by Heather Myklegard on
When organizing a large scale event for your company, not only do you have to build the event, but you also have to market your event. If you haven’t thought about a conference planning tool look at BusyConf. BusyConf can help you get everything in place and run smoothly. You can send out professional call for proposals, sell tickets, and create your schedule all on one easy platform.
The next step is to begin marketing your event. Social media can, and should, play a huge roll when it comes to marketing your next event. The great part about social media is most of it is free. If you know how to use it well, it can be a critical part of your marketing strategy. Social media will help get the word out about your event, help you sell tickets, and create enough buzz that people will be looking forward to your event year after year. Here are a few easy tips and tricks to consider when promoting your event using social media.
Facebook is still one of the most widely used social media platforms. Facebook has the most diverse audience of any of the social media platforms, and now with hashtags, you can easily be found through Graph Search. Facebook is a place to have a conversation and build community. Facebook has 955 million active users so you really don’t want to miss your chance to promote your event on Facebook!
Before the Event: Post information, links, and call-to-actions regarding your event in status updates. Make it fun. Let people know all the details. Tell them what they will learn at your event, and give them direction as to where to go to sign up. Always post a link to your website or whichever platform you are using to register attendees. Facebook is now using hashtags as well. It is very similar to the hashtags you use on Twitter so be sure to add those hashtags into your status updates when posting about your event.
Create a Facebook Page: If this is going to be a big event, why not have your own page? This page would be dedicated to your event. You can post about the type of speakers you are looking for and gain insight from your audience as to what they would like to cover at the event. Showcase your sponsors, volunteers, and speakers. If this is a re-occurring event, show pictures from past years. Once you have a business page for your event you can create an event from your page. You can share this event with all of your fans and friends on Facebook. People can RSVP, make comments, and even ask questions.
If you have the budget, you can purchase a Facebook ad to run for a month or two before your event. Set your daily limit at around $5.00 and have multiple versions of the ad. See which version works best and document that for future reference. You can set your ad to target a specific demographic, age, and location.
Learn more about Facebook ads.
Google+ is still the new kid on the block but is quickly gaining speed. Google+ posts will follow you across all of Google’s products. Google+ posts also have a much longer shelf-life than Facebook or Twitter. This means that after a few days your Facebook post will be buried and hard to locate. But on Google+ your post is always searchable by someone in your network.
Before the Event: There is a different crowd on Google+ than Facebook so it might be wise to promote your event on Google+ as well. This will branch out your circle and hopefully reach some potential attendees that you wouldn’t find on Facebook. Share your event, pictures, details, and website on Google+ just as you would Facebook. You can tag other organizations, sponsors, or volunteers so they will be sure to see the post as well. Ask people to share with their circles and help spread the word.
During the Event: In this day and age, it is very easy to share status updates and posts from just about anywhere. Make sure you have the Google+ app on your iPhone or iPad and share updates to your circles about what you are learning at the event. Tell them about the amazing keynote speaker who received a standing ovation. You can also add pictures and have fun with it. Entice those who didn’t attend to want to attend next year.
After the Event: Same as with Twitter or Facebook you will want to continue to thank your sponsors, speakers, volunteers, and attendees. Post pictures of the event and ask for feedback.
Twitter is a micro blogging site that allows news and conversations to be delivered in real time. Many businesses have dismissed Twitter simply because they do not understand how it works. Twitter currently has 465 million accounts and boast 175 million tweets a day. You don’t want to miss out on a chance to reach millions of people!
Before the Event: Create a hashtag on Twitter for your event and use this same hashtag with every tweet that goes out between now, during, and after your event. This will help people locate your event and find the information they need. Ask your followers questions, share with them who will be speaking, and ask them to retweet your posts to spread the word. You can even have a drawing for a free ticket to anyone who tweets or retweets about your event.
During the Event: Twitter is great in that during the event you cannot tweet too much. So pull out that phone and tweet away! Tweet a funny question you heard, tweet a powerful statement made by the speaker, tweet about the amazing coffee. Use that same hashtag to let people know about the next speaker or an interesting take-away from a presentation. You can have attendees tweet as a way to ask their questions. Make sure they use the designated hashtag so that you can easily find their tweet. You will want all of your print materials to have the hashtag written out so people know what to search for and what to use when tweeting. It would also be wise to tell all of your speakers what the designated hashtag will be so they can tweet as well and/or tell the audience about the hashtag.
After the Event: Continue to tweet interesting stats, figures, and statements about the event. Thank your sponsors. Thank your attendees. Ask for feedback. Which speaker did the attendees enjoy the most? What topics did they wish were covered but were not? How can you improve on next years event? Tweet pictures from the event and mention others. Remember to use the hashtag!
As with any social media platform and campaign consistency is key. Be sure to post about your event at least once day. Find out when your audience is most likely to be online. It will vary for each platform. Make each post, share, or tweet interesting and share-worthy. Entice your audience. Show them why your event is the place to be. And above all else, have fun! Social media is about engaging and having a conversation . Make your posts memorable and colorful and people will want to go to your event! You will need your whole team on board if you want to truly make an impact on social media. If all of this social media buzz seems a bit too overwhelming, consult a social media consultant to help you put all the pieces together. Good luck!
