Events can benefit a business in multiple ways, you can build your brand, create awareness about your business, increase sales and establish connections between you and your customers or community. Whilst there are the traditional methods of promoting events, social media is an incredible modern tool to assist you with boosting event attendance.
Following are some useful tips that you can implement.
CREATE EVENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Certain social media platforms allow you to create an event where you can invite people and provide relevant information updates. Facebook for example; an administrator can set their event to private (invite only) or public, send invitations to their social media network, gain insights into attendance and gauge interest.
Linkedin removed their events feature several years ago however there is a loophole to advertise events by creating a ‘Showcase Page’. A Showcase Page is a subsection of your Company Page and allows you to share it with relevant audiences, link it to Linkedin Pulse reports and post relevant updates about your upcoming event to gain traction.
POST FREQUENTLY
Frequent posts across various platforms creates hype and exposes your event, people will have the opportunity to learn about the event and by posting frequently it will not be forgotten. Remember not to over-post as you risk losing your audience.
PROMOTE WITH #HASTAGS
Having a branded hashtag for your event is beneficial and assists with the event being promoted and discussed. Once the hashtag is picked up it has the possibility of going viral, providing invaluable advertising. Hashtags are also a good engagement metric, providing an indication of how users are receiving your event and what they are saying.
START EARLY
Incorporate a social media strategy into your event marketing. The strategy should commence in the planning stage to create hype and engage users. With a strong call to action you can have your audience schedule the event into their diaries and complete the event registration process.
Remember to use various social media platforms, you can distribute posts and information across multiple platforms in unique ways. Use Twitter and Instagram to develop a hashtag, Linkedin and Facebook to create pages and sections dedicated to the event, and YouTube to distribute videos of what’s coming soon.
SCHEDULE RELEVANT POSTS AHEAD OF TIME
Make your event social media strategy easy by scheduling Facebook posts ahead of time. Tools like Hootsuite let you schedule posts across other platforms such as Twitter, this feature allows the opportunity to release content to users when it’s timely and important.
USE ADS
Running a series of paid advertisements across various social media platforms can assist you to increase event visibility, boost engagement and attendance. Facebook and Instagram Ad campaigns allow you to specifically focus on the objective of increasing event attendance. Sponsored posts or conversions to a website (for driving registrations) are also a great option.
CONTENTS TO INCREASE WORD OF MOUTH
Contests on social media are a great way to get new followers, increase engagement and event attendance. Create a contest with prizes relevant to your event to obtain a lot of attention; try offering free tickets, meals, merchandise etc. We recommend you host the contest on one platform only but promote it across all your other platforms and to your e-mail list using ads to assist where appropriate.
Have an event you need to boost attendance to? At eventful projects we are passionate about producing creative and unique event solutions. Our innovative approach to event management delivers remarkable and lasting experiences that captivate audiences.
For information about your next event contact Vicky at vicky@eventfulprojects.com.au or 0422 053 013.
