Social events

Social Media and Event
Marketing
Tips for making your event “go social”

Copyright © 2011 Constant Contact Inc. 1

Making an event “social” isn’t more important
than creating a great event, but it helps!

 Making an event “social” helps throughout the lifecycle
of an event

1. Pre-event
2. During the event
3. Post-event


Before you get started…

 Not every event is destined to go
social…

 Are your desired attendees
engaging on social media?

 Do your speakers and sponsors
have a social presence?

 Do you have the bandwidth to
add another channel?


Before the event
Use social media to help build buzz and drive
attendance for your event


1. What networks do you have at your
disposal?

 Everyone involved in an event wins by increasing
attendance

 Find out what your speakers and sponsors have for
social networks and talk to them about whether or not
they are willing to promote the event


2. Share the event details with your
network

Inform the people
in your network
with a custom 3
message to
encourage
attendance and a
link to register.

6 Copyright © 2011 Constant Contact, Inc.

2. Share the event details with your
network (and grow your network)

3. Promote sharing

Ask registrants to share the event information. Jump start the
word of mouth buzz around your event.

Once registered, let
attendees spread the
word about the event by
sharing on Facebook or
Twitter.

Copyright © 2011 Constant
8
Contact Inc.

4. Use a hashtag from the beginning

 If your attendees are likely to be on Twitter, set up a
dedicated hashtag right from the beginning and include it
in every promotional material

 This gives you a way to track the conversation, see who
is talking about the event, and whether or not there is any
buzz around the event before it happens (and during and
after)


The Power of the Hashtag

#
Words preceded by a # sign (i.e., #ctctsocial) can be used to tie various
tweets together and relate them to a topic, be it a conference, TV
show, sporting event, or any happening or trend of your choosing.

Twitter automatically links all hashtags so users can search for other
tweets using the same tag.


5. Stagger your content

 There are lots of great things about
your event and you don’t want to
say them all at once.

 Like any topic, content is king so
each post must be compelling

 You want to create a steady stream
of content that people will consume
and share on and across social
networks


Promote each speaker


Thank each sponsor


Encourage word of mouth


Show enthusiasm


Send reminders (and reach new people)

Reminder communications

 Increase % that show
 Show count down until event
 Include a link to a pre-event survey or poll,
then near event start date or at start of
event review results
 Provide hints to guess secret guest
speaker/feature
 Tweet event information and include event
#hashtag in the tweet
 Share event details on your Facebook wall
 Make it easy to share with “Forward to
friend” link and Social Share button

Copyright © 2011 Constant
Contact, Inc. 16

6. Start the conversation

 Use questions to see what people are interested in
most… (and if on Twitter, don’t forget the hashtag)


7. Set up a check-in

How can you use it?
Foursquare  Do you have a venue? Create
a location to check in.
 Co-marketing with local
business? Drive traffic to each
other.
 Leave a tip about your event
 Leave a To Do about your
event
 Scavenger hunt around event-
– Hints in tips area
 Understand interests of people
checking in-profile info

During the event
Engage attendees in person and online


1. Make attendees’ feel social

 Remind them of the #hashtag and put it on promotional
materials and slide decks
 Add twitter handles to name tags (as appropriate)


2. Encourage live-tweeting

 Encourage attendees to
tweet about what they are
experiencing during the
event under the event
#hashtag.

 People who are interested
and could not make it can
be part of event following a
twitter feed.

 Encourage attendees to
post photos and videos from
mobile devices to Twitter
with tools like Twitpic

3. Encourage and reward check-ins

How can you use it?
Foursquare
 Watch how many and who
has checked in.
– Know when the people you
want to connect with have
arrived.
 Watch the comments, tips
and to do’s left by
attendees.
– Gain a clear understanding
of what popular/trending in
your event.
– Run a contest

4. Consider using QR Codes to keep the
interaction going

What are your thoughts about
Geek Girl Boot camp?
 Get feedback via a poll
or short survey that
people can access via
mobile device

 Post video content that
is complementary to the
event objectives to view How do I build? -http://bit.ly/
via a mobile device Add- .qr at end of shorten url

5. Promote sponsors and giveaways

 Use the live stream to
mention booth
contests, fun activities
and share pictures


Warning: Don’t make your event too “social”


After the event
Use social media to continue the
conversation


2. Thank sponsors again


3. Share speaker content


4. Get feedback

 Post and promote a short
survey to engage fans and
followers and drive
engagement

 Review the comments and
conversations on your
Facebook wall.

 Review the comments via
Twitter about your event by
searching under the event
#hashtag.


5. Promote the next event


6. Consider creating a LinkedIn group


Best Next Steps

Try Online Event Marketing For Free

http://www.constantcontact-event.com/

Check out a Live Product Tour
Register for the live “Event Marketing Product Demo”

http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/webinars/live/index.jsp

Questions? You have a consultant here to help at 1-855-816-6508

34
Copyright © 2011 Constant Contact, Inc.

Follow Event Marketing on Social Media

On Twitter:
@ctctevent

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ctcteventmarketing
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

35

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