Set clear goals, early bird incentives, and targeted outreach.
Will you maximize the return on investment in your next event? Whether you’re a nonprofit or business, great social media strategy will promote your event and your brand.
In addition, even after your event it’s possible to enhance your return from social-media investment. Ironically, aside from your time, your social-media investment is free.
Accessorize your efforts
To prepare for your event with social media, you’ll need a registration page for people to sign up to attend. Make sure you accessorize your efforts. That means your registration page and Web site should have the same unique image and look. Be prepared to drive every social medium to your registration page.
The first social media to use is a Facebook event page. Not only will people be able to sign up to attend, but their Facebook connections will see the signups on their news feeds, and they’ll easily be able to invite their friends for additional publicity.
Centers of Influence
Develop a list of your Centers of Influence – key passionate people who could influence more attendees. So prepare to post regularly, use pictures and videos, solicit people to RSVP, and tag people so their friends will notice.
Develop a list of your Centers of Influence – key passionate people who could influence more attendees.
Don’t forget to be gracious with your participants. It’s especially important to recognize your volunteers and donors. Again, tag them in your posts to increase chances that their friends – people just like them – will notice.
Key timeline strategies
For great results, here are proven suggestions:
Before the event
1. For the highest revenue, set a clear target for your attendance and revenue.
2. Pick a short, unique hashtag.
3. Build a strong timeline starting 4 to 6 weeks out to maximize sign-ups and ticket sales.
4. To help create urgency, use early-bird pricing and group offers.
5. In targeting with emails, send segmented campaigns. Include calls to action.
6. Again with social media and Facebook, prepare to post updates, content from behind-the-scenes and highlights.
7. Be sure to ask all parties — speakers, sponsors and parties — to promote the event.
During the event
1. Using live video features, stream the keynote speakers, panels and interviews.
2. In real time, publish key quotes, pictures and audience poll results.
3. Invite your attendees to share the event and pictures on their social media — all while using your hashtag.
After the event
1. Within two weeks, share highlights and videos.
2. From your short clips and notes, turn them into long recordings.
Conclusion
In essence, you will maximize your return on investment using social media, if you utilize strong pre-event promotion, remember to have live real-time engagement and repurpose your post-event content.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are relevant social media tips:
8 Basic Social Media Tips for a Newbie in E-commerce — Are you just starting out using social media? Well, if used well, social media is an excellent tool to accomplish two goals – connecting with your existing customers and attracting fans for new business.
HR-Social Media Tips for Best Employee Morale, Culture — Social media affects your company’s culture – probably as much as the employees who engage in water cooler gossip. It’s true. Your company’s reputation is affected internally and externally by social-networking sites.
Social Media Tips for Nonprofits to Capture Fundraising Dollars — Social media has leveled the playing field for small nonprofits competing with large nonprofits in looking for dollars. Formerly, big charities had the advantage because of their efficiency, reputation and size.
Social Media: 5 Ways to Use Instagram for Revenue — Now that marketers have learned Instagram is a potent force in social media — a study shows it beats Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You might want to learn how to capitalize on it for revenue, too.
Make Your Blogging, Social Media and PR Work to Attract Fans — Businesspeople have discovered social media is a work in progress. It takes huge amounts of time, not only to implement innovations, but to succeed.
UCLA Psychologists Tell What Triggers People to Share on Social Media — Buzz. Marketers, senior managers, business owners, and consultants crave it for revenue. Career-minded individuals engaged in self-promotion also want it. Another term for buzz is the “salesperson effect.” For the first time, we learn how ideas are spread, what messages go viral on social media, and how to predict it.
“Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social.”
-Jay Baer
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