Start with People: Boost Community Engagement for Event Buzz

People enjoying a community festival

"Why would I hire a digital marketer whose social media page has low follower count?"

Someone asked this question on social media recently. It came from a nonprofit hoping to increase attendance at a monthly event offering free resources to a specific community.

The answer is simple: digital marketers are often busy building other people’s brands, not their own. Their expertise shows up in their clients’ success stories, not necessarily in their personal follower count. If you want to know what they can do, ask for examples of their work—and where you can see it in action.

But here’s the real twist: their challenge wasn’t a digital marketing issue—it was a community engagement issue.

When attendance isn’t growing, posting more on social media isn’t the magic fix. The true power lies in connecting with the community you’re trying to serve.

Before diving into ad spend or hashtags, start by asking deeper questions:

1. Do you have an email list, and how often are you communicating with it?

2. Are your resources and messages actually relevant and interesting to your target audience?

3. What are your marketing assets, and do they include diverse, complementary content that aligns with your community’s values?

Each of these questions opens the door to meaningful insights about your audience. The more you investigate, explore, and experiment to understand what excites them and what they need, the more you’ll learn how to reach them—and meet them where they are.

When you understand those things, your event marketing becomes more human, more intentional, and ultimately, more effective.

Community engagement builds trust—and trust fills your events. Digital marketing amplifies what’s already there, but community creates the heartbeat that keeps people coming back.

Purple Crown is where strategy meets sparkle. We make events shine while keeping every detail intentional and stress-free.