Event Marketing and Social Media

1. Event Marketing and Social Media In this digital age, social media marketing for any event is a must. The success of an event depends mostly, if not entirely, on how the event marketers have promoted the event digitally before, during and after the show. Let’s have a look at the necessary event marketing strategy that needs to be planned to leverage maximum benefits out of social media. 1.Pre-show Social Buzz The most important thing for any event promoter is to create a buzz among their prospective customers. Since everything is digitalized in today’s world, making people aware is only so much simpler these days. a.Hashtag - First up, creating an event hashtag is a must! With hundreds and thousands of people relying on Twitter and Instagram to know about what event is happening where, #Hashtag is a necessary tool for marketing an event online. Hashtags are a brilliant idea to increase visibility of a show. Hence creating a hashtag specific to the company which is organizing the event is also a must to ensure good promotion.x b.Media Exposure- Connecting with the media people in your niche through LinkedIn or Twitter and making sure they share your event’s content on their channels will only ensure a mass marketing for the event. c.Teaser Videos– Teaser videos are a great way to quickly generate interest among people. It is a smart way of showcasing the line-ups of people/ special guests, activities etc. to the relevant event-goers. Sharing these videos on Youtube, Instagram, Vine and other platforms is a good way of creating a pre- show buzz. d.Early Birds and Registration Deadlines– Social media posts about ticket sales is one of the major tools of event marketing online. Once they’ve

2. committed, event goers try to convince their friends to join them. They usually do that by sharing images of their tickets or sharing posts of the events on their social media platforms. Hence motivating ticket sales is an important way of marketing and rigorous posts about early bird or registration deadlines is a must. 2.Social Buzz During the Show a.Pictures– Taking pictures and giving people snapshots of whatever is happening in the events is a smart marketing idea. Sharing pictures of guests’ speakers, activities etc will help to keep the company in the social stream of consciousness. b.Video Footage- As we all know, Live streaming is the latest social media trend these days. Promoting an event on the go by streaming it live on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook etc. is a great way to give people, who aren’t attending, a way to experience of what’s happening in the show. This allows connecting with people without them being there. c.Scheduling Posts- It is always helpful to schedule out tweets and Facebook posts to supplement the event’s engagement activities. Tweeting out key topics about the company/event and the upcoming deadlines for entry, contests and giveaways is always a good idea. d.On-site Promotional Campaign– This is an interesting way to encourage attendees to participate in the event. It keeps them engaged and entertained. On-site campaigns can be set up to ensure involvement of attendees and rewarding them for tagging their social messaging with the event’s official hashtag. This is a great way of increasing the visibility of the brand on social media. 3.Post-Show Socializing a.Lead Follow-Up– Post-event it is necessary to go through the list of visitors who connected with you. This would make it easier for you to connect with them on social media platform for future collaborations. Send out personalized messages to each one of them as this helps in the image- building of the company. b.Blogging– Blogging about the event/show is a good way to make people aware in a precise manner. Recap the reason the event took place (launch of a product, fest etc.) Including images of the contests and giveaways and other activities that the attendees participated is important. c.Press Coverage – Media coverage for events is one of the most essential portions of an after-event conversation. A good number of media person presences are important to get coverage for the event. Inviting journalists to the event so that they can share about their experience is a necessity for any event marketer. d.Email– Sending out emails to everyone who was invited and attended the show and even to those who couldn’t attend but wanted to is always a good idea and adds to the goodwill of the company. This will not only make the same people attend your next event but will also help in spreading good

3. reviews about the company which is of utmost important for any brand/company. Social Media is an intrinsic part of how people experience almost every event now. This, for an event marketer, means lots of opportunities to get more out of the event marketing strategy. Social media is thus useful to get the word out and connect with the audience on a larger scale.