Meetings Blog Oct 11, 2019
If you’re an event planner, or considering being one in a near future, then the major social media services, and a number of others, can be your very best friends. Of course, to get the most from your companion, you will need to treat them the right way, and we’re here to help you build the right relationship in what is a constantly developing landscape.
From having clear objectives and understanding your market to utilizing the big players in the industry, we aim to assist in you getting the very most out of what is out there.
These days, social media is all around us. In the modern world it is difficult to avoid it, even just for a day. However, just because the various platforms exist doesn’t mean that you need to be actively pushing your material on all fronts, all of the time. Identify what your target audience is, where they are likely to be spending their online activity, and what key content you can deliver to engage with them for your event.
An important element to getting your understanding right is rarely off the cuff. It takes time, but that time is a worthwhile investment. When you have your content ready, remember that it often needs to be adapted for audiences on different platforms or forums. Also just because one style is successful in a particular industry group doesn’t guarantee that it will be for another. Learn from past campaigns – while always seeking to offer a unique approach – and directly interact with your followers to find out more about them. All that effort will pay dividends.
The choice paradox often appears when it comes to the content you select; so many options make the decision on what to use that bit harder. From photos and infographics to recorded videos and live-streams, your pre-planning should, however, point you in the right direction to find the most appropriate solution. Humor, campaign teasing, and cryptic messaging can all work to good effect when used on the target audience, with modern memes and gifs able to garner immediate emotional responses.
For encouraging people to talk about your event and, in turn, share your content, why not look to images from previous similar (and successful!) occasions. Adapt them with cool filters, catchy slogans or testimonials from attendees to add to their appeal, or turn them into a collage or short video to capture the imagination of your audience.
Once your speakers are confirmed, use their unique content and take advantage of their individual reach to build momentum and interest. If it suits the event, also consider discounts and exclusive offers to catch even more attention, while gamifying elements of your content can produce additional engagement that lasts long into the event itself.
The behemoth founded by Mark Zuckerberg can simply not be ignored when it comes to your social media activity. The Facebook platform itself has enough functionality to aid your planning with ease, although giving it as much of a personalized touch as possible will add to its impact. Develop your idea, play with your message, and then utilize features such as direct ticketing and the promotional cross-selling benefits of people seeing who else is going. Also be sure to coordinate with your venue’s own page to maximize the connections.
Likewise, LinkedIn puts a focus on professionals, many of whom are proactively looking to expand their networks or advance their careers. An appropriate meeting or event could be just what they’re looking for. Instagram offers a more aesthetic avenue to push your visual promotional material to a different audience, while Twitter is another of the big players that can help move your message, especially if simple and effective interaction is the goal.
The above platforms are now considered your social media ‘basics’, so you should be constantly on the look out for new paths. Google Maps may be far from a secret application, however, its relatively new event organizer function is worth checking out to see if it could work for you.
Other considerations could include, for example, international networking site Internations, or image heavy Pinterest, but what sites you choose will always relate back to your audience understanding, project objectives and your desired content.
Throughout your campaign, you will want to know how each aspect is performing and how your target audience is reacting. Is your content reaching those that you wanted? Are they engaging in the manner that you expected? Is there anything surprising coming out of the activities you have undertaken? Based on your findings, look at how you can tweak, or fundamentally change your material, and potentially platform, to bring it back in line.
Most of the main sites offer handy analytics services for their users while Hootsuite and Google Analytics are able to bring you up to speed with how much progress is being made. The key is, in a similar way to Tip 1, understanding what it is you are trying to achieve and then set the analysis to provide answers to it.
Clearly these tips only skim the surface of the powerful opportunities that lie within the realm of social media to enhance your next event. Speak to our expert team at NH Hotel Group to shape and hone your campaign to see just how engaging you can be.
