7 Social Media Tips to Create Buzz for Your Upcoming Event

I’m sure that you’ve already considered using social media for events, but are you really making the most of it? Creating a buzz using social media doesn’t have to be expensive or strenuous; it just have to be wise. Whether you’re organizing a conference, an exhibition or a corporate event, social media can make a world of difference in the attendance and the exposure you get.

Let’s take a look at how you best use social media for events, not just to draw a crow, but to make sure you get a long-term impact and that your event will be remembered.

Tip #1: Create a Dedicated Hashtag and Stick to It

Steer clear of #event #conference, #ITconference, and other generic hashtags. Instead, create your very own personalized one and use it in every tweet or Facebook post about the event.

Even if you already have your company’s hashtag, your event is an entirely different thing. Whether you are tweeting/posting from your company’s account or from a dedicated account, the special hashtag is still important. Here’s why:

• You can easily monitor who’s speaking about your event on social media.
• Your speakers/special guests can also use it to talk about participating in your event.
• All attendees can use it to brag about being there when the event is happening.
• It gives your event an added sense of importance.
• You can create a sense of community around the event using the hashtag.

And, if you got your perfect event hashtag, don’t forget to make it popular even outside social networks or on social networks that don’t use them. For instance, you can send an email blast or a LinkedIn message that ends with: “Join the excited crowd on Twitter using #OurSpecialHashtag.”

Tip #2: Invite Others to Join the Conversation

Why speak to just your followers and fans, when you can speak to all your speakers’ or attendees communities? Tag them in posts or tweet @them in order to make your event visible on their walls and timelines, as well.

Bonus: ask your speakers and/or attendees to post about the event and share their excitement. They can even invite their communities to join in! This is especially important for summits, workshops and conferences, where you can assume that part of your speakers’ followers will jump at the chance to see them live.

Tip #3: Create an Event on Facebook

Even if Facebook is not where most of your audience hangs out, creating an event only takes a couple of minutes and it will help with SEO and visibility, if nothing else. Make sure to add detailed instructions about the venue, a link to your website and to your other social channels and showcase the most prominent features/speakers.

Again, ask your attendees/speakers to click on “Join”. Everyone in their list will see that. Bonus, part of their lists, the people who live near the event venue will also get this notification: “Your friend X will attend an event near you tomorrow” and a link to the event page. No, you don’t even have to promote your event for that!

Tip #4: Video Is Social Media for Events’ Best Friend

Social media for events is most effective when you give people a taste of what they can experience. Plus, with video being the crowned king of content, you really can’t go wrong. By the way, did you know that, audiences are 10 times more likely to engage with a video than with any other type of content?

Anyway, back to our subject, here are a few ideas to use videos on social media and grow the community around your upcoming event:

• Ask speakers to record a video invitation. If you’re not hosting a conference, ask one of your most prominent guests, your CEO or any other staff member that has a great social media following.
• Post video summaries from past editions.
• Live stream from the event and ask participants to do the same.
• Post “behind the scenes” videos. They can be videos of your team working hard weeks before the event or even your team setting up the venue.
• During the event, post videos showing the crowd. People are more inclined to remember that you had a great crowd and to want to be part of that crowd next year.

Tip #5: Create a Raffle or a Contest

Offer free invitations via social media and make it fun at the same time! Bonus: you will get a lot more visibility – after all, this is what social media for events should be about: gathering a community that supports you. Here are a few ideas:

• Ask people to comment with the answer to a question related to the topic of your event.
• Ask people to share your post, retweet you.
• Create a dedicated Facebook app with fun games and rewards.
• Build-up some tension: create a countdown to the event and offer a prize each day. You can start with T-shirts and caps, move on to a single invitation/free pass and end it gloriously with a VIP pass for two or more people.

Tip #6: Share Photos of Your Speakers with Quote Overlays

Your speakers are thought leaders in their industries, right? So why not showcase them? Share their photos and add a short, relevant quote of theirs. You can easily get such quotes from the slides of their previous keynotes or you can simply ask them to email you something you could use.

This is a very sharable type of content; people love to get their information in bite-sized morsels. Plus, it will make them feel closer to the speakers and more connected.

If your event doesn’t involve any speakers, look at the tips above. You can always share such photos of your CEO or other staff members. And, if your event is more on the fun size, forget about all that. Instead, share photos of your team having fin in the office and outside it and add captions like: “You should see us when the boss is not around”. Remember: social media for events is mostly about enticing people and getting them curious enough to buy a ticket. For that to happen, the content you share has to be tailor-made to your audiences’ wants and needs.

Tip #7: Don’t Forget about the Essentials in Social Media for Events

Sometimes, we get so tangled up in creating the perfect social media strategy for our event that we mostly focus on fun contests and engaging posts and forget all about the basics. All your event pages, no matter what social network they are on, should contain answers to the most important questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? In other words, you should think about your social profile as landing pages that offer all the must-have information before moving on to the nice-to-haves.

Here are some things you should always post:

• Detailed address of the venue. Add a map if possible; if not, add GPS coordinated and link to one.
• When is the event taking place: date AND time. If needed, add the time zone, too.
• Who is hosting the event – your company’s name.
• All the contact details needed for someone who might need additional details or directions: website, an email address (that you check frequently), a contact number and a contact person.
• The full agenda of the event: all the keynotes, parties, workshops and after-parties listed clearly in chronological order.
• Dress code (if needed).
• A powerful CTA. Why should people attend the event? Answer this question with a catchy phrase like: “Everybody who’s somebody in web development will be there. Will you?”

Did you notice something weird about this article? None of these tactics require ANY money. Yes, if you get creative you can do effective social media for events without spending a dime!

Want help with promoting your upcoming event on social media? We’ve got you covered!