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Advocacy Campaign Best Practices

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Meghana

Last updated on Oct 10, 2026

Overview

Advocacy campaigns help turn attendees, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, and partners into advocates for your event by having them share personalized event posters. By sharing personalized event posters with their networks, participants increase event visibility, generate referrals, and create buzz leading up to the event.

This guide covers the key factors that drive successful poster campaigns and the benchmarks you should aim for.

What Good Performance Looks Like

Every event is different. These numbers come from Premagic campaigns across more than 200 events, read in September and October 2026.

Metric Typical Strong
Advocacy rate 15% 20% or more
Poster engagement rate 50% more than 50%
Referrals per post, attendees about 4 6 or more
Referrals per post, speakers about 6 (about 8 at tech events) 11 or more
Referrals per post, exhibitors about 4 6 or more

The biggest factor is how people reach their poster. About half of the people who open the poster from the registration widget go on to share it. Of a list that only gets emails, about 3 to 5% share. Events with the widget on the registration success page and in the confirmation email reached 20% or more.

A successful campaign combines a healthy advocacy rate with strong referral performance.

Poster Engagement: Aim for 50% or More

On your event's Insight page, the Participants card has a "Drill down" button. It shows how people move through each channel: "Registration flow integration", "Campaigns" and "Gallery".

For the poster, it shows an engagement rate:

  • Who it counts: people who opened, edited or shared their poster.
  • Out of: people who were shown the poster creator. On your registration page, the poster creator shows once someone finishes registering.
  • Aim for 50% or more.
  • A rate only shows once 20 or more people have seen the poster creator.

If your rate is below 50%, you will see a note like this: "Poster is low: 11.5% engaged. Aim for 50%+."

Example: 1,000 people finish registering and see the poster creator. 400 of them open their poster. Your engagement rate is 40%. That is below the target.

How it differs from advocacy rate

Poster engagement rate Advocacy rate
Counts People who opened, edited or shared their poster People who shared their poster
Out of People shown the poster creator Your expected attendee count
Aim for 50% or more 15% or more

Engagement comes first. A person has to open their poster before they can share it. If engagement is low, advocacy will be low too.

How to raise poster engagement

  1. Put the widget on your registration success page. People are most keen right after they register. Place it where they see it without scrolling. See Everything about Registration Widget.
  2. Send reminders. People who made a poster but did not share it show as Pending Advocates on your Insight page. A reminder campaign brings them back.
  3. Launch early. Start 6 to 8 weeks before the event. More time means more chances to open and share.
  4. Add more touchpoints. Put the widget in your confirmation email, attendee portal and event app too. Each one is another chance to open the poster.

The sections below explain each of these in more detail.

The 5 Biggest Drivers of Success

1. Implement the Registration Widget

The registration widget is one of the strongest drivers of participation.

By allowing attendees to generate and share their poster immediately after registration, events typically see higher advocacy rates and overall campaign engagement.

We recommend implementing the widget on:

  • Registration success pages

  • Confirmation emails

  • Attendee portals

2. Launch Early

The most successful campaigns begin at least 6-8 weeks before the event.

Starting early gives participants more opportunities to share their posters and helps maintain momentum throughout the event lifecycle.

3. Prioritize Speaker Campaigns

Speaker posters usually bring the most referrals per post.

Who shares Typical referrals per post Most events fall between
Attendees about 4 3 and 6
Exhibitors about 4 2 and 6
Speakers about 6 3 and 11

Speakers at tech and cybersecurity events do best, at about 7 to 8 referrals per post.

We do not have enough sponsor campaigns yet to give a number. Treat sponsors like speakers: invite them by name, with a personal note.

We recommend running dedicated campaigns for speakers rather than grouping them with general attendee communications.

4. Run Regular Reminder Campaigns

One campaign is rarely enough.

Participants often require multiple touchpoints before they take action. Regular reminders help maintain engagement and improve participation rates.

5. Use Multiple Touchpoints

The best-performing campaigns reach participants through multiple channels, including:

  • Registration Widget

  • Confirmation Emails

  • Campaign Emails

  • Attendee Portals

  • Event Apps

  • Speaker Communications

  • Sponsor Communications

The more opportunities participants have to engage, the stronger the overall campaign performance.

Common Reasons Campaigns Underperform

The Registration Widget Was Not Implemented

Without the widget, fewer attendees discover and share their posters, resulting in lower participation rates.

Campaigns Started Too Late

Launching campaigns shortly before the event limits sharing opportunities and reduces overall reach.

Limited Speaker Participation

Speaker posters are often the highest-performing campaign asset. Low speaker participation can significantly impact referral performance.

Inconsistent Campaign Activity

Long gaps between campaigns often result in reduced engagement and lower advocacy rates.

Limited Stakeholder Participation

Sponsors, exhibitors, judges, partners, and VIPs can all contribute to campaign reach. Focusing only on attendees may limit overall performance.

Recommended Campaign Timeline

6–8 Weeks Before the Event

  • Launch attendee campaigns

  • Launch speaker campaigns

  • Enable the registration widget

4–6 Weeks Before the Event

  • Run reminder campaigns

  • Share updated poster assets

  • Encourage speaker participation

2–4 Weeks Before the Event

  • Increase campaign frequency

  • Run sponsor and partner campaigns

  • Review performance metrics

Final 2 Weeks

  • Send final reminder campaigns

  • Focus on speakers and high-value advocates

  • Drive final visibility and registrations

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Advocacy Rate?

Advocacy Rate is the number of people who shared their poster, divided by the expected attendee count you set for the event. Aim for 15% or more.

What is Poster Engagement Rate?

Poster Engagement Rate is the share of people who opened, edited or shared their poster, out of everyone who was shown the poster creator. Aim for 50% or more.

What is a Referral?

A referral is generated when someone visits the event registration page through a poster shared by an advocate.

Why are speaker posters important?

Speakers usually have large professional networks. A typical speaker post brings about 6 referrals, against about 4 for an attendee.

How often should campaigns be sent?

We recommend maintaining regular communication throughout the event lifecycle, with increased activity as the event approaches.

Do poster campaigns work without the registration widget?

Yes. However, events that implement the registration widget typically see higher participation and advocacy rates.

Summary

The strongest poster campaigns start early, implement the registration widget, prioritize speaker participation, and maintain consistent engagement throughout the event lifecycle.

By focusing on these areas, event organizers can increase advocacy rates, generate more referrals, and maximize event visibility through participant-led promotion.

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