6 Event Marketing Tactics That Work on Social Media

January 31, 2020 Susan Serena

We know. You’re posting great images, creative captions, videos, boosting posts, designing promo ads, and yet you’re not gaining followers. Those who are following you, aren’t really engaging much nor are they sharing out your posts. Sound familiar? Again, we know.

When it comes to mastering event marketing on social media you have to understand that it’s a game of give and take. You give and they take away.

Promoting events on social media is a crucial component in event marketing and the first thing you have to understand is that you can’t rely on your profile(s) alone to gain traction. You need to create posts that are going to encourage your followers to share, share, share. The most operative way to do that is by creating contests that will stimulate word-of-mouth publicizing without it causing you to go above your social media promotions budget.

Keep in mind that not all social media contests turn out to be as fruitful as we’d like them to be. Especially if you don’t plan your contests ahead of time or follow the legal terms which can ultimately bring on problems. The goal should be to boost engagement and not damagingly effect the event brand in the development of your event marketing tactics.

In this post, the team at The Event Planner Expo will share some creative contest ideas for social media that will help you kickstart your event marketing strategy.

Mastering Event Marketing on Social Media

There is plenty of virtual real estate space on social media for you to insert a competition on your follower’s newsfeeds. The algorithms on social media will only display the most applicable content for users which may dramatically reduce your brand’s organic reach. In order for you to get your content to reach the top of the newsfeeds, you must boost engagement (likes and shares).

Every time someone comments, likes, or tags a friend on one of your posts, it boosts engagement. A post share also outspreads your reach exponentially because your post is now being seen by a new audience. The new audience may now become potential guests at your event because they’re being introduced to your brand with an added incentive (the prize for the contest).

The most appealing component with social media contests is the fact that they are probably the most cost-effective event marketing method. The prize doesn’t have to be an added expense either, instead you can offer:

The end goal is to offer a unique experience to catch the attention of potential event goers.

Creative Event Marketing Ideas for Social Media Contests

Before you set up your social media contest to promote an event, you have to decide what you want the call to action to be. So, are you looking for event goers to simply engage with the event brand? Are you looking to build your email contacts list? Are you looking for them to click and register to your event? Or, are you simply looking for them to submit content that you could use later on in your event marketing (like a guest blog post, pictures, etc.)? Once you’ve decided, you can use some of the ideas below to launch your contest on social media.

1.Sweepstakes

An enter-to-win sweepstakes is pretty basic and easy. Most people are familiar with them and will easily enter their contact information for a chance to win a prize. You must ensure that by entering their information, they’re allowing an opt-in to receive information from you regarding the event if you’ll be sending them information via email, text, etc.

2.Retweet on Twitter

When you ask your followers to retweet a post as a method to enter the contest, you’re also opening up the opportunity to grow your followers. Make sure to include wording that instructs users to follow your account and retweet your post for a chance to win.

3.Survey

Why not collect insight on your potential event goers by requesting that they answer a few probing survey questions? Create questions that will help you source an ideal target attendee, and then choose a winner randomly from those who participated.

4.Snapchat Art

Snapchat users love the different filters and ability to draw on their pictures and videos. Tap into their artistry by requesting that they submit a branded drawing to your account. The most creative submission wins the prize.

5.Branded Hashtags

Encourage your followers to design and post excellent content using your event hashtag on the caption of their published picture or video on Instagram and Twitter. The hashtagged post that gets the most likes will win the prize.

6.Tag Your Guest

Ask your followers to tag the person they’d bring as a guest to your event if they were to win tickets. Let them know that the winner will be chosen at random within 3-5 days to inspire them to quickly tag their potential guest, who is required to follow your account as well to complete their contest entry. This is also a great way to increase followers!

Make sure you reach out to your sponsors to ask them what giveaways their willing to submit to your contest to save on costs.

Helpful Hints for Social Media Contests

Your prize can be amazing but if you don’t structure your social media contest properly, it can be an epic event marketing fail. Here are two helpful hints to keep in mind:

  1. Make sure you schedule your posts during the best times to post on social media
  2. Legal rules & regulations cannot be ignored. Every social media platform has legal terms that you must abide by to avoid having your content pulled, or even worse, your account shut down. Make sure you read their updated rules before you structure and publish your contest.

For more tips on marketing and branding for an event, keep checking back on our blog each week to stay on top of the latest in event marketing strategies.

 

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