A 2016 SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE

Check out this article about social media networks that I shared on Elitemeeting.com earlier this year.

It seems like every time we turn around, there is a new social media tool to use and everything we knew about the current tools seems to change on a daily basis. So – this blog post is an attempt to catch you up on some of the big things you should know about the social media platforms you are leveraging to promote your events and connect with your audience. I’m going to cover the major social networks and give you my thoughts on what is working well or giving people challenges as I know it is very hard to keep up.

Facebook
Facebook is still the social media of choice, particularly because so many people have adopted the technology and engagement is still very high. That being said, more and more brands are having trouble reaching their audience because Facebook is making it a priority to charge brands to reach their audience. I still recommend using this platform, but I think you should have a very strategic plan on how to increase engagement and likes, other then simply buying boosted posts. The more money you put into Facebook, it seems the less organic return you get. Instead of buying ads on a regular basis, consider how you can engage your audience on a more personal level to keep making use of this platform.

Instagram
I believe more and more in the power of Instagram for event planners and out of the social networks I’m covering today, I believe this is where you will find your biggest reward. Not only is the visual aspect of this very appealing, but there is very little to read and hashtags allow you to spread your message far and wide. The big downside is that you are not able to share links that are clickable in the caption so you end up driving very little traffic back to your website. On a good note, Instagram has recently allowed brands to switch easily between accounts without having to log in and out frequently as we have had to do in the past. This is a very important tool for keeping your audience engaged on a regular basis so I highly recommend embracing this platform, if you haven’t already.

Twitter
Many people are saying that the downfall of Twitter is not too far in the future. While many people were using third-party apps to enhance their Twitter experience, the platform basically bought out many of those third-party services and never created replacement solutions. Many of us feel that Twitter has become very spammy and engagement is low. That being said, for those people who still have a following there, it is important to maintain your content strategy and continue to make an effort to engage personally with the people in your audience. For the time being, Twitter is still a very popular platform and is widely used, especially in news and events circles so it is an important platform for us as event professionals.

Photos: tanuha2001 / Shutterstock.com