Social media is a powerful marketing and communications tool – it can assist you with boosting engagement and awareness for your event, as well as of course getting more attendees. Are you using social media to its full potential for event marketing?

This post is the first in a series we will be putting together to help you do just that.

Before you can get the ball rolling on your social media promotion efforts, you need to first decide on which channels make the most sense for your event and ensure you’ve got a good grasp of best practices so that you can make the most of your social efforts. Initially you need to give some thought to your overarching social media strategy.

Let’s look at some of the basics you should have in place to help you prepare for promoting your next event via social media.

First and foremost, you first need to consider who you are marketing your event to. This will help you when it comes to selecting your social media channels. It will also help when creating your content. What information is useful for them? What kind of tone should you use in your messaging?

Of course the initial step is getting the website ready for your event or the landing page created if you’re embedding your event into your existing site. Ensure that you’re clearly communicating the benefits of attending and including a clear description of what will be happening at the event. The next step is getting the online registration process set up and ready to go.

As you’re building your form and your online page, don’t forget to include social media share buttons so it’s easy for attendees to help you promote the event! With the ePly registration system, we offer a default AddThis code with our templates that’s ready for you to use as-is. You can always make modifications to it, or add your own social sharing buttons if you prefer. If you need a hand with this, just get in touch with us.

Once your event’s online foundation is laid, it’s time to think about other content you can leverage for maximum impact. With social media, variety is key to generating interest and only linking to your event page or registration form will get boring, fast.

Provide valuable information that piques interest and demonstrates expertise to get potential attendees thinking further about the benefits of attending your event. For example, you could:

Write an informative blog post or series of posts about the topic of your event to get people interested about what they will learn.

Put together a pdf that offers insight into the theme that will be under discussion, without giving away all the good stuff. (Power tip: Use this download as part of your email marketing strategy, offering it in exchange for signing up for your list. You’ll get interest for your event and build your database at the same time.)

Share images from last year’s event: the venue, attendees, seminars. Think about what a potential attendee would be interested in seeing and what images shine a positive light on your event.

If part of your event involves getting attendees to travel to the host city, put together a blog post about the attractions and what attendees can enjoy when they are not at the event. Include scenic images to capture even more interest.

Video is a very popular way of delivering content. Use video footage of last year’s event. Get video testimonials from previous attendees. Get your speakers to film a quick welcome and teaser to what they will be discussing.

Write a press release to announce your event and highlight what makes your event special. You just might get a few local media mentions to help further spread the word.

Think about all the content pieces that can support your efforts.

Social media revolves around getting people engaged. You want to start conversations around what will be happening at your event and encourage participation. You could ask questions around what attendees are hoping to get out of your event or what they are planning to check out in the host city. Ask attendees to share what they would like to learn from the speakers. Run a contest or promotion, perhaps giving away a free ticket to the event, a gift from a local business (like a meal out at a nearby restaurant) or include prizes from your event sponsors. It’s all about getting people talking!

It might be tempting to focus all your efforts around your event, but it’s crucial that you still maintain general activity that is focused around providing value to and engaging with your audience. They will soon tire if all you’re doing day in and day out is promoting. You don’t want to turn them off inadvertently by being too focused on your event. Content variety around your event, as we discussed above, also helps with this so that people are not just being exposed to the same “register for my event” message over and over again.

In the next post in our series on events and social media, we will be discussing Twitter with plenty of guidelines on how to use this social channel in your event promotions. Stay tuned!

The Power of Social Media For Promoting Your Event

The Power of Social Media For Promoting Your Event

Solid understanding of your target market

Prepare your online presence

Prepare your supporting content

Focus on engagement

The right mix of self-promotional content

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