Planning and marketing a large-scale event can be exciting and stressful all at the same time. With the growth of social media, event marketers have access to a huge audience and powerful tools to ensure their events are well attended and engaging. How does someone with little to no experience use social media to market an event? I’m going to give you a step by step guide to help you make it through.
First, you need to break your planning down into three categories: before, during, and after the event. Social media strategy before an event builds excitement and increases ticket sales. During the event, you want to engage your attendees, answer any questions they have and respond to complaints immediately. Social media strategy after an event should focus on gathering feedback, providing recaps, and thanking your attendees.
Before Your Event
Choose Your Channels
First, you need to decide which channels you’re going to use. It’s best to pick a few channels and focus on doing them well instead of choosing every channel you can find and executing your strategy poorly. I like to use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for event promotion. There is also something to be said about Snapchat, but I’ve not used it for promotion yet.
Set Goals
What exactly do you want your campaign to achieve? For events, you’re typically going to want to increase registration numbers. Sit down with your team and figure out exactly how many attendees you think social channels can bring in. This number will depend on how active you already are on social media. You’re likely to drive more ticket sales if you already have an active social presence.
Determine Ad Budget
Based on the goals you just set, come up with a reasonable budget for achieving those goals. According to content marketing specialist, Preston Kendig, 15%-20% of your digital marketing budget is typically spent on social media marketing. This includes organic and paid efforts. An example of an organic social media effort is staff time spent creating content which is then posted, but not necessarily used as an ad.
Create Or Designate a Landing Page
A slow, confusing landing page can quickly kill all your social media marketing efforts. Your landing page should load as fast as possible and should provide clear information for visitors on what you want them to do. Most likely, this is going to include information on how to purchase tickets for the event, as well as event details.
Plan Your Content
Content posted before an event should focus on driving ticket sales, getting everyone excited for your event, and providing relevant information. This could include sneak peaks of merchandise, quotes from guest speakers, directions to your venue, and a detailed schedule of events. If you’ve collected content from previous years, you should use it now! Things like testimonies and pictures are very engaging. Now is also the time to create an event hashtag. Look for an upcoming post on how to use this tool.
Plan Your Strategy for the Day of the Event
Posting on social should not stop on the day of your event. However, you will be busy executing your vision, so it’s important to plan for your social media posts. You should designate a member of your team as the official social media poster to ensure all content is on brand and aligned with your “day of “strategy. Talk with them before the event to make sure they have the technology, images, and access they will need to represent your event effectively. I like to use Canva and Hootsuite on the day of an event. Both apps are great on mobile and user friendly.
During Your Event
Engage with Attendees
This is where your designated team member comes in handy. People are likely going to have questions or comments on the day of your event, and you need to make sure they get a quick response. Not only can you thank attendees for positive feedback, but you can rectify any issues which are reported. You can also ask questions, conduct polls, and post event information. For example, if there are any breaks built into your event you can post a quick 5-minute warning to let everyone know it’s time to find their way back to their seats.
Post Meaningful Content
Make sure to capture as much content as you can to share what’s meaningful with your audience. Facebook live has become very poplar and creates something for those not in attendance to interact with. This can also encourage attendance at next year’s event. You can also post images of your speaker overlaid with a quote from their talk. You should tag or mention them in your post to drive more engagement. You can also monitor your event hashtag to see what content your attendees are posting and share it.
After Your Event
You may think your work is done after the event, but this time is extremely valuable for gathering feedback and further engaging your audience. You can share a link to your post-event survey, recap the event, and share photos. This is a good time to share relevant links to products, speakers, or anything discussed during your event. This makes it easy for your attendees to make a purchase. It’s also wise to thank everyone who attended. Your event would be impossible without them!
With some planning and creativity, you can successfully market any event using social media. If all of this seems overwhelming, or if you just don’t have the time, let me take care of it for you! Connect with me to discuss how I can help you.