With 81% of Americans on at least one platform, have you ever wondered how social media can help you gain more registrants? Or show off how fun and interesting your conference really is?
Before taking the plunge, here are three questions you may be wrestling with:
• How often should you post?
• Can your content rise above the noise?
• What makes your text, photos or video so good it will go viral?
This post will help you wade through this process by providing a logical road map for success.
Social Media Best Practices for Meetings & Events
1. Answer the hard questions
a. Who are you targeting for this event? Be as specific as possible; identify their gender, age, profession, industry and area of the country. The more specific you are, the better chance you have in zoning in on your messaging.
b. What are the conference goals? Your event needs to have succinct objectives for the learner and your organization.
c. When and where will the event be held?
d. Why should attendees come to it?
2. Create an online events registration page
You can use a variety of tools including Cvent or Eventbrite. Whichever tool you use, be sure each attendee can register and pay for the conference from one location.
3. Create an event hashtag
If your conference occurs annually, add 2018 or 18 after the conference name. This hashtag should be used on all social channels, all the time.
4. Use social media imagery tools such as Canva or Pablo
These free tools have stock imagery and can be sized to specific social platforms.
5. Give suggested social media posts to speakers, exhibitors and sponsors
Ask them to post on their channels once a week leading up to the conference. Encourage them to create content onsite as well.
6.Identify industry influencers to write posts about or bring to your event.
Be aware: If the influencer has a large enough audience, you may have to pay them for each contribution so set aside a budget for this.
7. Run social media contests to encourage early registration.
Give each winner a certain dollar figure or percentage discount off the registration fee if they win.
8. Since organic reach is continuing to decline, establish a PPC budget for all social channels.
9. Set up your content calendar for each channel and post different content on each one.
Post at least once a week, but the key here is to be consistent. So if you decide to post three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, be sure to stick to this schedule.
To rise above the noise, be sure each post either informs, entertains or connects with your readers. Mix things up so your message doesn’t get stale.
a. Facebook
i. Create an events page and tie it to your registration system.
ii. Produce a Facebook Group for this event and post everything about it here.
iii. Use Facebook Live as a hype video – capture attendee testimonials as to why they are coming to the conference.
iv. Set up advertising demographics that reflect your target audience. Boost at least one post per week for maximum visibility.
b. Instagram
i. Create stories about the event using filters.
ii. Identify and work with influencers from this channel.
c. Twitter
i. Create a Twitter list to start conversations between speakers, attendees and sponsors. Optional step: get video-wall rentals to display Twitter feeds live.
ii. Send direct messages of a special offer for people you’d like to attract to your event.
d. YouTube: Upload speaker and sponsor videos on your channel.
e. LinkedIn
i. Add event registration information in appropriate LinkedIn groups.
ii. Upload speaker slides onto your SlideShare channel.
10. Once attendees are on site, encourage them to post often using the event hashtag.
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