At Precon, we know that social media is a powerful tool to boost engagement at your events. By leveraging various platforms, you can create buzz, foster real-time interaction, and maintain post-event momentum. Here’s how to effectively use social media to enhance your event engagement.
1. Pre-Event Buzz: Building Anticipation
Creating anticipation is crucial for event success. Use social media to:
- Announce the Event: Share key details like date, time, location, and purpose. People should be able to find the basic info of your event on every platform. Make it as easy as possible for your guests and potential guests, which means placing the info on as many social media sites and apps as possible.
- Reveal Speaker Lineups: Introduce speakers or performers to generate interest. A roll out on social media can create buzz and excitement. Whether that means revealing one speaker at a time or building to a post which “drops” the line-up is up to you.
- Share Behind-the-Scenes Content: Offer sneak peeks of event preparations to humanize your brand and engage your audience. Showcasing the preparation process makes your event feel more personal and relatable. It also shows off your event producing skills!
2. Real-Time Engagement: During the Event
Keep the momentum going during the event by:
- Live Streaming: Broadcast key moments to reach a wider audience. Sprinklr notes that live updates and real-time interactions keep your audience engaged. This can also serve to boost attendance at future events.
- Encouraging User-Generated Content: Prompt attendees to share their experiences using a dedicated event hashtag.User-generated content is an incredible tool for creating authentic buzz. It is earned by putting on a great event, highly effective at spreading the word, and costs you zero extra dollars.
- Interactive Features: Use live polls or Q&A sessions to involve both virtual and on-site audiences. Another time-tested strategy is doing a give-away, raffle, or contest online. Incentivise checking in and spreading the word with a potential prize.
3. Post-Event Engagement: Keeping the Conversation Alive
After the event, maintain engagement by:
- Sharing Recaps and Highlights: Post photos, videos, and summaries of key moments. Vesta advises sharing event recaps to keep the conversation going.
- Soliciting Feedback: Create surveys or polls to gather attendee feedback. Re: Charity highlights the importance of gathering feedback to improve future events. Checking in with guests also makes them feel valued and more likely to attend future events.
- Announcing Future Events: Use the momentum to promote upcoming events. There’s no better time to announce something than when people are excited about the last event you put on. Content Stadium provides some great examples of how to effectively announce future events on social media.
4. Leveraging Influencers and Keynote Speakers
Partnering with influencers and speakers can extend your event’s reach and even help your speakers and participants feel a greater sense of investment in your event:
- Collaborate with Influencers: Engage influencers to promote your event to their followers. Influencers, well… they influence. Their reach can be huge. Whether you have an organic connection with a social media influencer or want to spend a bit of your budget having someone promote your event, this path is worth considering.
- Feature Speaker Spotlights: Highlight keynote speakers to attract their followers. Often you’ve picked your keynote speaker because they are exciting to you. Your guests will find them exciting too!
5. Creating Shareable Content
Encourage attendees to share their experiences by:
- Providing Photo Opportunities: Set up branded photo booths or backdrops. “Brand activations” at events can create a moment for your company. Bizzabo has some great examples of effective activations at events. We live in a “photo or it didn’t happen” world. Embrace it!
- Sharing Memorable Quotes: Post notable quotes from speakers or performers. Great social media posts with inspiring quotes are shared often, and can be a great simple way to spread awareness of your event and its subject.
- Creating Branded Hashtags: Develop a unique event hashtag to track and encourage sharing. Hashtag tracking is a great way to keep tabs on how many people are talking about your event on social media.
6. Utilizing Analytics to Refine Your Strategy
Monitor your social media performance to understand what resonates with your audience:
- Track Engagement Metrics: Use platform analytics to assess likes, shares, comments, and reach. Apps like Hootsuite offer tools to measure and analyze engagement.
- Adjust Content Accordingly: Use insights to refine your social media strategy for future events. There’s an old adage in the fitness industry: what gets measured, can get improved.” That applies to social media marketing as well. Use your insights to adjust and improve your strategies for future events.
By strategically leveraging social media before, during, and after your event, you can significantly boost engagement and create a memorable experience for your attendees.
Precon is a full-service event production company based in the DC metro area, serving clients around the world. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you plan and execute your next event.
