Hosting or sponsoring an event like our Cox Business Get Started events is one of the most powerful ways to gain publicity and provide your business’s high, local visibility. As a means of branding your business, having a presence at a local or industry event can help associate your business with a good cause or signal its deep commitment to your target audience.
Social media has emerged as an efficient and effective way to promote the events you host, sponsor or even just attend. Here are some tactics that will help you use social media to drum up interest in your event and bring the attendees in droves:
Use videos
According to Social Media Examiner, videos are a great way to show – not just tell – people why it’s worth attending your event.
When you create your video, start off with a catchy headline and lots of visually stimulating images to keep your viewers watching. As the video continues, include just a few of the most key things that someone can expect to experience at the event.
If you’ve had a major presence at an event before, include footage that shows just how valuable your event-specific content was. And just like with any piece of content, make sure you sign off with a resounding CTA that asks viewers to buy tickets in advance. By keeping your video short and exciting, you’ll make it a lot more shareable on various social media channels.
Once the video is complete, be sure to post it on your landing pages and social media profiles. Your audience should be able to look at any of your collateral without seeing something about the event.
Offer some teasers
If you have some high-profile speakers or companies attending your event, you can generate some interest by co-hosting a Q&A on Twitter or Facebook. Don’t give everything away, but answer just enough questions to whet the audience’s appetite and get them interested in learning more.
Gather testimonials
This could be tied into your video promotion strategy, but testimonials are such a powerful tool that they deserve their own mention. Collect videos or even text-based testimonials from your previous events’ attendees that show potential new visitors that people are getting massive value by making the trip to see you in person.
The principle behind using attendee testimonials here is the same as using them anywhere else: People trust their peers’ words more than they trust the messaging of a business. Tap into your most rabid fans’ enthusiasm regarding the information they learned or the networking opportunities they got at the event.
Social Media Examiner recommended making all of your promotional materials as easy to share on social media as possible. This means short, snappy videos, eye-catching infographics, memorable Twitter and Instagram hashtags, pre-made podcast scripts and other tactics that make your promotional content conducive to sharing on various social media channels.
Activate your network and affiliates
Chances are you won’t be the only one at the event. If you have several groups or businesses on board, it would benefit everyone if all of the sponsors shared the promotional duties.
Your speakers have a vested interest in making sure the event has a great turnout as well. Ask them to spread the word to their own social networks and get the news of their involvement out to their audience, which is likely very similar to your own.
Engage with and reward attendees
If you see someone using your event’s hashtag, send them a message asking them what they’re looking forward to most. If someone posts a picture from your last event on Instagram, comment on it. If one your superfans are generating a lot of buzz on their own, reward them with free gear or even VIP passes.
Remember, you can plan the biggest, greatest event of all time, but if you can’t promote it effectively and get people to attend, then it’s all for nothing. Social media can be a powerful, yet inexpensive means of promotion, but it takes a lot of effort and time. You put a lot of work into your event – give it the audience it deserves by promoting it the right way.
