How to use social media to make your event a success.
When the social media stratosphere was in its infancy, event promotion via the likes of Facebook and Twitter consisted primarily of posting teaser videos and links which led followers to a landing page for the event in question.
Unfortunately, these days, that approach is more likely to harm your reputation than increase awareness of it.
These days, event planners use social media to better understand the requirements of their audience and clients. They engage attendees, and work carefully on connections so that, when the time comes, live interactions are more meaningful.
If you’re planning an event, we’ve got some tips on how to make the best use of three key social media channels.
Use hashtags for your event. Create a memorable one and use it with every tweet which mentions the event (also ensure it is mentioned on any other, external promotional material).
Assign a member of your team or staff to live tweeting during the event – this is essential in order to create a buzz.
After the event, have a read through all mentions of it and see what you can learn about those who felt compelled enough to mention it in their own Twitter feed.
Lead attendees to your Facebook page from your website, upon event registration and via email newsletters. Let them know of its existence and encourage them to ‘like’ it. Once they are there, ensure there are plenty of photos of the event preparation and invest time in creating polls to gather opinions about the event itself (this works well both pre- and post-event).
This burgeoning service focuses on the curation of imagery on a virtual pinboard. Sign up for your own and post to it rich, inviting images which signify your event and its purpose. For example, attractive pictures of the location and more abstract images to reflect the event’s tone will work wonders.