Whatever kind of event it is that you’re planning, you probably want to engage your attendees in some way. If you’re a business entertaining client, you want to leave a positive impression so that they send business your way in future; if you’re an employer throwing a party or awards ceremony for staff, you want to encourage hard working and staff retention, and if you’re a festival organiser you want people to come back.
One of the best ways to leave a good impression is by engaging meaningfully with your attendees – and social media is a great way to do that. Whether before, during or after the event, it offers a great opportunity to draw out the experience and make sure it’s a good one.
Share handles widely
Attendees and potential attendees won’t be able to engage if they don’t know where you are – so share your social media handles widely. This includes in any emails that you send out about the event, on invitations and other promotional material and visible on the day on banners, screens and goodie bags.
Be responsive
One of the most common reasons for attendees to get in touch on social media ahead of time is a problem that’s arisen. In fact, some attendees might also go down this route on the day, too. That’s why responding to messages quickly and efficiently is so important – you’ll be helping to ensure your customers or attendees have the best possible experience.
Be fun
Social media is a much more fun and youthful platform than many marketing channels, so take advantage of that! It’s your chance to use a more relaxed tone than you might in emails or on your website, whether you’re counting down the days to an event in gifs or teasing your entertainment options with some clues. It’s also a great place to run competitions and contests to win tickets to your event.
Offer some good photo-ops
We can all tick off the Instagram cliches – enormous floral arrangements or archways, beautifully presented food and cocktails, photobooths, lattes, scandi style … the list goes on. But the truth is that these things are social media cliches for a reason – they’re aesthetically pleasing and people love to share them on social media.
You can capitalise on social media culture by offering up some good photo opportunities for guests, whether it’s a glitter makeup station at a music event, artfully arranged cakes and pastries or a beautifully set table. Combined with a good saturation of your social media handles, you’ll have notifications coming in left, right and centre.
For an extra special photo opportunity, why not hire a celebrity? A famous face is the ultimate photo-op for lovers of social media, and their shares could help you sell out your next event in double-quick time.
Engaging attendees on social media
The key things to bear in mind when you’re thinking about your social media presence and the event you’re planning are:
- Share your handles widely in publicity materials and at the event
- Make sure to respond to queries quickly
- Offer up some good photo-opportunities for your guests
- And have fun with your tone and content on social media
