Event Marketing
July 1, 2013  •  by Jane Carter

#SocialMedia: An Event Organizer's (FREE) Best Friend

Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram and Pinterest. Social media marketing and event planning go hand in hand. AFP, Association of Fundraising Professionals, has been increasing its usage with social media. (AFP’s Facebook and Twitter) They social platforms has allowed them to successfully grow awareness to their monthly luncheons and special educational programs.  Angela Mootz from AFP says ,”This has resulted in a bigger audience of followers, more likes and additional attendees. It has also created event specific #hashtags and are active in re-posting and tweeting during and after events to encourage participants to extend their connection to it.” target audienceAFP encourages their most engaged memebers to actively participate in their social media by re-tweeting, sharing and providing them with content like images and articles for them to share. Another AFP member, Adrienne Longenecker says, “Non profits using social media to promote their upcoming events are great at target audience identification (I.e. “let your friends in south Austin know we are providing free pet adoptions at the PetCo on Brodie this afternoon” or “meet up with folks excited about global environmental initiatives at the BASSH tonight at 8pm at the CTC”, and as well for sharing information while generating dialogue (i.e. “does being a great leader mean knowing when to follow? We think so! Attend the Leadership Austin monthly breakfast tomorrow – bring your opinions!)”   So how can you improve your social media activity to help you promote your events like AFP has? This guide will give you some tips on how to use social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Linkedin to bust up your following!  

Step One:  Pre Event- Organizing The Event

  • Thanks to the internet and social media platforms you are now able to search for the best deals at your office! No more driving around and calling venues, caters, and any other  vendor. You can just go online and start looking for great deals locally or globally. Such networks like Yelp allow you to search online and get past and recent reviews this allows you to save time and money.
  • RSVPing is a whole lot easier! Good bye to mail invitations and hello online ticketing services! Online ticketing services can help you out with RSVP and selling tickets. I don’t want to toot our own horn but, Toot! Toot! Ticketbud allows your attendees to buy their tickets, RSVP and are able to  share the event with their Facebook and Twitter buddies. We have a forum on your event page that allows your attendees to communicate with one another.
 

Step Two: Pre Event- Promote the Event

Spread the word

  • When the attendee shares with their Facebook friends and Twitter that they just RSVP’d to your event this is a source of free promotion. The social media community makes it easier to reach out to a larger mass of audience and makes it more discoverable for others who did not know about the event.
  • Create a hashtag to your event if you want more knowledge on why #hashtag’s are important to your event read our blog,” Why Your #Event Needs A Hashtag. #hashtag’s makes it easier for everyone to follow your event and allows attendees and others to interact with one another.
  • Videos can help to build up excitement for the attendees to see what they are expecting.
 

Step Three: During The Event

checking in

  • Enhance the live experience for your attendees with live streaming. Live streaming can reach a potential audience around the world.
  • Promote your #hashtag and encourage your attendees to check-in. With your #Hashtags this allows attendees to be part of the event and  ask question.
  • Attendees check-ins can promote the event as it is happening. This is even great for attendees to ask the event planner questions in case they need directions or any other information for the event.
  • Photo sharing is a must.  People can be posting pictures that they take at your event. This creates can create great buzz for your event.
 

Step Four: After The Event

feedback collage

  • Just because the event is over doesn’t mean your job is done. This is a great time to get feedback, upload videos and photos to highlight the event and just maintain a relationship with your attendees because maybe this event wasn’t your first but you do not want it to be your last.
  • Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are great social platforms that allow you to share and collect photos on events you have worked on.
  • Get feedback from your attendees. This is a great way to see what worked before, during and after the event. What did they like or dislike and what they thought would have made it better. This gives the organizer the ability to see what needs to be improved for the next event.
  Social Media has been proven to be an effective tool to engage with attendees before and during the event itself. Helps us to maintain buzz before and after an event. For any event to be successful you have to use Social Media Platforms to reach out to your target audience. By using these simple tips you can build buzz, promote and engage your audience.     Angela Bio Pic Angela Mootz is the Director of Member Services for the Texas Society of Association Executives and is the Director of Communications for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Austin Chapter Board of Directors.         Adrienne Adrienne is honored to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  She currently serves as the Vice President of Resource Development. photo credit: kdonovangaddy via photopin cc]]]]> ]]>