Social media has made it easier than ever to plan, promote, and even extend the life of your campaign event. If you are wondering what it takes to prepare for an event, what to do during the event, and how to keep the momentum after your event ends, then read on!
Gear Up Before Your Event
Social networks can help dial up the word-of-mouth buzz before an event. You may want to encourage people to share information on the event in return for small rewards, such as special seating or discounted admission. Create an event page on Facebook and a short and specific event hashtag on Twitter.
A social registration service like EventBrite not only streamlines registration but also allows attendees to share their event activities with friends. Other popular social event invitation platforms include Guestlist and Vite. Most of these services integrate with social networking platforms to facilitate event promotion.
When planning the event itself, try to create a few ‘big moments’ where there may be more excitement and audience engagement. These are the points where live social media will likely occur. However, you may find that comments and uploads may occur at any time and for any reason.
Promote Social Sharing Buzz During Events
- Before the event, make sure that your Wi-Fi is tested and optimized and that all your displays are working. If you are live streaming the event online, conduct quality checks before you first broadcast.
- Notify attendees before the event that they are encouraged to tweet and post status updates.
- Let attendees know about the event #hashtag; encourage them to use it.
- Have one or more insiders at the event post live during the event. Mix pre-scheduled posts with live posts during the event.
- Have someone monitor and respond to the Twitter feed and your campaign Facebook page.
- Use Twitter as a real-time question collection channel.
- Ask for Twitter IDs when people register for future contact.
Make sure your campaign’s social media accounts are fired up to catch and respond to social shares as they happen. Be on the alert for important influencers in your audience. Monitoring tools like Hashtags.org or Buffer.com can help you track activity.
Facebook Live streaming can also be a powerful tool for extending the reach and impact of your event. However, you may or may not want a live recording at your event. You should let your guests know any restrictions you want to make.
After the event, post a “wrap up” of your event’s highlights. Post photos on your website and Facebook, and continue tweeting about the event, what happened there, and anything else that might interest attendees and those who are following your campaign.
