Trivia nights are a staple in American culture—and for good reason. They provide a unique experience that exercises players’ brains and helps them learn new information in a fun and memorable way.
To businesses, they offer an opportunity to attract different guests and boost the bottom line. For example, the Tap Yard generated about 30% more revenue through these events.
Do you want to harness its potential for your organization? Simply follow these steps to plan and promote your own trivia night!
Find a Venue
You can host trivia nights at pubs, restaurants, and even in a large room in your office. If you’re expecting a huge crowd, however, you’ll have to explore event venues that are centrally located and easily accessible to a diverse audience.
Also consider:
- Seating: Can it accommodate all your guests?
- Audio and video capabilities: Does it have a built-in system?
- Connectivity: What are the WiFi and internet connections like?
Our top tip? Approach educational institutions. You might be able to rent a venue for free!
Finalize Date & Time
Ensure a good turnout by picking a date and time that suits your attendees. Weeknights after 7 p.m. will be your best bet. This allows players to blow off steam after work and still have their weekends free to do as they please.
Track Down the Perfect Host
Can anyone host a trivia night? Yes.
But will everyone be able to keep the audience on their toes? No.
A good trivia host is charismatic, witty, engaging, and able to interact with many different people. If your budget permits, hire a professional host; they will cost you between $150 and $500 per event, but they will always keep the energy high.
Think About the Theme
Many people think trivia games are boring and obsolete in today’s smartphone age—but that’s simply not true. From pop culture and sports to Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Office, there’s an overabundance of fun, relevant, and trending themes.
You can then craft questions of varying difficulty levels to keep people on their toes.
Be Clear about the Rules
Trivia nights are incomplete without a proper set of rules created to promote healthy competition and keep conflicts at bay. Basic, non-negotiables include:
- Players must only answer on their turn
- Team discussions must be kept low
- Using mobile phones or speaking to a friend is a no-no
Pro tip: Enforce penalties for rule violations. These will keep the crowd in check and even fund your next event.
Gather Supplies
Trivia is a dynamic and cost-effective event in the hands of an expert marketer. To ensure it’s a success, you must have the required gear ready to go. The list includes, but is not limited to:
- Cords, cables, and extenders for tech tools
- Projector
- Microphones and speakers
- Buzzers (a bell will also work fine).
Make sure to test everything in advance to avoid unpleasant surprises on D-day.
P.S. If you’re going the old-school route, keep a steady supply of pencils or pens, printouts of answer sheets, and a scoring sheet for the host.
Offer Creative Incentives
Trivia nights are fun and entertaining, but competition is still fierce.
A good prize can be a big draw, even encouraging your guests to become frequent participants! Avoid generic Amazon, Etsy, and Visa gift cards; choose cash and personalized gifts to generate buzz around the event.
Remember, the glory is in being crowned the winner. So, spend time curating the perfect gift for the best trivia participants.
Once the Details are in Place, Get Started with Promotion
Get the word out about your trivia night with new-age and traditional methods:
Print Material
Nostalgia is a powerful thing; leverage it with these time-tested traditional modes of advertisement: flyers and posters. They’re high impact, grab eyeballs with eye-catching imagery and crazy-good copywriting, and they stay in circulation for a long time. They’re also flexible, so you can use them online and offline.
But wait, it gets better.
Print media is economical, and you can make it even more budget-friendly thanks to tools like PosterMyWall. They have an impressive range of competition poster templates, which you can easily customize yourself. No need to hire a designer!
Social Media
5.07 billion out of 5.44 billion internet users worldwide now use social media.
Expand your reach and generate high-quality leads by posting information about your trivia event on the platforms your target audience frequents. Generally, this will be Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X, and YouTube.
Wondering about the type of content to post? Here are some winning ideas:
- Images that tease the event theme.
- Short-form videos like behind-the-scenes content.
- User-generated content from past events for social proof.
You can also post memes; they’re extremely shareable and can make your post go viral.
Influencer Marketing
Increase your exposure by collaborating with influencers, ideally ones in your niche. According to FeedSpot, an Influencers Contact Database, Andrew Parker, Jeff D Lowe, Joseph Felix, Mahan, Rob Charette, and the Klem Family are excellent options for trivia games.
They’ll get word about your event to the right people, enhancing event attendance.
Summing Up:
Hosting a successful trivia night calls for careful planning and knowledge of marketing strategies. It can be quite a hassle, but PosterMyWall sure lightens the load. From social media graphics to flyer templates and email campaigns, it covers all things digital marketing to set you up for success at the lowest cost possible.
