15 Tips To Promote An Event On Social Media

Social media event promotion has become necessary as it is the platform where 58% of the global audiences are.

Social media has become the world’s largest platform for people to connect, showcase, promote, and sell tickets online. No business today can avoid the power of social media.

Promoting an event on social media is like the most basic yet the most challenging activity. If you do it the right way, it will do wonders for your event.

In this marketing clutter on the internet, the question persists that, how to promote an event on social media in such a way that I get into the spotlight of my audience.

In this article, we will cover 15 ideas that’ll help you promote an event on social media.

So, let’s get started!

15 Smart Tips to Promote An Event On Social Media

Here is a list of top tested channels and methods that you can use for your event to stand out amongst your peers.

1. Make your presence felt!

create presence to promote your event on social media

We know that this is the most basic step one must follow, but this is the most important step too. To grow your social media audience organically, the best way is to create content and be active on the platform. Regular feed updates, story engagements, and keeping up the trend are all it takes to be on the top of the mind of your audience.

Social media algorithms could negatively impact the growth of your page if you actively engage on social media only when there’s an upcoming event and become ghosts when there’s nothing in the line-up. Event organizers should follow this healthy posting schedule to be present in the mind of the audience-

  • At least one post a day (two recommended)
  • Two carousels a week
  • One short video (Reels, YT shorts, etc.) every 2-3 days
  • Daily stories with the features provided by different social media
  • Two value providing posts every week
  • Two long posts.
  • One Live video session per week

Don’t forget to add a call to action in your post descriptions.

2. Don’t Just Promote, Provide value

If you think it for the long term, providing valuable content to your audience is what will help you grow your social network. People visiting your page and finding content that provides value to them are likely to follow your page. On the other hand, if you only post promotional content, people are likely to bounce off your page.

No one would like to be flooded by promotional content. Instead, people are interested in getting solutions for their problems. Promotion is always secondary.

Try to provide free value around your event to the consumer and promote your event subtly.

Suppose you are organizing a workshop on some topic. To promote your event, share the problem that consumers might be facing, provide a brief answer and promote your event in a way that the target audience is excited to get access to your premium content.

While promoting your event, make sure to add call to action buttons in case someone is interested in your event.

3. Place social media sharers wherever possible!

Social-Media-sharers

Social media sharers are one of the best ways to promote your event indirectly. 

Think of it in this way. Someone visits your event page and likes it so much so that they plans to share it in their network. With the help of social media sharers, they can share it to their network in just one click. This helps you grow your word-of-mouth publicity. 

You can add social media sharing on your event page and boost your event visibility.

Along with using social sharers on your event page, you can also use it at multiple other places like – your blog, emails, community pages, guest blogs for other websites etc.

4. Don’t underestimate the power of Hashtags

Power-of-hashtag

Everyone uses hashtags in their posts, but do you know how to get the best out of it? Hashtags are much more than we think. They are the second-best way to gain organic traffic (The first being content). 

It’s not about how many hashtags you use, but the relevance of it! Everyone spends a lot of time building the content. Some time should also be dedicated to researching for perfect hashtags. After all, no one would like their content to not reach to the audience. 

Hashtags are very similar to keywords. The algorithm of Instagram works to promote hashtags used in the explore section according to the audience’s interest. Follow the below steps to make your hashtags right-

  • You are allowed to use 30 Hashtags. Use at least 15-20 in each post.
  • Don’t completely copy the same hashtags in multiple posts.
  • Follow latest event trends.
  • Use some long-tail hashtags.
  • Think about what your audience might search for to find your event. Use it as a hashtag.
  • Check the frequency of the use of hashtags before using them. Distribute your hashtags according to the frequency.
  • Don’t use very common hashtags. Everyone is using them!
  • Make sure to make you own unique event hashtag

Websites like Sproutsocial can help you sort your Hashtags!

5. Utilize All features available to promote an event on social media

Use-all-social-media-features

Different social media platforms come up with different features and updates from time to time. Event organizers should make sure to stay updated with the latest features and use it to their best advantage. 

It is the tendency of social media platforms to promote the posts which use their new feature updates. Take the example of Instagram reels. 

These are some of the features on different platforms that might keep you ahead-

  • Instagram reels
  • Stories with features like Timer, Geotag, Business tagging etc.
  • Instagram Guide
  • Instagram Live
  • Using Spotify music inside Instagram
  • Facebook stories
  • Promotional YouTube Shorts
  • LinkedIn Stories
  • LinkedIn events etc.

Social media platforms will come up with new features from time to time. Make sure you make the best use out of it. 

Pro tip: FYI, you can even monetize videos without YouTube. So be sure to be open to various other options.

6. Video > Image

Use-Videos

Video content is always greater than Images—both in terms of engagement and organic reach. Videos would always grab more attention than an image. Videos are also shown on the top of your home page according to the algorithm of social media.

People keep scrolling all the time. The attention span on any post is not more than 5 sec. You have to make sure that the audience stays engaged and doesn’t drop off from the post. You can do this better with amazing videos. 

Here are a few ideas for making videos –

  • Event Promotion videos
  • Feedbacks from customers in the form of videos.
  • BTS videos
  • A glimpse of your event
  • Key highlights for your event
  • Introduction of the guests/artists for your event.

Your work does not end here! Make sure to make an attractive thumbnail and email invite for your event!

7. Use story features available on the Instagram

Use-story-features

People these days tend to engage more with stories than with posts. Stories being on the top of each Social media UI page are more likely to be seen. 

Event organizers need to make sure that they make the best use of these stories to promote event on Instagram. Sharing the post on stories is not enough. In order to improve your social media reach, you have to use the feature provided by the platform. Following are some story features that you must try –

  • Timer – Using a timer to showcase how much time is left for your event to start.
  • Swipe up – Adding ticketing link.
  • QnA – Asking out the audience to send them questions for their event or to guess what’s going to happen. This feature can be used in many other creative ways.
  • Geotagging – Adding venue for the event.
  • Stickers – Use the latest stickers introduced.
  • GIFs – Use relatable GIFs to make your stories more attractive.
  • Create Tab – Write texts and use stickers and other features creatively through this tab.

A highlighting feature in social media stories these days is the AR filters. These filters are trendy. Make sure to create some of your own and promote as much as possible.

Don’t forget to add stories in your highlight tab for new visitors.

8. Event On Facebook 

Facebook-event

Facebook is one of the best channels for social media event promotion. It has tools specifically designed for events, and organizers must utilize them to their best advantage.

One such tool allows you to create an event on Facebook. Creating an event is super easy and can do wonders to sell tickets on Facebook for your event. Facebook events remain one of the top-performing platforms for lead generation for your event. There are several advantages of creating a Facebook event. Our top picked are –

  • Inviting people to a Facebook event is easy
  • Automated suggestions to the interested audience
  • Recommends events in your network
  • Recommends events based on location

To make the user experience seamless and for advanced analytics purposes, you can add an event tab on your Facebook page from where your audience can directly purchase tickets without redirection.

Pro tip: AllEvents.in also has an integration tool for Facebook events! Also you can learn more on how to promote event on Facebook to boost revenue.

9. Post Behind the scenes

Post behind the scenes of event

It takes a lot of effort and courage to build an event. Why not leverage it in front of the audience?

It is always an excellent opportunity for the company to exhibit the hard work behind making the event happen. For example, event marketers could capture small moments while preparing for the event and regularly post the same on social media platforms.

Posting your event’s in-the-making process would create a sense of confidence in the community you have built on your social media platform.

Posting Behind the scenes has been very trendy. This showcases the fun, hard work, and eagerness behind building the event.

10. Schedule posts on social media to go on autopilot

Social-media-scheduling

The peak time of the sale of tickets for your event would be a week before your actual event. And that would be the same time when everyone in your team would be occupied with some or the other work. 

This is the time when your promotions should be at a peak. But many times, due to the hustle of work, you might forget to promote your event on social media. Or even if you do, the quality might not be up to the mark.

To overcome this issue, you can always design your posts and stories well in advance and schedule them in your social media calendar. By this way, you can focus on more important work during such a crucial time. Thus, scheduling posts well in advance is a good social media strategy.

You can schedule your social media posts for free through Facebook creator studio.

Also, there are some professional and advanced social media scheduling tools to try on such as social pilot. It is always good to plan well in advance in order to avoid the last-minute hustle.

11. Organize Contests on social media 

Organize contest to promote event on social media

One of the best social media marketing techniques is to organize contests in order to incentivize and motivate the target audience to join your event. And the best incentive to give for these contests is free tickets or discount vouchers.

While there is some cost and effort to it, the outcome is very positive. You get the benefits of earned media. People would share your event in their network that might attract more audiences.

Use social media contests as a tool for long-term growth. Make sure you allow only those candidates who have followed you and have shared your content on their social networks. In this way, you’ll increase your audience reach and the followers on your page would grow who can be targeted in the future as well.

These contests can be in the form of –

  • A simple giveaway of tickets
  • Make art on the theme of the event
  • Make a poster for the event
  • Quizzes
  • User-generated content contest
  • Talent based contests

There are event planning tools that help in organizing contests. One of the tools is Gleam by WordPress

12. Create Short videos and challenge people to create similar videos

The short video format has become very popular on social media. Every social media be it Facebook, Instagram, youtube, Tiktok, etc, has its own name for short videos. In this section, we would refer to it as Instagram reels, but the same techniques can be used on other social networks also.

Reels and short videos have become very popular today. They are being referred to as the best tool for growth. Making Instagram reels can help you grow faster and better. It also helps you reach organically to other people without advertising your content.

Short videos are here to stay and are the future of social media.

Create reels related to your event and ask people to make a remix along with it. In this way, your account will become popular. In the end, you can give free tickets to the best remix makers.

13. Multiply reach by making your audience your event ambassador 

Make-your-audience-your-Event’s-ambassador

The best way of gaining trust along with promoting your event is to let your attendees speak about your event. The best part about this social media marketing technique is that the attendee is motivated to attend your event and promote your event to his social channels. This is one of the low-cost yet effective social media event promotion techniques.

Engaging your audience by making them ambassadors could give you benefits in the long run. Over time, you’ll be able to develop your community.

You can make your audience your ambassador by sharing their reviews and feedbacks and by giving them incentives to share our posts

14. Live Tweeting

One of the best ways to spread the buzz is by live-tweeting. Live-tweeting is an approach wherein you tweet alongside your event and also encourage attendees to tweet at the same time using a specific hashtag. This helps the event to gain popularity on Twitter and promotes your brand as well.

Benefits of Live Tweeting are –

  • It increases the reach of your event.
  • As attendees are also tweeting from their account, the word is spread in their network as well
  • It helps you improve your engagement with the users
  • It also helps you grow followers
  • The purpose of spreading the message is fulfilled
Pro tip: You can learn about pre and post event engagement ideas to boost your ticket sales and brand image. 

15. Tell stories in your social media marketing

All events creators are great storytellers. Why not leverage this skill to promote your event!

The best way to interact with your audience is to tell them a story instead of marketing your event. Good stories would build great events.

In fact, the audience recalls stories 22 times more than just simple facts.

Great event marketers would use storytelling as a tool for promoting their event on social media in order to engage with the target audience in a conversation that could ultimately prompt them to attend the event. 

The story about your event should convey a message. It can be in the form of how you came up with the event’s idea, or the event’s lineup, or a story revolving around its theme. 

Good stories would lead to better audience engagement on social media with the potential audience, which would increase the likelihood of them attending the event, making the event successful. 

Story-telling

Social media event promotion through paid ads

Any expenditure on advertisements is not an expenditure, but an investment.

Paid ads are very crucial for the success of any event. Though organic reach is the best way out, reaching a mass by using the services provided by different social media platforms is no bad. It has been an important channel to promote an event on social media.

Event advertising can be very helpful to you in reaching out genuine audience for your event who has not been exposed to your event through organic reach.

The following can be different social medial channels for paid ads.

Facebook ads

Facebook, the largest social media platform, provides a plethora of opportunities to reach out to your potential audience and uniquely target them.

Paid ads let you target a particular set of users for your webinar need. Facebook ads serve different purposes like increasing engagement on an ad, directing the audience to your website, and generating more leads.

Special features of Facebook ads

  • Create lookalike audience
  • Interest targeting
  • Behavioral targeting
  • Retargeting ads

Instagram ads

Instagram as a tool for promotion is recently gaining a lot of popularity. The youth today is more inclined towards Instagram than any other social media. Advertising event on Instagram is equally important as Facebook promotions. It provides you with a variety of options to advertise.

You can create an Instagram ad with a Facebook ad manager account only.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn is the HubSpot for professional networking. If you plan to host any webinar that targets directly any user associated with any business, it should be marketed on social media hub like LinkedIn. In fact, 46% of B2B social media traffic is generated from LinkedIn. The stats is enough to speak about the importance of this media for your webinar.

LinkedIn as a mode of marketing professional events is the perfect place. You get a dedicated audience for business events. The network of professionals is just the right place for your paid ads.

LinkedIn ads are usually expensive than other channels’ ads. But if you create an event on LinkedIn and target it well, then it will help you promote event on LinkedIn

Pro tip: Most organizers outsource paid promotion for better results. Check this mouthwatering offer by AllEvents

event-marketing-service

Sharing is caring

Leave a Comment