Getting your message out to as many people as possible is an important step in achieving your business goals. Many businesses organise events where they share their information with a select audience, but how can that message be shared more widely?
Social media is the clear answer here and has the potential to get your event noticed as it’s happening. We’ve shared a number of great ways that you can optimise social media during your event to help you improve your outcomes and reach a new, organic market. Take a look now!
Use All the Social Media Channels Available to You
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest and LinkedIn are all great platforms that you can use to share your event and are free to join and post. This means free advertising and access to a wide audience base that may not have heard of your event via any other channels.
Before you start posting the same content on each site, take the time to find out how each platform works, the character requirements and whether you should create video content, written content or photo content. By personalising each post for the platform you are using, you are more likely to get a wider reception and more likes and views.
Post Regularly On All Channels
Regular posting is an important part of gathering a large social media following and this means starting to share things as soon as your event is given the green light. From teasing what is to come to sharing information on speakers and venue arrangements, you can build anticipation and get more people wanting to take part.
Consistent posting is also important during the event, showing those who are not in attendance what is happening and the exciting things that are shared each day. It’s also a great way to round up the day’s events for delegates to see, reminding them of what they got to be part of. Once your event is over, you can still use social media to remind people of what happened and get feedback on the event as well as ideas and requests for the next event you plan.
Create Event Hashtags
When your event begins it is a good idea to share hashtags that have been designed to fit the event so that everyone can access posts from others and have their post seen by people who are interested in the event. Keeping the hashtag short and simple is the best way to get people to use it and provides you with a bank of information that can help you review the event’s success.
The other great thing about using hashtags is that they will trend on social media channels, helping to draw interest from users that may not have heard about your event before. When you look at the collection of photos, tweets and comments attached to the hashtag you will get a clear overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the event, giving you a clear path to follow when you plan your next big event.
Arrange Different Contests & Polls
Lots of people share freely on social media but many don’t and it’s the ones that don’t that you need to attract so that you get a wider range of interaction with lots of different groups of people. One way to encourage people to get involved is by using polls and competitions that directly ask for their opinions and knowledge.
Polls are a great way to get instant feedback and test the general feeling of your audience. They can be posted before, during and after an event and the stats they produce can be used in your evaluation of the event. Competitions are a great way to increase interest in your event and get people to like and share your posts in a bid to win. With competitions, offering something that your audience will see as valuable is the best way to get the most interaction.
Showcase Your Event
Creating a memorable event for your delegates is important, but so is creating a memorable social media campaign during your event. The main reason for this is to ensure repeat and new business at your next event! Once your event is over, take the time to create a set of social media posts that showcase all the great things that happened, along with captions and quotes.
Make sure that you cover all aspects of the event from the speakers to the catering and the delegates to the materials shared. Doing this will not only help people to see what they missed out on but will also cement you as a leading event organiser, making them trust you and want to attend an event you plan.
Generate Buzz
It’s clear that social media holds a lot of power, especially when it comes to finding a new audience and getting people excited about your event. Rather than just posting sporadically, take the time to plan a social media campaign that will help you to generate buzz around the event.
From countdowns to quotes and speaker info to hospitality information there are a lot of great ways you can get an audience excited about what you have to offer. Plan to share a different post each time you go onto social media and try to tantalise your audience rather than giving away everything that they will see when they visit.
Understanding the Power of Social Media
When you stop to consider that around 4 billion people make active use of social media across the globe, it proves that it is a rich resource that can help you get the outcomes you need for your next event. If you’ve not used social media for advertising an event before then take it slow and learn the ins and outs of one channel at a time before moving on to the next. Well-organised and expertly crafted posts have the power to improve your profits – so, get started today!
To find out more:
Call us on: +44 (0)1438 908770
Email: enquiries@miceconcierge.com
anna.hellawell@miceconcierge.com
andrew.bowers@miceconcierge
Related: How to Build the Best Event Website
