What was life even like before we had Facebook and Evite to promote events? Nowadays the handwritten invitation in the mail is a rarity mostly reserved for weddings. With the web we have the fortunate opportunity to streamline event planning and social media is making it even easier. Now we are able to connect to our fans through a central page and make it easy for them to do the same to share as well. With the connectivity of social media today word of mouth really can spread like wildfire, making it easier for event planners to not only promote their event but gain feedback as well.
Whether you are planning a corporate event, fundraiser or conference, utilizing social media can elevate your next event. Here are some tips to show you how:
1. Determine Promotional Channels
Decide how you are going to get your message out to promote your event. What social media channel are you going to utilize? The answer is as many as you have access to. First create some content about your event that you can utilize to create an event on Facebook and other socially shared calendars. It can also be helpful to come up with a hashtag strategy so you can effectively utilize Twitter for your event promotion. This should be marketed in all print and published materials to help promote interactivity.
Once you have determined your channels, establish a plan for content. You may not always have all the content you need at your disposal so it’s important to have a plan so you can plan to generate some fresh content as needed. Photos, videos and blog posts can be great outlets to drive word of mouth.
2. Incent Your Audience
A great way to engage your audience and create some promotional momentum is to create incentive based promotions. This could be a discount for early registration, a special gift bag for first time registrants, or even a chance to win a prize. This can also dual as a great sponsorship opportunity for event partners.
3. Geo-Location & Rewards
Sites like Foursquare and Social Pass have given companies a great opportunity to create a relationship with customers. Utilize these services throughout an event to keep people talking and sharing, since both these sights link to other Social Media sites. Get more for your efforts this way. Great offers for checking in could consist of free swag, discounts on other events, recognition or raffle opportunities.
4. Twitter – Your On-Site BFF
Twitter when used effectively onsite can make for great discussion and even better engagement from your event’s attendees. Make sure to keep content fresh and relevant, not redundant. This is where your hashtag from all pre-event promotion will really make an impact.
5. Life After the Party
With all the pre-planning and promotion that went into your event before and during your event why would you hesitate to promote post event as well. Find a way to keep the conversation going, utilize surveys, event photos and testimonials to do this. These can be great conversation pieces for your companies blog, helping you bring your recent event back to life.
Utilize these five tips to help make your next big event a success, something your audience will be talking about long after the doors have closed.
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