How do people choose what to do on the weekend? It is often a combination of factors, really. Information about local festivals, entertainment at local bars and concert at local clubs can come in from all directions. A single person might be following the tour dates of their favorite band, be invited to a festival by their neighbor, hear about a local band playing from co-workers and co-ordinate the weekend's activities with their friends online. They may also read a few local publications that list events and look through those on a regular basis as well. For most people, this is a pretty normal thing. Reading about events, receiving invitations from friends, being exposed to advertisements and event listings are all commonplace. As an event promoter, all of this is to your advantage, especially when you are using media like the Internet where you can make social networking work for you. Of course, the Internet is made of more than just social media and networking sites, and you shouldn't rely solely on social media to get the word out.

There are many factors that affect the success of a promoter's attempt to draw an audience out to an event. Obviously the offerings themselves will affect the result; it is usually much easier to promote bands who have made a name for themselves than a completely unheard-of group, for example. Another factor that is important to consider is timing. It is essential for success that you give people enough time to hear and digest information and then act on it. If you reach them too late they may not have time to make plans, whether that is traveling to see the show or procuring a babysitter. They may also have other plans and you would have to have an awful lot to offer if you were going to be able to convince them to break their plans and make new ones. It also is obvious that you need to be careful of starting too early as well; over-exposure can make your efforts less visible. Think of it this way - if you pass by the same flyer every day for months on end, chances are you will stop actually looking at it. Our brain does this for us as a way of filtering out unnecessary information. In order to find the right timing, promoters will want to examine both industry standards as well as market research about when people tend to make plans, buy tickets, search for upcoming events, etc.