How You Can Make Your Events Awesome By Taking Advantage of Social Media by @dancarthy2

Events are there to let people hear about what you have to say. Events serve as a great way to reach out to your current customer/client base, they can be used to pitch a new idea to the world and of course, to close deals. And it’s safe to say that events can be quite useful. However, getting the desired number of attendees isn’t an easy job. Getting people hyped about your event requires a few tricks and at least one marketing maestro. Fortunately, with the help of social media, things can be a bit easier. Let’s see how you can take that to your advantage.

Easier organization

No matter what you plan to organize, know that you should never underestimate the power of social media. Facebook is without a doubt the most popular social network and it is followed by Twitter and Instagram. Considering this fact, it is no surprise that more and more event organizers plan to increase use of social media for this purpose in the future. Social networks save time and effort while creating a collaborative environment but still manage to reduce endless email exchange. Surely you’d like to reduce email volume and all the fuss that goes along with it. Also, you can easily collect RSVPs with various platforms, consult the attendees and even find suppliers.

Promotion has never been easier

Yes, social media helps here too. There are social media such as LinkedIn, Eventility and LinkedIn Events that really do wonders when it comes to social media event promotion and the whole promotion itself. The first step would be for you to create an event listing. This way you will make your event more discoverable and you’ll have the insight into your potential attendees. Another great thing would be to integrate social media with registration. Do not be too assertive but ask attendees to share the event once they’ve registered. That’s how you get free promotion. More and more companies come up with witty hashtags which makes it easy for everyone to follow the buzz around the event. Last but not least, use video marketing to build up excitement and anticipation before the event. Videos do not require loads of money and they are easily shared online.

Get them engaged through social media

The story about social media doesn’t end as soon as the event starts. There are things that you can do to enhance the live experience. Introducing prizes is one of them. This is a popular way to encourage discussion. Reward the most engaged attendees by awarding them with a prize for tweet of the day or most retweeted or most tweets. This is just an example but you probably get the idea. Also, if you can live stream your event that would be awesome. Through these streams you can reach out to a potential audience of millions. Encouraging your guests to ‘check-in’ at different locations around the venue is also a good suggestion since it motivates the others to visit various booths. Of course, in order to make the event experience great, provide customer support. Attendees post questions and comments on social media so make sure that you’re present there too.

The lifetime value of your event

Just like the role of social media doesn’t end at the start of the event, its role doesn’t end by the end of the event. Extend the lifetime value of your event by posting online. For example, video the whole event and upload the highlights to YouTube. That will remind attendees of how awesome your event was and that will encourage them to attend your future events. Share your presentations and post pictures on popular networks such as Pinterest and Instagram. Also, ask for feedback. There is always something that can be done better. Last but not least, maintain the community, keep them engaged. Use social media to check on your attendees and don’t let them forget you.

Conclusion

Don’t forget to enjoy your event! Following each tip is important but don’t get lost in the process. Appreciate what you’ve done and enjoy.