
By this point, if you’re not using social media to promote your company event, then why even bother having an event at all?
Even if you do use social media, it’s not enough to just stick to one or two social networks and send a few posts here and there and expect everything to be all hunky dory.
Not only do you need social media but you need to use it the right way, or else you can expect empty seats and the chirping of crickets come your next event.
It was just mentioned that it’s not enough to use social media solely for sending posts. Social networks offer so much tools; it’s a head-scratcher why so many of them are underutilized. One way social networks can be put to good promotional use is by hosting a contest. To encourage maximum participation, promise a prize for the winner (such as a free event ticket) as well as a smaller prize for everyone who participates.
At a lost for ideas? Here are a few to get you on the right track:
The T-shirt company Qwertee held a very successful contest on Facebook that’s deceptively simple. All entrants had to do was like its Facebook page, submit their email, and be automatically entered into a sweepstakes contest.
The contest was a success, and the company reached its goal of 100,000 Facebook likes.
Photo: Wish Pond
This is standard practice that many companies already implement. However, there are several key points to make it more effective.
Consider these ideas:
All other promotional material from other social networks should include a link back to this main event page.
Blogs, in a way, also constitute as social media in the sense that they can be shared, liked, and commented on. In the days leading up to the event, create several blog posts divided up into parts and gradually released to help build hype. The post may mention the event in passing but the bulk of the focus should be useful content.
If you’re hosting a self-empowerment event, for instance, then about 10 days or so before the event, begin releasing a series of blog posts about self-empowerment, such as:
You would release a new blog post each day until the day before the event. These posts are free information that you provide to your followers. After all, the more you give, the more your followers will return the goodwill gesture in kind.
Rather than just selling tickets on your company site, make social media an active part of your campaign. There’s no guarantee that tickets will sell like hotcakes, but more than likely you’ll sell far more than you could’ve without social media utilization.