Being part of a local food truck festival is a great way to maintain or attract the interest of existing and potential customers. A food truck festival can be a venue for all kinds of occasions, including live concerts or shows, stand-up comedy, movie screenings, tastings, holiday parties, fundraisers, tournaments and contests such as bake-offs or eating contests.

However, you must market your event in order for it to be successful.

Top 10 Tips For Food Truck Festival Marketing

food truck festivalUse fliers and posters

Fliers and posters are probably the most popular medium for event marketing. They are very low-cost, and are especially effective when placed on local bulletin boards in college campuses, gas stations and other retail businesses.

You should also place your fliers in brochure stations at hotel lobbies, airports and convention centers.

Form partnerships

Partner with another local business or organization to put on a food truck event. This will increase your marketing power and reach a broader audience. Consider co-sponsoring an event with a local charity, company or even a local bar.

RELATED: Finding Event Sponsors For A Food Truck Event

Direct market through various technologies

Email, social media, text message and print marketing can all be used to market your event. In your marketing automation messages, consider including a link to an event calendar on your website. You can also use a social networking site like Evite to send customers an invitation to any upcoming events.

Get in the “Events” section

Send a press release to the city newspaper and news station. If you get lucky, they might decide to write an article or broadcast a story about your upcoming food truck event. You should also request to be listed in the “Events” section of the city journal, if possible.

Contact Mobile Cuisine

Mobile Cuisine will soon offer event section within our network to advertise food truck events for a low cost. We often serve as a resource for locals looking for upcoming events as well as traveling foodies who may be in your area at the time the event is scheduled. You can submit your event information quickly and free of charge.

Advertise at your food truck

Make sure to promote your upcoming event at your food truck. You can hand out fliers to each of your customers when they make it up to your service window. This will keep customers informed of any special happenings.

Target potential customers

Your food truck festival should target the same demographic group that your truck’s concept hopes to attract. Putting on an event can be profitable on its own, but in the end it will be even more profitable if you can get potential future customers to attend.

Once they are exposed to your brand through the event, they will be more likely to return to your food truck for another meal.

RELATED: Activate Food Truck Event Attendees Through Social Media

Send multiple reminders

Some of your potential event attendees will want to plan ahead. Others will wait until the last minute to plan their night out. About six weeks before the event, you should begin advertising.

A month before the event, you should send direct “mark your calendar” messages to the customers in your database or Twitter list. A day or two before the event, customers in your database should receive another reminder.

Get everyone involved

Use viral marketing tactics. The more employees, customers and friends that you can get directly involved with the planning and implementation of the food truck festival, the more enthusiasm you will build.

Employees and customers who help directly will be more likely to bring their family and friends to the event.

RELATED: How Social Media Can Increase Your Food Truck Event Traffic

Find an event host

If you can get a local celebrity or someone with good social networking potential to host your event, you can greatly increase the final turnout.

We hope this list of tips helps you in preparing for your next successful food truck festival. If you have any other tips, share them in the comment section or social media. Twitter | Facebook