This is the fifth of 11 Creative Ideas for Event Marketing, a free eBook.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Enoc vt.
Social media has certainly changed event marketing for both organizers and attendees. Depending on your reach, posting your event on Facebook might be more effective today than handing out paper flyers was years ago. It only takes a few minutes to post, and there are no printing costs!
If you have the ability hand out paper flyers and talk in person about your event, then you should do this also! But you can save time and spread the word quickly through social media. Through sharing, your event might even “go viral” and reach far beyond the confines of your own friends, followers, and fans.
There are a number of popular social media websites, with new ones becoming more popular each day. If you have time to research the websites, forums, and other online hotspots that your audience frequents, this is your best bet for success. If not, here are a few tips for the most popular social media websites:
Facebook.com
- Create an “event,” which allows you to invite friends.
- Have every committee member (and anyone else involved) post your event information and flyer on their Facebook page, and ask all of their friends to share.
- Post about the event regularly (but not too often).
- Create a page dedicated to the event with the event logo, picture, and details.
- If this is an annual event, post photos of last year’s event with comments. Tag people in these photos so that friends of friends will see them.
Twitter.com
- Tweet about the event! You can post updates about the planning, new sponsors, and news of the event’s progression. You can also post links to register for the event.
Pinterest.com
- Pin photos from last year’s event or of the current committee in the planning stages.
- Pin photos of your event venue, pretty shots of the city, photos of the food, custom food packaging with your event logo, or anything else that can be linked to your event.
LinkedIn.com
- Let your colleagues and business associates know about your event by posting status updates about it, or joining groups and discussing it on LinkedIn. Ask them to share with their contacts as well.