How to Promote Your Event in Greater Victoria (And Actually Get People to Show Up)

12 weeks, a little strategy, and some local marketing magic.

Planning an event in Greater Victoria? Whether you’re organizing a concert, arts festival, fundraiser, business mixer, workshop, or community celebration, there’s one thing every successful event needs: people in the room.

And getting them there takes more than posting a pretty graphic on Instagram and hoping for the best.

After years of promoting events across Greater Victoria, I’ve learned a thing or two about what works, what doesn’t, and where to spend your time and marketing dollars.

Here are my favourite tips for getting your event noticed, building excitement, and, most importantly, selling tickets.

1. The Biggest Mistake? Leaving Promotion Until the Last Minute.

Give yourself a minimum of 12 weeks to promote your event.

Yes, Greater Victoria audiences can be notoriously last-minute ticket buyers. But here’s the catch: they’re also planners.

People plan their seasons. They book weekends away, organize family activities, commit to concerts, and fill up their calendars months in advance.

You don’t necessarily need them to buy a ticket 12 weeks out. You need them to save the date.

Get your event on their radar early so they don’t double-book themselves and can prioritize attending.

Start with a simple save-the-date campaign, then gradually build anticipation as the event approaches.

Need help staying organized? Download my Event Promotion Template to map out your marketing activities, deadlines, and promotional channels.

2. Get Your Event Listed Everywhere (Especially the Free Places!)

Before spending a dollar on advertising, take advantage of the free event listing platforms available in Greater Victoria.

Some places to start include:

• Eventbrite — Create an event page, manage registration, and help people discover your event.
• LiveVictoria.com — Especially useful for live music, concerts, and performances.
• LampPost Victoria — Explore local event promotion and community discovery opportunities.
• Community calendars — Look for relevant listings through local organizations, tourism platforms, chambers of commerce, and neighbourhood associations.
• Local arts and cultural organizations — Many promote events to their members and audiences.

These listings can help with event discovery, provide additional places to link to ticket sales, and improve your event’s visibility in search results.

Pro tip: Keep your event title, date, location, description, images, and ticket links consistent across every listing.

3. Yes, Facebook Events Are Still a Thing.

Don’t underestimate the humble Facebook Event.

It’s free, it’s shareable, and it still works particularly well for community events and local audiences.

Create a Facebook Event from your organization’s page and invite relevant followers, friends, collaborators, and community members.

Depending on your account and Facebook’s current invitation limits, you may be able to invite hundreds of people without spending a cent.

And here’s the bonus: when people mark themselves as Interested or Going, that activity can help introduce your event to their networks, depending on Facebook’s visibility settings and algorithms.

Ask your performers, sponsors, board members, volunteers, and event partners to share the event too.

Want to give it an extra push?

Try boosting your Facebook Event with a $50 budget.

A few important things:

• Select a total or lifetime budget of $50, not $50 per day.
• Target people within approximately 50 km of Greater Victoria, adjusting for your audience.
• Make sure your audience is geographically relevant. You don’t want to accidentally spend your advertising budget promoting a Victoria event to people in Toronto!
• Use an engaging event image and a clear reason to attend.

A small, well-targeted budget can go a surprisingly long way.

4. Don’t Overlook the Times Colonist Event Calendar.

One of my favourite local event promotion opportunities is the Times Colonist.

Start by submitting your event to its event listings, and explore the paid promotional opportunities available.

I’ve found that a modest budget, sometimes under $200 depending on the placement and current rates, can be a worthwhile investment.

The added value? Opportunities for visibility beyond a single online listing, including potential print calendar exposure and distribution through affiliated event channels.

For events targeting Greater Victoria residents, this can be a great way to reach people who aren’t necessarily following your organization on social media.

Be sure to confirm current pricing, submission deadlines, and exactly which print and digital placements are included.

5. Have $1,000 to Spend? Consider Capital Daily.

If you’ve got a little more room in your marketing budget, consider advertising with Capital Daily.

Their newsletter reaches a locally engaged audience, and I’ve seen direct ticket purchases come from these placements for multiple clients.

Around $1,000 can open up some compelling promotional opportunities, depending on their current advertising packages.

But before you book, think about your audience and ticket price.

A $150 ticket to a premium experience has a very different return-on-investment equation than a $15 community performance.

Ask yourself:

• How many tickets do I need to sell to recover my advertising investment?
• Is Capital Daily’s audience a strong match for my event?
• Can I track purchases through a unique link or promotional code?

Don’t spend money just to get impressions. Spend money to reach people who are likely to attend.

6. Give the Media a Story, Not Just an Event Announcement.

Local media outlets are always looking for compelling stories, interesting people, and ways to showcase what’s happening in our community.

So give them something worth covering!

Create a press release that includes:

A fantastic event photo. Something visually interesting that makes people stop scrolling.

A credible review or testimonial. If your performance, artist, or event has received praise from a respected source, share it.

A compelling point of view. Include a quote from your artistic director, event organizer, or organization leader explaining why this event matters and what makes it a must-see.

A newsworthy angle. Is this a first for Victoria? Does it feature an internationally recognized artist? Does it support an important local cause? Is there a fascinating story behind the production?

Send your release to relevant local media, including newspapers, television, radio, community publications, and arts journalists.

And here’s a little insider tip: invite the media to experience something.

If you’re promoting a theatrical production, dance performance, concert, or festival, offer journalists a chance to attend a rehearsal, interview the artists, or capture behind-the-scenes footage.

Give them a spectacle, a great story, and a reason to show up.

You might be surprised by the coverage you receive.

7. Put Your Venue to Work.

Your venue should be more than the place where your event happens. It should be one of your promotional partners.

Ask your venue:

• Can we display posters or promotional materials?
• Do you have an email newsletter featuring upcoming events?
• Can you share our event on your social media channels?
• Is there an event calendar on your website?
• Can we promote our event to audiences attending other events at the venue?
• Are there digital screens, lobby displays, or other promotional opportunities?

Venues often have established audiences who already enjoy attending events in their spaces.

That’s an incredibly valuable group of potential ticket buyers.

And don’t forget about neighbouring businesses. Restaurants, cafés, hotels, and shops may be happy to help promote an event that brings people into their neighbourhood.

8. Stop Posting the Same Event Poster Over and Over.

One of the biggest missed opportunities in event marketing is relying on the same event graphic for every social media post.

People don’t just want to know when your event is happening.

They want to know why they should care.

Create a suite of content for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other channels where your audience spends time.

Here are some of my favourite ideas:

Meet the host. Introduce the person behind the event. Why are they passionate about bringing this experience to Victoria?

Create an event-inspired Spotify playlist. Give audiences something to listen to while they’re getting ready and build excitement around the atmosphere of your event.

Share artist videos. Embed performances, interviews, or previews on your website and share clips across social media.

Feature the venue. Show people where they’ll be spending their evening. Highlight the architecture, atmosphere, neighbourhood, or experience.

Share testimonials. Let previous attendees explain why they loved the experience and why others shouldn’t miss it.

Go behind the scenes. Show rehearsals, preparations, volunteers, artists, production crews, and the people making it happen.

Make a night of it. Recommend nearby restaurants, parking options, and other experiences that make attending your event even more appealing.

Create urgency. As the event approaches, remind audiences about ticket availability, important deadlines, and what they’ll miss if they don’t attend.

Not every post should be a sales pitch.

Your content should help people imagine themselves there.

9. Leverage Your Team, Artists, and Participants’ Networks.

Here’s one of the easiest ways to expand your event’s reach without spending another dollar on advertising: get everyone involved in promoting it!

Your performers, speakers, artists, sponsors, volunteers, board members, and event partners all have their own networks. And chances are, those networks are filled with people who would love to support them.

Don’t leave all the promotion up to your organization’s social media accounts.

Make your participants part of the marketing plan.

Here are a few ways to make that happen:

• Feature everyone on your event listing. Include artist bios, speaker profiles, participant photos, and links to their websites or social media accounts. Give audiences more reasons to attend.
• Tag participants in your posts. Whenever you feature an artist, speaker, sponsor, or partner, tag their accounts so they can easily reshare the content.
• Invite Instagram collaborators. Use the collaboration feature to publish posts that appear on both your organization’s profile and your participant’s profile, with their approval. This is a fantastic way to reach new audiences organically.
• Create a promotional toolkit. Provide participants with ready-to-use social media graphics, captions, event descriptions, posters, and ticket links. Make it ridiculously easy for them to promote their involvement.
• Encourage personal invitations. Ask your team, artists, and participants to personally invite friends, family, colleagues, and their professional networks.
• Give them their own moment in the spotlight. Create artist spotlights, speaker introductions, behind-the-scenes interviews, and short videos that participants will be excited to share.

Pro tip: Don’t just send everyone a poster and hope they’ll share it. Give them a simple promotional schedule with suggested dates, ready-made captions, and content that celebrates their individual involvement.

For larger events, consider creating unique ticket links or discount codes for participating artists and partners. This lets you track which networks are generating actual ticket sales.

And remember, people are often more motivated to attend an event because someone they know is involved.

Your participants aren’t just part of the event. They’re some of your most valuable event ambassadors. Make them feel celebrated, give them the tools to spread the word, and let their enthusiasm help fill the room.

10. Don’t Forget Your Email List (And Everyone Else’s).

Social media is great for awareness, but email remains one of my favourite tools for turning interest into action.

Start with your own subscribers. Send a save-the-date announcement, an event reveal, a behind-the-scenes feature, and a final reminder as the event approaches.

Then look beyond your own database.

Think about organizations that share your audience:

• Sponsors and community partners
• Local business associations
• Arts and cultural organizations
• Performers and participating artists
• Tourism and hospitality partners
• Neighbourhood organizations

Ask whether they would be willing to include your event in their newsletter.

Make it easy by providing a beautiful image, a short description, and a direct ticket link.

The best event promotion often happens when multiple organizations work together to reach a shared community.

11. Make It Ridiculously Easy to Buy Tickets.

You’ve done all the work to get someone’s attention. Don’t lose them at the final step.

Your ticket purchasing experience should be simple, mobile-friendly, and easy to find.

Make sure your event page clearly answers:

• What is the event?
• Why should I attend?
• When and where is it happening?
• How much are tickets?
• Where do I park or how do I get there?
• What should I expect?

And please, test your ticket link!

Click it from your Instagram bio, Facebook Event, website, newsletter, and advertisements.

Better yet, ask someone unfamiliar with your event to try buying a ticket on their phone.

If they can’t figure it out quickly, you’ve got some work to do.

Your 12-Week Event Promotion Timeline

Here’s a simple starting point for organizing your campaign.

Timing	Marketing Focus
12–10 weeks out	Announce your event, launch ticket sales, publish save-the-date content, create event listings, and contact partners.
9–7 weeks out	Launch your content campaign, introduce artists and speakers, distribute your press release, and begin paid promotions.
6–4 weeks out	Share testimonials, behind-the-scenes content, partner newsletters, media features, and audience-focused advertising.
3–2 weeks out	Increase promotional frequency, retarget interested audiences, share event previews, and encourage ticket purchases.
Final week	Share last-call messaging, important event information, ticket availability, and reminders across every channel.
After the event	Thank attendees, share photos and highlights, gather testimonials, review results, and start building your audience for next time.

The Secret to a Successful Event? Start Early and Show Up Everywhere That Matters.

You don’t necessarily need a massive marketing budget to fill a room in Greater Victoria.

You need a plan, a compelling story, the right promotional partners, and enough time to reach your audience.

Start 12 weeks out. Make it easy for people to save the date. Use your free listings. Leverage your community. Invest strategically in paid advertising. And give people more than a poster — give them a reason to be there.

Because the best event marketing doesn’t just sell tickets.

It builds anticipation, creates connection, and makes people feel like they’re about to be part of something special.

Need Help Promoting Your Next Event?

At Swank Creative Inc., we help organizations turn great event ideas into strategic marketing campaigns that build awareness, engage audiences, and drive ticket sales.

From promotional planning and creative campaigns to media outreach, digital advertising, and community partnerships, we know how to get Greater Victoria talking.

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