Social media is an important and essential marketing strategy to promote your event before, during and after the event. With more than 1.4 billion people on Facebook, 284 million on Twitter and 300 million on Instagram, that’s a lot of people to reach! But with so much content, it’s important to incorporate creative and unique ideas to engage users and turn your event into a social success. Here are some tips you can tweak to fit your event social media planning needs.
- Hashtag it – Create a special hashtag for your event. Make sure that it’s unique to your event, concise and consistent on all collateral and platforms. If your event is annual, add the year to distinguish and help for further tracking.
- “Insta” Gratification – Give your guest the gift of instant gratification by live broadcasting the selfies they upload prior to and at the event with the appropriate hashtags on social media. This helps to positively reinforce your guest experience and interaction with your brand.
- You’re invited – Cause a word of mouth wildfire by asking your guests to share their RSVP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Make it as easy as possible with a few sentences to extend the invitation. Don’t forget to use the event’s special hashtag for tracking and continuity.
- Behind the scenes – Show them what’s behind the curtain of an event by hiring someone, designating a person on your team or recruiting your entire staff to capture behind the scenes footage. People are interested in how things are done so show them how the magic happens by exhibiting what it takes to bring everything together, how the staff interacts while the event is going on and what happens after the curtain falls.
- Power in numbers – Collaborate with vendors at your event to use your promotional material on their social media channels. This increases your reach and chance of being seen, followed and attended by others not in your immediate network.
- Feed FOMO – Play into people’s “fear of missing out” by live streaming your event. After seeing the fun with their own eyes they won’t want to miss it next year.
- Monkey See – Prompt people to share on social media what they find interesting by making their environment eye catching, pretty, unique, and even a little unusual. The more visually appealing the venue, the more your guest will be encourage posting. The Keep Memory Alive Event Center is a perfect example of an environment that people want to share with their followers.
- Tell it like it is – Let your guests’ voices be heard with a testimonial booth. Increase your control of the content by having a cameraman present to take the footage and then package the clips to use for later.
Take these tips and run with them to further individualize, promote and wow your guests with social media at your event.