Not every event needs to trend on Twitter, but if you can, why the hell wouldn’t you? It promotes your brand as thriving in the 21st century and increases visibility to potential clients. So first thing’s first…
Shareable Content
The easier your content is to share and the more accessible it is, the higher the likelihood your content will go viral. This can be in the form of photos, videos, hashtags, even challenges, as was the case with the infamous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. You need it to interest your target audience first and foremost.
Choose the Appropriate Network
Now you need to work out an online strategy to optimize the number of shares. Posting on Facebook allows people to like, comment and share while Twitter allows retweets and replies. The positioning of your content (or perhaps even the content itself) needs to be altered slightly depending on the network as does timing.
Depending on your target market, you may want to take advantage of visual networks, such as YouTube and Instagram. Encouraging your guests during the event to take selfies is easily motivated with a large screen at the event displaying photos with the appropriate hashtag. You never know who might see the photo and attend the following year.
Dedicated Social Media Coordinator
Having a dedicated social media coordinator for your event is a necessity in today’s day and age. Designate or outsource a specific person to handle all social media before, during and after your event.
Generating pre-event buzz is extremely important for interaction levels at the time of your event. Your social media coordinator should focus on favoriting, responding and following social media accounts that use your hashtag or interact with your brand. Respond to everything!
Viral Videos
Videos have a high likelihood of going viral. Viewers can easily relate to a video that plays with their senses, while being informative and engaging. Choose your videographer or filming company with care and be sure to record during your event and keep all the footage (even unused) as when you’re putting together a showreel of previous events you never know what’ll stand out. Future you will appreciate it!
Online Communities
Internet stars are no longer few and far between. Many people have become famous based on their usage of different social media networks, gaining millions of followers on twitter, Instagram or vine. Do some research, some are signed to management agencies and see if you can get them to pop along! By involving prominent members of the online community, you have the potential to tap into millions of people who would be more than happy to retweet or share a post.
Hashtags
The oldie (yep really) but a goody marketing technique. We aren’t going to insult your intelligence by telling you what they mean but the best ways to use them.
Create your own event hashtag, or piggyback off an already existing hashtag to generate buzz for your event. For example, if you’re hosting a food event, choose a hashtag that’s popular amongst food lovers. We love a good #eventprofs hashtag
Presenter’s Networks
If you have presenters at your event, don’t be afraid to use them! Most speakers will post or tweet about their events in order to generate interest from their own fan base and often have a following. Talking to presenters and prominent guests beforehand and ask them how they want to approach the social media and create a joint strategy.
