If the phrase “social media promotion” makes you roll your eyes as you picture curated images and cliche captions, it’s time to think again.
When done well, social media promotion can be the ace in your back pocket for your event. Social media promotion boosts visibility and forges invaluable connections with attendees and followers.
Here are seven of our recommended ways to make the most of your social media strategy and convert your social media followers into attendees.
1. Run Promotions Exclusively for Your Social Media Followers
One of the quickest ways to make your social media followers feel like VIPs is to reward their choice to follow you by offering exclusive promotions.
- + Post an image with a #giveaway that places followers in a drawing once they’ve tagged their friends.
- + Launch a “best event photo” contest on Instagram—and gift the winners with merchandise.
- + Broadcast 20% off packages to your LinkedIn followers.
Get creative, and you’ll find plenty of ways to turn followers into attendees.
2. Make it Easy to Purchase Tickets Through Social Media
Even if you post professional quality photos alongside excellent captions, your best efforts will stagnate if your followers have to dance through a digital obstacle course to find the ticketing page. Ticket purchasing through social media should be a seamless process. Make the links obvious, and mention them often.
On Instagram, you can do this by providing the ticket sales link in your bio, your stories and your posts. For Facebook, create an event page with a link to your ticket page.
Finally, on the confirmation page, after purchasing include a pop-up that gives the option to share on social media. If you place your direct registration link in multiple places and remove the obstacles, both you and your followers will benefit.
3. Keep Followers Intrigued
As your event draws near, be intentional about building collective excitement. Be so compelling, in fact, that your followers just can’t help but stop mid-scroll and stare at your story.
You can build anticipation through countdowns, in-progress photos, and preview interviews with your keynote speakers.
Keeping your social media accounts buzzing before your event not only excites the attendees, but it often sways the people on the fence. When you pair pre-event updates, with exclusive promotions, your follower engagement will soar.
4. Establish an Official Event Hashtag
Before you roll your eyes again, know that when we say hashtag, we don’t mean #bestlife. We’re talking about the critical event tags that help thousands of people easily find photos and people at your event.
For best results, use a consistent hashtag before, during, and after your event. When attendees catch on and post using your hashtag, be sure to like and repost.
Hashtag Hint - Make your tag unique, but not too hard to find. For example, use #AustinChef not, #FoodiesofTexasLetsUnite
In addition to the official event hashtag, use hashtags that are relevant to each post. If you post an image of a Fourth of July parade, for example, use descriptive hashtags such as #julyfourth, #parade, or #partyintheUSA. This will make you visible to people searching for specific types of images, such as fireworks.
5: Consider Using Memes
Social media is filled with memes and a recent study showed that nearly one third of all content posts are memes. This poses a great opportunity for you to engage and entertain your following with a meme relating to your event.
Meme generators will let you find trending memes and then customize them to your event. Or, based on your demographic and audience, find a relevant genre of meme and make it your own.
Maybe it is an Office meme of Michael Scott celebrating and you relate that to the feeling of scoring early bird tickets for your event. Or maybe it is someone angrily smashing something and the caption relates to missing early bird discounts.
The humor and added personality will surely score extra engagement from your followers bringing more attention to your event.
6. Post Frequently
Many people worry about posting too much on social media. And yes, if you’re showcasing the minutiae of your mundane moments each morning, it might be excessive.
When it comes to your event, however, don’t shield the world from what you have!
Most social feeds are based on algorithms, so you’ll need to post several times in order to get seen. Posting frequently increases engagement, attracts new followers, and develops a photo bank for your future promotions. Plus, the people who had to miss the event can still stay connected.
7. Tag Attendees using @Mentions
At large events, oftentimes, people feel like they’re just a part of the crowd. When an event organizer tags attendees, however, people immediately feel special and recognized.
Of course, you won’t be able to tag every attendee, but just a handful of mentions will go a long way. The attendee will likely repost the picture to their account; they’ll tag their friends; everyone will gain new followers and connections.
Tagging attendees is a win for all. Just be sure to ask for permission, and, please, only use flattering images. No one wants to be stuck on the main event page with broccoli in their teeth.
Key Takeaways
At the end of the day, you want to build a social media platform that is interesting, worth following, and conducive to connection.
If you use these tips, your social media account will not only be your secret weapon, but it will be a super helpful resource for your followers.
Here to help you host your most successful event ever!
