Getting the most out of events with social media

The power of social media in event marketing cannot be understated. Even used at a basic level, attendance can be boosted and impact improved massively. Social media gets the conversation going before an event, raises your profile and facilitates networking and interaction during and after the event itself.

If you’re not making the most of social media, you’ll certainly be missing out on a significant amount of the ROI from your spend on events.

Create a home

If you’re running an event – whether it’s an exhibition, a seminar or a webinar – as well as having information on your website, a landing page and an effective registration form, give your event a home in social media.

In this context Eventbrite counts as social media and can help you significantly in promotion and conversion – as well as logistics. So set up an event listing and promote it in your posts. Event listings remind attendees of the event date, notify their contacts that they’re going, and provide a forum for sharing information and creating a buzz in advance of the event.

Generate and share content

Perhaps a speaker at your event has recently written an article or posted a video relevant to your event’s subject matter. Share a link to it.

Perhaps something in the news relates directly to your agenda, or you read pertinent articles from other industries or parts of the world. Let your event audience know and allow them to share their comments and insights.

Use event hashtags

If you’re running your own event, choose a snappy event hashtag and start using long before the event begins so attendees can easily find out what it is. Make sure your hashtag is unique and it will  aid you in boosting your event’s profile across social media. With a specific relevant hashtag, people are more likely to include it in their posts, helping raise your awareness and engagement.

In deciding upon a suitable hashtag, do your research. Keep it unique, punchy and relevant, and make it memorable. Then use it everywhere you can, and encourage others to use it too. Also be aware of the related hashtags that are used around your topic and include them across a number of posts too.

Set up a tweet for attendees

As well as promoting your hashtag wherever possible, it’s also a good idea to create tweets that can easily be posted by attendees. A simple ‘I’m attending event on date at location’ tweet, featuring your hashtag and the event link, can appear as a one-click share option for someone who has just registered. They let their contacts know what they’re doing: you have a targeted marketing message and event advertisement distributed for you.

Share event updates

Post on your social media networks before, during and after the event to update on progress. Share photos, videos and snippets of content. This will drive traffic to your pages as attendees look to tag themselves and share their experiences across their own personal and business networks.

Work it hard during the event

Make sure you’ve assigned people to get photos, get soundbites, interview attendees and be active on social media during your event. Keep a running commentary going from the start of the event and post the highlights – key facts, insights, pictures, quotes, statistics and more.

You should also make sure everyone tweeting about the event is added/followed too. Ask questions and try to drive some extra interaction and engagement.

Share highlights post-event

Posting highlights of the event afterwards isn’t just a great way to show people what they may have missed and to encourage them to attend future events – it helps cement the relationships that have been formed and encourages attendees to stay in touch with you and with each other. As well as contacting attendees via email to offer them access to the event’s materials, open the invitation to social media but use a lead capture form to drive more contacts into your funnel.

The content that you’ve invested in will keep working for you too. Just because the live event has passed, it doesn’t mean that people won’t want to see the content. Use videos of the speaker(s) and copies of the slide decks to drive inbound leads and keep promoting the content through social media.