. I have seen a number of Halloween events build strong communities and followings just by posting content and don’t think you need to just do it in the weeks before Halloween. I know that for haunted house attractions and straw mazes that people love the behind the scenes perspective as well so give them some shots of you building the attraction to start building excitement for when the attraction opens.
3.) Reach Out To Local Papers
Who says the old advertising channels don’t work. Definitely reach out to local newspapers and events periodicals. Most communities have a weekend focused paper featuring events in the area. Check out some previous Halloween themed stories that they have done and reach out to the journalist who wrote the piece or the editor and pitch them a piece on your attraction. Local papers love this sort of content once October hits as they are looking for October themed stories to write. papers may be dwindling in popularity but they still have a strong subscription rate in some areas and this is free advertising and you can’t beat free!
4.) Utilize Word of Mouth
Let’s face it. You have fans and if you are a new attraction – you will. Halloween has that much of a following. Utilize your fan base by making use of their word of mouth advertising. Offer discounts or other special promotions for referrals. Offer special pricing for larger groups. Give people a good price for a certain amount of people and I promise you they will find the people. Once they exit your attraction make sure to let them know about special pricing for repeat visitors or referrals. Many haunted houses and pumpkin patches offer things such as free photos, shirts or other small gifts for referring people to them.
5.) Give Paid Social A try
If social media was an ideal channel for anything it is this. As mentioned earlier, your audience and target base will mostly be on social media so what better way to reach them than by promoted posts and paid ads on Facebook. Even better is the high degree of targeting you can achieve with these ads. You can target people interested in Halloween or other Halloween themed keywords – talk about targeted audience. Have a great visual of your attraction and let the ads run. If you have an event like a pumpkin patch or a community children’s costume parade and party you can target young families with children in your local area. Paid social offers an amazing tool to promote your attraction this Halloween.
6.) Paid Search For Complete Coverage
Similar to paid social is good old fashioned paid search. Having ads running on the search engines in addition to social media allows your attraction to stay top of mind at all times. That way, anyone searching “pumpkin patches” or “haunted houses in” will see your ad promoting your event with a link to more information on your website (which is why a dedicated website is so important).
Use these tactics to give your Halloween event or attraction the extra boost it needs and remember if you ever need any help in creating a website for your attraction or assistance in promoting you. You spectacular friends at MarketingModo are here ready to help you stir up a scare.