Today, people use social media like never before. With the time passing by never has these platforms had such an impact on businesses as it does now.
Organizations have started targeting millions of people at popular virtual hang out places such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat all at once in such a way that they are more likely to be present at your very next event.
The following post focuses on how you can attract more event attendees with social media advertising.
Remember
Not all fingers are the same.
Similarly, not all social networks are the same. Each one is of a kind severing a unique purpose to its target audience, so make sure you use them accordingly.
Whether you are bringing in Maroon 5 or showcasing a live concert of our beloved Ed Sheeran, conducting an educational or informative conference regarding the latest product you are about to launch, it is essential to identify your target audience in prior.
Unlike all the age-old tried and testified methods of promoting your event, social media has proved itself to be one of the most powerful tools when it comes to boosting your event audience.
And trust me, conducting such activity via these emerging platforms cost either nothing or relatively little compared to the pioneers of advertising (TV, Radio, Newspapers).
Also, the results are simply amazing.
Choosing the networks
Depending on your industry and target audience, it is very important to know that specific social media platforms can be more effective in comparison to others.
For example, if you have chosen three platforms- Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter; make sure all the three are well-covered.
- Facebook: Everything from sharing event updates to engaging followers, creating event pages, etc. can be done. In addition to this, you can also target your messaging to specific groups with the help of paid promotion.
- Instagram: Are you present on this image-laden social platform yet? If not, it’s time to make people engage with your brand.
- LinkedIn: If you are working for B2B industries and wish to increase networking; Linkedin simply works wonders. This professional social media platform is a fantastic choice when you are hitting at the company’s news and event announcements.
- Twitter: Use posts and an event hashtag to build excitement before and during your event.
Apply relevant hashtags
Hashtags are no longer a buzzing term; they have become more like a norm.
Phrases that are short, unique, and easy to understand are pretty much in vogue; irrespective of the platform.
As soon as you come up with an idea, make sure you stick with it. There is no cookie-cutter solution. The golden rule is to make use of them on a constant basis.
For example, if there is an event upcoming, don’t forget to use a relevant hashtag. Also, add it to all your social account bios as well and promote them on all your other communication channels.
I am talking about the event website, promotional events, print materials, and whatnot.
But your job does not end here.
During the event, make sure your hashtag is visible at your event so that your attendees can use it; more importantly, promote them. Incorporate them in handouts and display them on screens throughout your venue.
If you want, you can also give people incentives to use your hashtag and share on their social media handles. How about setting up a photo booth branded with your hashtag?
Or you can even organize a photo competition where the best photo using your hashtag wins a prize.
Post Frequently but on a limited basis
Ideally speaking, you should have the event created a minimum of a month in advance so that you will have your marketing some time to work.
Posting the event and sharing it on multiple platforms but make sure you are a smart worker instead of being a hard worker.
When you are posting about your event in regards to SEO, don’t just say Have you heard of SEO?
And leave the rest on your target audience. That won’t work, instead, try to brief them a bit about what will you have at your event.
More importantly, come up with content that actually makes people want to come. Offer then some uncut behind the scene looks of what do you exactly do and talk to people who attended the last event and how was their experience.
Carefully created content
An increase in engagement with your post directly determines how many present or potential event-goers might be seen in your promotional event.
Essentially, every post counts.
Achieving maximum engagement is not one-shot activity; you need to keep posting images in your posts, and space out your tickets sale posts keeping more general industry news or lifestyle content into account.
Also, make the content engaging, conversational, and most important of all, not overly ‘salesy.’ Other than this, you need to consider:
- Tailor the content accordingly– Here, you need to keep in mind that different styles and audiences on each platform. On Twitter, it’s short, sweet, and sometimes quirky, whereas, on LinkedIn, you should steer toward a more professional tone.
- Incorporate images in your post– Image and video-driven posts are more engaging than a plain copy. If you’ve had past events, including photos of happy attendees having a great time. Or, if you have well-known speakers, partners, or vendors for your upcoming event, you can share photos of those people to build excitement. You can even create fun memes or add animated gifs for some lightheartedness.
As soon as you get better with these hacks and tricks, you will want to get a sense of what’s working and resonating with your followers.
Just make sure you keep measuring your success rate with the help of certain key metrics such as:
- Engagement rate
- Clicks
- Sales
- Return on investment
Let’s Get Started with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Paid Advertising
By now I am pretty sure you must be wondering how to get started with paid advertising on your favorite social network. Whether you consider Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn; every media platform comprises different demographic profiles.
In general, all three platforms have the potential to provide a wealth of advertising options in regards to awareness, clicks, app installs, followers and whatnot. Here’s how to get started with each of these platforms:
- Facebook Ads- When it’s about reaching your target audiences or end customers, Facebook provides a lot of options. Besides, Facebook updates its ad platform regularly with new features and targeting options and it doesn’t matter whether you are focusing on core, customer or a look-alike; you will certainly find relevant options for each of your requirements. For a successful Facebook ad campaign, I would recommend using Facebook’s audience network. It simply means the social media platform will show your ad to the most relevant, lowest cost audiences.
- Twitter Ads- I am sure you will be well aware of the fact that Twitter has robust advertising offerings. Here you can create objective-based campaigns tailored for a variety of business goals such as app installations, engaging followers, increasing tweet engagements. improving website clicks and conversions and whatnot. It may quite interest you to know that there is no minimum spend when it comes to getting started with Twitter advertising. According to the platform, first, you need to decide how much you will pay for each interaction such as a new follower or someone who clicks your website or automatic bidding. For example, LeoSat is a B2B technology company that builds a following with Twitter ads. This particular example involves direct response marketing where the company finally gained a significant amount of followers in no time.
- LinkedIn Ads- Unlike Facebook and Twitter ads, the budget and targeting options available on LinkedIn are way simpler. People used LinkedIn to manage their professional profiles and interact with other professionals. When you choose LinkedIn as your paid advertising campaign platform, it is a clear-cut solution that offers budgets and bids on the day to day basis. You can try using LinkedIn sponsored emails where you can drive prospective customers for webinar sign-ups, conference registrations, white paper downloads and more. These Inmails also offer a variety of targeting options ranging from company attributes to job attributes, education, gender, skills and years of experience.
