Why not sell events on social media?
Since the beginning of time, events have been a powerful way to market in an indirect manner. Even marketers are in agreement – 52% of them say that event marketing is the most effective way to drive ROI. And what better way to spread the word than through social media event promotion?
Since the pandemic, commercial events have undergone a transformation that is unprecedented. Social media was a lifesaver for people who were banned from attending public events.
The days of solely relying on traditional marketing channels are over. Social media platforms allow you to harness the unlimited potential of virtual engagement.
Marketing an event requires as much foresight and planning as organizing it. It’s hard to keep up with everything when you have so many things to do. You must create a plan for social media marketing and follow it.
Marketing an event can be divided into three phases.
All of it starts before the event, with creating buzz and awareness to pique interest in your audience. Next, you need to ensure that the event gets maximum exposure across all platforms. Post-event activities are where you can reap the benefits of the event by sharing the content captured, answering questions and responding to comments.
Social media is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals at every stage of an event.
More reasons to consider? Need more reasons? Here are some.
Why Should We Use Social Media Event Marketing for Our Events?
Social media is a platform that’s too important to ignore. Nearly 4.9 billion out of 8 billion people on the planet are active users. If you still need convincing, consider these compelling reasons.
1. Increased Awareness
More than half of the world’s population is active on social media. You can create awareness for your event by creating a solid social event marketing strategy.
Events come and go unlike brands, which are always there. They need to be promoted in the most effective way possible. This will help you get your event onto your audience’s radar, and tap into more interested segments.
2. Target Effectively
You can target specific demographics with social media, both organically and through paid advertising. You can also fine-tune the focus of your content based on different demographics across channels, which vary widely.
3. Create Hype through Continuity
By strategically planning and implementing posting frequency, it is easy to create a buzz around an event. You can find out the best time to post on social media. By posting a constant stream of content about the event across all platforms you can evoke interest in your audience.
4. Easy Engagement both ways
The simple way of communicating via social networks is extremely convenient for both organizers and audience. This encourages engagement, which increases the likelihood of attendees at the event.
5. Promoting your business in a cost-effective way
Social media can be a cost-effective marketing tool when used organically.
6. Social Media’s Most Popular Faces
Influencers are a vital part of today’s marketing. Influencers are often tapped by brands to help them gain attention from their target audience. They are most powerful on social media. Their followers will be interested in any posts they make about the event.
7. The After-Effects
In the traditional world of marketing, after an event, the buzz dies down and the chatter spreads. On social media, it’s a different story. The buzz doesn’t die down. People continue to talk about it, post images and videos, and give their opinions and reviews. Marketers can use this to their advantage.
This will make you more confident in the ability of social media to promote your event and achieve success. We’re now ready to move on to the next stage, which includes some important decisions.
Let’s begin!
Set the stage: Prepare for Social Media Event Success
The logistics of setting up the stage is important, but marketing your event is a strategy. You may lose the battle before you even start if you do not cover all bases.
The success of the marketing strategy and the event as a whole is crucial. It is important to pay attention to each detail and have a thoughtful approach.
The list of tasks includes understanding your audience, setting measurable goals and creating a compelling narrative for the event. You will also need to select the best social media platforms. We will guide you through planning to ensure you have the foundation you need for a successful event.
1. Audience Persona
First things first
Start by identifying the audience you plan to market to.
Your choice of audience depends on the event type you’re marketing. There are many options, including conferences, trade shows, webinars/seminars, workshops and launch events.
If we were to promote a sculpting class, potential attendees would include aspiring sculptors or hobbyists. They could also be curious explorers or people seeking therapeutic activities.
You can customize your event marketing to appeal to your target audience by analyzing their demographics, interests and behaviors, as well as any pain points and motivations.
Let’s find out where we can find the ideal attendees that we have identified.
2. Social Media Networks: How to Choose the Best One
The next step after defining your audience personas is to identify which social media networks they use. This is an important step in your social event marketing strategy.
Aim for the bullseye.
- Facebook Facebook is the world’s largest social network with 2.989 billion users monthly as of April 2023. It allows you to update event information, interact with attendees via event pages and run targeted advertisements to reach specific demographics.
- Instagram With a staggering 1.628 billion active users, this platform has become known for its visually stunning posts. Instagram is the ideal platform to display visually appealing events such as art exhibitions or fashion shows.
- LinkedInWith more than 900,000,000 users, LinkedIn offers the ideal platform to promote conferences, professional events, B2B gatherings and other business-to-business meetings. You can target professionals by job title, industry and company size. This makes it a great platform for networking.
- Twitter Twitter is best known for its viral discussions and hosts 330 millions monthly users. Its fast-paced platform is perfect for quick updates, live conversations, and trending topics. This is also where people can express their opinions. So, you should keep track of the buzz that your social media marketing generates.
- YouTube YouTube is the largest video hub on the planet, with 2.68 billion active monthly users. This platform is a great place to post event highlights, behind the scenes footage and speaker interviews. Event videos can help you extend the shelf life of your event.
- TikTok TikTok’s popularity has soared in a short period of time. Its viral trends, its creative filters and the 1.05 billion users it attracts monthly have all contributed to this. This app is a great way to promote creative events geared towards youth. Short-form videos can be used to start trends and UGC is a proven marketing technique on TikTok.
Let’s get to the main requirement.
3. Budget: Every cent counts
Budget allocation is necessary for all forms of marketing. Social media will account for an average 15% of marketing budgets in 2022. The number is expected to increase over time.
It may seem ironic to you that after discussing the cost-effectiveness and effectiveness of social media marketing, we are now talking about budget requirements. It’s more nuanced.
These are some of the elements that can be affected by monetary requirements:
The rest of the process can be done with little expense, except for influencers. Allocating a part of your marketing budget for these elements will give your content an extra boost of visibility, making sure it appears at the top of your audience’s feeds.
4. Influencers on board
Influencers are a key ingredient in successful social media campaigns today. Influencers are the perfect way to create buzz and make an impact on social media.
As important as it is to select the correct social media networks, you also need to carefully screen and onboard the influencers who are aligned with your event.
Influencers are categorized by their level of fame, which can range from micro-influencers, who are known within a niche, to celebrities.
You’ll want to find influencers who have a similar audience as your target. Contact them and pitch your offer. Don’t just focus on the financial compensation, but also emphasize the increased social media following that they may gain.
Influencers are always looking for ways to increase their following.
5. Set Your Campaign Hashtag
Hashtags can be more than just a few words; They are neon signs to help you discover your content. They are crucial in the context of campaigns and events to establish a unique identity.
Hashtags are a great way to set the tone of an event. They can create a narrative that is relatable and engaging for the audience. Since they can be tracked with certain tools, hashtags are also a measurable metric.
After you choose a hashtag, make sure to use it consistently in your social media bios and all of your content. Keep it short and catchy. Promote it in all of your social media content, including videos.
You can also encourage users to post anything relevant to the event using the hashtag later in the campaign. This will not only signal the social algorithm that your posts should be displayed on more feeds, but it will also increase your reach and engagement.
6. Timeline to Streamline
Social media marketing can be divided in three phases. Do you know the exact timing of each?
It is not recommended to wing it.
By defining the major milestones of your event promotion journey, you can ensure that each piece of content, interaction, and engagement is delivered at the perfect moment for maximum impact.
Decide when your first social media marketing event will begin. Make sure that the event marketing begins simultaneously across all social networks.
It’s not important to give a specific date to your social media marketing efforts during the event (since they happen during the event). However, it is important to know how long you intend to continue these activities after the event.
Structure your content calendar in accordance with the milestones you have set. Create a calendar of content that includes specific dates and times to perform each social media task, such as posting and engaging. This will ensure a constant flow of engaging content and avoid any last-minute scrambling.
Numerous social media calendars are available to track your strategy’s creation, visualisation, and execution.
It’s hard enough to keep track of your social media posts, but using a spreadsheet for this is even more difficult because it isn’t designed for the purpose.
SocialPilot’s multi-functional Social Media Content Calendar is the perfect solution. The calendar’s flexible interface allows users to see their content and even change the publishing date or time of their scheduled posts. The calendar can be used to create and edit posts.
Get a 14-day trial now
It’s now time to get started with the actual events. Get ready to unleash social media’s power as we continue our exploration!
Social Media Event Promotion: A Three-Stage Journey
It’s now time to begin the exciting journey. Prepare yourself for the three phases of the event: the pre-event, when anticipation is high, the mid-event, where magic happens, and finally the post-event, where you’ll make a lasting impact.
Social Media Activities for Pre-Event
This section will show you how to get people involved in your event.
1. Announce the event date
You need to announce your event’s date first. By revealing the date , you can create anticipation and a sense urgency.
Consider creating an event page for a conference or professional event on LinkedIn. Include the link to the event and your company’s page. On other platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook you can use more visual posts. Include important details, like the event name, date and location, in your creative.
Source
2. Introduce the official event hashtag
Introduce the hashtag with pomp and display, as we have already decided which hashtags will represent our event. Include hashtags and context in your posts about the event. can also encourage your audience to use the hashtag when they comment or post about the event.
3. Curiosity is sparked by revealing details
It’s time to keep people curious and spark their imagination. Use cryptic taglines that will ignite your audience’s minds. Use both “Coming Soon”, which is always mysterious, and the “Coming Soon” tagline to entice people. Include brief snippets from your event schedule in these posts.
This post incorporates it all without giving anything away.
4. Speakers or Showcase Guest Line-up
It is very effective to inform people that they will be able see or interact familiar faces. Just after the announcements are live, announce the speakers for the event. If speakers are not available, you can use special guests, performers, or guests of honor, depending on the event.
You can use their titles and achievements to show that they’re big in their respective niches, even if your line-up doesn’t include well-known stars. tag your celebrities on all social media posts. This will increase the engagement and reach of your content, resulting in more shares and retweets.
5. Share the Event Schedule
Keep your audience interested by revealing information one layer at a time. The next step is to reveal the event’s schedule. Dates and times are required to reveal the schedule of the events. You can ask people to clear their calendars or save dates.
6. Announce your ticket sales
Event marketing’s most important component is the sale of the event itself.
Whatever you decide to do with ticketing, make sure that you announce it in every social media channel.
You should link the ticketing platform in every post. Keep the process simple to avoid any glitches.
7. Countdown posts
In general, countdown posts are used to keep people alert and excited about a forthcoming event. You can choose when to set your stopwatch.
The countdown could be for an event or for the closing date of your booking. These posts can encourage people to book tickets or register for the event if they haven’t already done so, and increase excitement among those who have already reserved their seats.
It’s not necessary to post a highlight every day. But once you get started, try posting every other day. Make the number of days the focus of your creative. Don’t forget the countdown sticker on your Instagram Stories.
8. Harvest the FOMO
You need to convince people who are undecided whether or not they will attend an event to commit to it. You can do this by using their fear of being left out.
Posts like “Tickets are selling out fast!” and “Spots are filling up fast!” can be very effective!
If you have already enticed them with the information, seeing their chances of attending the event slip from their hands might be just the motivation they need to secure their spot.
Add a link that will take them to your booking page. It makes the decision-making process for potential attendees easy and without hiccups. Before they had any second thoughts, they would have already booked their place.
9. Engage with the interested
Responding to messages and comments received is an important aspect of social media marketing. This could lead to a loss of many sign-ups. Be sure to keep an eye out for any comments, messages, or queriesthat you might receive on social media.
You may have to answer a question that is preventing them from getting a ticket. You may need to address their enthusiasm for the event. It shows the customer that they are important to you.
It is difficult to keep up with the messages and comments on so many platforms. This step cannot be missed! There must be a way to manage all feedback from the audience in one place.
SocialPilot is the perfect solution for you!
Social Inbox allows you to view all comments, DMs and reviews across different social networks. Respond to comments and DMs in real-time to maintain your proactive engagement.
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Social Media Activities during the Event
We are now literally at the main event! Let’s look at some real-time social media marketing tactics.
1. Live-Action
Maximizing exposure while the event is in progress is essential. It must be live-streamed if it is an online event.
Live video features such as Facebook & Instagram Live will transport your audience to the center of the action for offline events. YouTube is perfect for real-time interaction with the audience and live broadcasts. Twitter is the best platform to get quick updates and keep up with trending topics.
2. Photo Wall
Give your audience the right backdrop for capturing, sharing event vibes and showing it off. Create a booth or selfie wall with the hashtag and event name where people can take photos or selfies.
Remember that a photowall’s goal is to create an aesthetically captivating space to spark excitement , and to encourage attendees to capture their experiences and share them.
3. Posts and stories in Real Time
Stories is a great way to promote an event as it happens.
It is true…
You can ask the attendees to share their stories. The more people share the event on social media the more exposure it will get. Also, make sure to add stickers, music and other elements to your Stories.
4. Behind-the-Scenes Scoop
Share behind-the-scenes moments or exclusive views of speaker rehearsals, event preparations or backstage moments. You can build anticipation by sharing exclusive backstage moments, or speaker rehearsals.
5. Quote Your Favorites
Quote famous speakers and personalities to capture the essence of an event. They can be humorous or informative and educational. These create content that is worth sharing. This can be done with a simple Twitter. You can use these quotes to create visual posts.
Do not forget to tag your speaker!
Post-Event Social Media Marketing
It is important to maintain momentum after the event. Here are some tips to make sure your event is remembered.
1. Thank You Notes
Commence by thanking all those who attended. This includes sponsors, partners, speakers and special guests. Include sponsors, partners and speakers. Recognize their contributions on your social media platforms. It not only shows your appreciation, but it also encourages future collaborations.
2. Highlights of the Year
Recap the event in a blog post. Include memorable moments, audience reaction, and behind the scenes footage. These can be shared as Instagram highlights, or even short videos. This will provide a nostalgic look back for those in attendance and an insight for those who weren’t able to attend.
3. Gather Feedback
Understanding the attendees’ experience is important. Create social media polls or surveys to measure their impressions. Encourage them to share their feedback and ask questions on social media. You can repurpose this feedback into new posts and acknowledge the people who provided it.
4. Share User-Generated content
Repost content that attendees and others have shared about the event. It will increase your event’s presence on social media and make users feel valued.
5. Social Media Metrics: Key Social Media Events to Analyze
It’s time to evaluate the social media marketing impact after the event.
Engagement metrics such as likes, shares, comments and retweets provide insight into the impact of your event on your audience. Reach and impressions can be used to understand the size and frequency of the online audience for your event.
Comparing performance between different social media platforms can help you identify the most efficient ones.
Here are some tips on how to use social media for event promotion. You can now customize your plan to suit the event.
Even seasoned professionals can struggle to manage so many aspects of a social media campaign for an event. An expert can be of great help.
What is it?
SocialPilot is the perfect tool for social media event marketing
SocialPilot will help you optimize your social media marketing efforts.
You ask: How?
The tool has a number of advanced features, such as Advanced Scheduling, Publishing, Social Inbox, which allows you to manage all online conversations, robust Analytics and a Team and Client Collaboration workflow that makes it easy for your team to work together.
SocialPilot is the best: it can manage all of your social media profiles from one integrated dashboard.
Explore the main features of SocialPilot a little more in detail.
- Publishing and Scheduling: The SocialPilot tool allows users to schedule and publish posts ahead of time, which ensures timely publication on social media platforms. The tool is compatible with a variety of content types, and it includes features to optimize posts in order to increase audience interest.
- Analytics This feature is an integral part of every social media tool. It helps you measure your performance across all social platforms you have marketed. SocialPilot provides detailed social media metrics on every type of posting, including reach, impressions, likes and reactions. The tool can generate reports that you can share with your team and the stakeholders of the event to help tweak your strategy.
- Social InboxThis allows users to manage conversations, feedback, reviews, and comments on multiple social networks in one place. You can monitor communication, respond and reply immediately to them to establish your brand’s audience-centricity.
- Team Collaboration and Client Collaboration SocialPilot increases team efficiency through seamless collaboration. This feature allows clients and team members to be onboarded for content management and creation. This tool provides access permissions and approval workflows that ensure alignment with event strategy.
SocialPilot offers a 14-day trial for marketers who are unsure.
The conclusion of the article is:
Our comprehensive guide to social media event promotion is now complete. We have covered all phases of an event project and provided strategies that will guide your audience through the stages from awareness to commitment to participation.
We aim to do more than just attract an audience. Our goal is to use social media to make sure the impact of the event lasts long after the event has ended, leaving a lasting impression. You can achieve your campaign objectives by strategically utilizing each social media platform’s strengths.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and think innovatively. Social media event marketing has a lot of potential. It’s up to you to explore it and make your mark.
The post Revolutionizing Event Promotion – A Deep Dive Into Social Media Event Marketing first appeared on SocialPilot.
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