Event promotion is a pretty difficult task to perform, even in today’s social media age. Each and every event banks on stellar attendance, in order to boost profitability, whether it is a festival, seminar or even a trade show. Though many people assume that event promotion is just posting it online and letting the advertisement speak for itself, promotion is actually an intricate science with certain set steps that if followed correctly, will ascertain a wider audience outreach. The following are tips on social media event promotion:
1. Pick the ideal social platform to promote your event
Just like there are different types of events, there are also numerous social sites that deal with a specific audience. The main in today’s age are: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Facebook encompasses all aspects in that it allows for multiple events pages, event updates and allows the promoters an opportunity to actually engage their audience. Instagram focuses on the visual side of things, since after all, it is a medium for sharing photos and videos and it appeals to festivals, whether music or cultural. LinkedIn is for the professional side of things, it hosts professionals in different fields and allows for the promotion of seminars and conferences. Twitter is a medium that allows for the constant engagement of the audience with hashtags and the ability to form comprehensive polls and discussions.
2. Generate an event hashtag
Event hashtags are one of the most underrated tools that can be effectively used when promoting an event. These days, all social platforms support hashtags. Hashtags are important in that they help in creating buzz around a particular event, as they create a simple, manageable platform from which the audience can engage.
Hashtags should be short, unique and easily recognizable. Availing the hashtag in all of the event’s paraphernalia from the invites, to the tickets, to the banners, even on the organizer’s social profiles and website, if any. This builds hype for the event.
3. Produce pre-event content
People living in the 21st Century are very forgetful, without constant reminders on the event, they quickly lose interest and look for the next thing that grabs their attention. The best way to garner and maintain this attention is through pre-event content.
This is done by crafting the content carefully and investing in tools that help in streamlining the flow of information. Content can include blog posts, videos and even images that are related to the event. This allows the engaged audience to share such with their own friends or followers and let the content speak for itself.
4. Invest in social media influencers and paid advertisements
Probably one of the simplest methods of building hype for an event is by getting event influencers to promote the event. These people tend to have large followings and building relationships with such people can really boost the credibility and turn out.
By paying to play the environment, paid advertisements are able to get the content to the right people. With most social sites offering analytical capabilities, advertising using the site’s official advertisement department can help boost outreach of your posts, this supported by your own organic posts can be very beneficial.
5. Sustain social momentum
This is a step that encompasses all actions taken during the event and afterwards. From taking snippets during the event, in the forms of videos and photos, in order to showcase them on the social profiles and website, to generating conversations in order to attain feedback on the event. All this helps maintain a lasting impression on the audience and builds a rapport, so that in the future, it will be much easier for you to get people to attend an event.
Social media is a phenomenon that has reduced the amount of work event promoters need to do, but only if they are able to approach the problem strategically. We cannot stress the importance of generating clear plans and outlines when tackling social media and success doesn’t just occur overnight, it takes time and along the road mistakes will be made, but the beauty in that, is that we are forced to adapt & learn.
For an in-depth look into the sites, visit Eventbrite. Also, kindly view our post on fake social media influencers in case you are looking to hire some to promote your event.
Let this post encourage a dialogue down in the comments section below and all thoughts are welcome……….
