Social Media Tips & Tricks for a Successful Event
By: Julie Clark
Event organizers put a ton of thought and work into planning and preparing events: speakers, sponsors, venue, amenities, entertainment, and more. Whether virtual or in person, what can make or break even the most well-planned event? Attendance!
Creating a social media strategy to market your event is a must, and the quality and effectiveness of that plan can not only boost interest in attendance, but it can also attract sponsors, speakers, and the media.
Here are some easy-to-implement tips and ideas for your event’s social media marketing strategy.
Generate a buzz with hashtags. Hashtags will help you boost traffic to your event web page, create memorable branding and awareness, and help you tap into the communities and audiences you seek to attract for your event. Hootsuite has a helpful hashtags guide that will help you choose one perfect for your business and event.
Tease the event with sneak peeks and previews. It’s important that you keep attendees and prospective attendees interested in your event and what they can expect to learn, whom they can expect to see or meet, and what they can gain by attending. Be sure to promote your speakers and sponsors, talking points, promotions, networking opportunities, shopping, giveaways, complimentary food and drinks, and anything exciting about your venue.
Register attendees, even if tickets are free. Registration allows you to collect attendees’ contact info and keep them up to date with event reminders, date and time changes, updates, and exclusive content. Ticketing, even if free, creates attachment and obligation to attend. A ticket gives your event more value, especially if space is limited, and allows you to gauge how many may attend.
Utilize early bird registration. Encourage early registration with an incentive. Whether it’s with goodie bags, VIP seating, free T-shirts, or complimentary cocktails, making the most of an early bird registration promotion doesn’t take much.
Incentivize attendance with a promotion or giveaway. What will attendees of your event receive or have the potential to receive if they attend? A chance to win or save can be a huge draw. Be sure to give your sponsors, speakers, and venue the opportunity to participate or collaborate, and you can all benefit.
Provide marketing collateral. Professionally created printed and digital assets are key. Sponsors and speakers will be much more likely to cross-promote when provided assets with their names, brands, and business information. In fact, on a list of priorities, marketing collateral should be at the top! Provide graphics early and be sure to include links, URLs, ticketing info, dates, and more.
Engage with your audience. Be sure to stay on top of any event-related social media questions and exchanges. Retweet, reshare, and respond to anyone promoting your event. Be a part of the conversation and keep interested parties feeling invested and connected.
These are just a handful of tips and tricks that we hope you will consider when developing your event’s marketing strategy. Make the most of every opportunity, every tool, and every platform, and we’re sure your event, whether virtual or in person, will be a huge success.
For more powerful marketing tips, be sure to subscribe, like, and follow Powerhouse Planning, LLC.
