With the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, the world is slowly opening back up. Many businesses and organizations are even having socially distanced events as we finally go back to normal.
Has it been so long since your last event that you’ve forgotten how to promote it? If so, don’t worry—we’re here to help! Follow along as we cover the top four things you need to successfully use social media to get a great turnout for your next event.
Stunning Visuals
We’re all guilty of it—mindlessly scrolling through our social media feed. What is most likely to pull you out of that robotic thumb swiping? A bunch of boring text? That thumb would never even slow down. But a stunning photo or video of people having fun? That’ll get anyone’s attention!
It is so important to use high-quality photos and videos on your event promotions. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to go out and hire a photographer. Just make sure that your images are clear, bright, and attention-grabbing. Videos can be a little trickier, but it’s nothing you can’t handle with some help.
A Catchy Hashtag
Your event probably already has a name if you’re already thinking about how to promote it on social media. Now, you just need to come up with an equally catchy hashtag!
The two biggest things to keep in mind when you’re brainstorming an event hashtag—keep it short and make it unique to your event. Think: #UptickTips instead of #Uptick (not unique enough) or #UptickSocialMediaMarketingTips (not short enough).
Once you have your event hashtag, be sure to use it every time you post about your event on a social media platform. You’ll also want to encourage your sponsors and attendees to do the same! This will ultimately help you build brand awareness around your event.
A Solid Social Media Strategy
When you sit down to create your strategy, you’ll want to think about each social media platform you plan to use. Read up on the best time to post for each one. Consider the best way to format each of your event posts. (Pro tip: Facebook Events are a fantastic tool for event promotion.) Then, you’ll want to think about how often you want to post about your event. (We recommend a lot.)
Lastly, you’ll want to put a little bit of money behind promoting that event on social media. A small ad budget goes a long way when it comes to social media boosting! You can even target people who would be most interested in attending your event. Targeting audiences and locations can get a little tricky—so let us know if you want some help.
Brand Advocates
Last but not least, brand advocates are a vital part of your successful social media event promotion. But we encourage you to get creative on what you consider a brand advocate.
Engage your sponsors and speakers to help you promote your event. You can even share their content to raise awareness and generate excitement. With some behind-the-scenes photos or videos, you can easily let your followers know what you have going on.
Another way to create your own brand advocates is to engage people who would already be interested. If you’re having a craft beer event, join local craft beer groups and invite them to your event. Ta-da! Now you have a whole lot of new brand advocates! There are Facebook groups for everything, so this will pretty much work across the board. (Is your event related to children? Join parenting Facebook groups and invite them!)
Need Some Help?
Events are a lot of work to plan and execute, so a good turnout makes sure that all your hard work isn’t for nothing. Social media can be an invaluable tool for promoting your event to a whole new audience, but only if you do it correctly. Let us know if you want some backup when promoting your next event.
