Once you have carried out the basics of the planning process, event managers can turn to social medial to help promote their events. Social media really comes into effect when you get your delegates/customers talking, networking and sharing information, these networking sites are all about communication and engagement.
Using the right social media platform can be an extremely effective way to reach a wider auidence than you normally would have access to. Not only is it a popular tool for many inidividuals/delegates but because the majority of them are free, it is making it one of the most cost effective marketing mediums out there. Used carefully and appropriately , event managers can utilise the popularity of these tools to help boost the success of their events. There are many social media sites out there that can help promote your events - Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn (to name a few). Event managers need to get onto these key networking sites and start creating profiles so that no matter what platform a particular delegate prefers, they are able to locate your event and communicate with you.
It is key to have goals and strategies when event planning and with regards to social media, your goal should be to get your event covered in the main social media platforms. Once you have the presence, encourage conversation and promotion of your event. A good idea is to link all these accounts to a focused page on your website, microsite or blog. An effective strategy would be to integrate your social media accounts into a comprehensive event management software soluton, as you will be able to update all your social media accounts without having to leave your event solution making it that much easier and that much faster. With event managers being under considerable pressures, technology such as event management software solutions can be the key to organising a successful and well executed event.
In this post we will be looking specifically at a Facebook page.
Facebook is fantastic for event management - it's accessibe and simple to use and setting up an event on Facebook take
s mere minutes. This page needs to be populated with the key information regarding the details of your event. Setting up a page couldn't be simpler:
When setting up a page focus on either your company as whole or if your event is a large, recognised annual event (for example) you can set up a page dedicated to that event. At the very bottom of the Facebook Page is an option "Create a page", Click on this and Facebook will take you through the stages of creating your own Facebook page.
Key things when creating our Facebook page:
- Choose an effective name: Ideally the name of your company or the name of your event
- Select the best URL (Facebook username) for your Facebook page: Choose a username that authentically represents your business or event
- Use the "About" text box: Place a keyword rich summary near the top of your Page
- Use the "Info" tab effectively: Include more important keywords, text and high priority links on your page
- Post regular updates: 2-3 times a week at different times of the day/days of the week is a good initial benchmark
If your Facebook page is basd around your business, you can add an event application so that you can promote your event(s). You'll need to search the Facebook Applications directory for "events" then install the main Events app.
You need to be sure that you add your event to the "Event" tab, also allowing fans of your page to take part in online discussions within the page. Make sure that when you create an event that you complete as much information about the event such as:
- When - date & time
- What are you planning
- Where
- More info
- Who's invited
In order to make the event as visible as possible, make sure it is public and promote the page throughout all your other marketing communication (i.e. in email signatures, via Twitter etc). Once your events is live on your Facebook page, you can post details on the wall and send out sporadic reminders to your delegates.
What & When to Post on the Wall
Too many posts and it becomes intrusive, not enough and it becomes lost in your delegates newsfeed. The number of posts needs to correlate to the closeness of your event. If your event is still a few months away we recommend only posting two or three times a week. When your event is closer, you can post up to once a day. And in the immediate run up to the event, post updates as and when required.
So....how do you then promote your Facebook event? It's important to promote your Facebook page actively. The more people who "like" your page or who have RSVP'd attending to your event, the wider your overall network will be. When someone engages on your page (through commenting or liking a post/picture/video etc), this activity will be posted in the newsfeeds of their friends - giving you exposure that you would not normally get.
The people engaging in your event page are likely to have friends, peers or colleagues in their Facebook list that may be interested in your event, so increasing your overall network in this way gives you greater access to these people. You should promote your page in the usual way - through your email signature, blogs posts, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. However, there are more specific ways you can try and increase your pages reach...We will cover these in our second part of Event Planning with Facebook, the post will include Sharing Your Page, Facebook Adverts & Live Check-In's.
In the meantime if you would like more information on our event management solution and how it can integrate with social media event strategy or you would like to download our free ebook "Event Management & Social Media" then please email us events@evocos.com or call us 0800 369 8677.
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