Event Social Media Marketing: How Not to Go Crazy Series: Facebook Marketing
Hello,
And that, after a long time.
So, you decided to take the plunge, after all, with social media for your event marketing.
Okay - so you did the initial assessment of which platform is the right to be on for your event. And Facebook it is. Then what - are we going to be trigger-happy? Absolutely not. Thou shalt post with caution.
First, we need to understand the entire Facebook marketing landscape available to us. In case you are starting right off, and you don't have a company Facebook account or an events page (sounds unbelievable, but that's where we were 4 years ago - no account, no page), then please create one. That is going to be the bedrock of your Facebook marketing strategy. On how to create an account or a page, visit here.
Your account is created, your page is done. So what do we do now?
1. Announce Yourself
Announce yourself - to the world - and the competition that you're here. Update your profile photo with the event banners. As outlined in the social media strategy post earlier, divide your entire event into three phases, pre-event, in-event, and post-event.
Pre-event: Teaser, Coming Soon, 1 Week to Launch, 1 Day to Launch
In- event: Preview, Sneak Peek, Actual event
Post-event: Event snapshot, feedback from sponsors, and delegates, deliverables
Create all your collaterals beforehand: The coming soon's, the teasers, so that you can switch over easily without any transition time. Invest in getting good quality designs created.
Rule of thumb: Create atleast one video and one product collateral per phase.
If you are starting with 0 likes/followers - social media hinterland - don't feel bad - Remember to get to 10000 likes, you need to start with 1. Every brand has been through that journey.
So, how do you build your page? Float your FB events page, ask your colleagues to engage with your content, send it out to your customers, friends. Think of ways to insert it in conversations, emails, business cards. Be seen, be heard, be liked.
Now that you've arrived, what is there to do to start promoting an event on Facebook?
Posts
Ads: Promoting your page
Events
Plug-ins: Contests
And most importantly, create a memorable hashtag. This is an excellent article on how to create easy & memorable hashtags
2. Posts
Post content - unless you are recognized as a source of information, that is one of these things: credible, novel, interesting, controversial, you will find it difficult to generate visibility.
Think it from your user's perspective: What new have you got? If you are a newbie, why would people take note? Its usually scandals, controversies, scams, disagreements that polarize people and -sadly enough - generate buzz. In case your brand is already reputed and is credible and authentic, then you have a diving platform. But - jump you must. You need to be crafty, cunning and nimble-footed on social media, with an uncanny ability to surf trends. For example, if you are a healthcare company, why not create something around the Zika virus? If you are a sports company, tie that to the Rio Olympics. If you are a tech company, why not do a series on #TechFactsYouDidntKnow.
3. Ads
Facebook has more than 1B registered users . Chances are if you are looking for a target audience, it will be hard to miss on this gigantor of a platform. You can drill it down by demographics (age, gender, location), interests, behaviors (purchase behavior, devices used)and so much more.With custom audiences & lookalike audiences, your marketing campaign can really ex-plode!
Facebook ads can help you a great deal to develop, build and market your event. To learn more about Facebook ads, watch this video.
In case you are looking for more depth on Facebook ads, watch out for my next post. Based on my experience (and of countless others), I have created a tips sheet on how to get it right for first-timers. This post covers what you can do from an event perspective on Facebook.
The best part about Facebook is conversion tracking. With conversion tracking, you can find out when someone sees your Facebook advert and then goes to your website to register for your event / or any other goal that you set.
I've found that my target audience are generally more receptive on Facebook than LinkedIn. Of course, your experience might be complete different.
4. Events
Create an events page on Facebook. Update the profile information to reflect the event banners / videos /. Visit this link here to create an events page.
Remember to send out the invitations to all your colleagues, all the registered participants, potential delegates, speakers, and the press. You can also create event response ads in both the Ad Create tool and Power Editor. You can read more about tools to promote Facebook events here
5. Contests
Contests can really amplify the reach of your event - In case you are thinking of offering discounted tickets to your e'vents, or to announce one sponsored seat, contests can really help. Read more here to get started.
Facebook is only one part of the entire social media pie - and a very important one at that. To have a consistent and thorough social media plan you really need to sync in your content / editorial strategy, the marketing / brand strategy and of course be prepared to catch what the user might throw at you.
If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
So hope this helps! And in case anyone wants to connect further on any of the above pointers, do write at blogbox24x7@gmail.com.
And that, after a long time.
So, you decided to take the plunge, after all, with social media for your event marketing.
Okay - so you did the initial assessment of which platform is the right to be on for your event. And Facebook it is. Then what - are we going to be trigger-happy? Absolutely not. Thou shalt post with caution.
First, we need to understand the entire Facebook marketing landscape available to us. In case you are starting right off, and you don't have a company Facebook account or an events page (sounds unbelievable, but that's where we were 4 years ago - no account, no page), then please create one. That is going to be the bedrock of your Facebook marketing strategy. On how to create an account or a page, visit here.
Your account is created, your page is done. So what do we do now?
1. Announce Yourself
Announce yourself - to the world - and the competition that you're here. Update your profile photo with the event banners. As outlined in the social media strategy post earlier, divide your entire event into three phases, pre-event, in-event, and post-event.
Pre-event: Teaser, Coming Soon, 1 Week to Launch, 1 Day to Launch
In- event: Preview, Sneak Peek, Actual event
Post-event: Event snapshot, feedback from sponsors, and delegates, deliverables
Create all your collaterals beforehand: The coming soon's, the teasers, so that you can switch over easily without any transition time. Invest in getting good quality designs created.
Rule of thumb: Create atleast one video and one product collateral per phase.
If you are starting with 0 likes/followers - social media hinterland - don't feel bad - Remember to get to 10000 likes, you need to start with 1. Every brand has been through that journey.
So, how do you build your page? Float your FB events page, ask your colleagues to engage with your content, send it out to your customers, friends. Think of ways to insert it in conversations, emails, business cards. Be seen, be heard, be liked.
Now that you've arrived, what is there to do to start promoting an event on Facebook?
Posts
Ads: Promoting your page
Events
Plug-ins: Contests
And most importantly, create a memorable hashtag. This is an excellent article on how to create easy & memorable hashtags
2. Posts
Post content - unless you are recognized as a source of information, that is one of these things: credible, novel, interesting, controversial, you will find it difficult to generate visibility.
Think it from your user's perspective: What new have you got? If you are a newbie, why would people take note? Its usually scandals, controversies, scams, disagreements that polarize people and -sadly enough - generate buzz. In case your brand is already reputed and is credible and authentic, then you have a diving platform. But - jump you must. You need to be crafty, cunning and nimble-footed on social media, with an uncanny ability to surf trends. For example, if you are a healthcare company, why not create something around the Zika virus? If you are a sports company, tie that to the Rio Olympics. If you are a tech company, why not do a series on #TechFactsYouDidntKnow.
3. Ads
Facebook has more than 1B registered users . Chances are if you are looking for a target audience, it will be hard to miss on this gigantor of a platform. You can drill it down by demographics (age, gender, location), interests, behaviors (purchase behavior, devices used)and so much more.With custom audiences & lookalike audiences, your marketing campaign can really ex-plode!
Facebook ads can help you a great deal to develop, build and market your event. To learn more about Facebook ads, watch this video.
In case you are looking for more depth on Facebook ads, watch out for my next post. Based on my experience (and of countless others), I have created a tips sheet on how to get it right for first-timers. This post covers what you can do from an event perspective on Facebook.
The best part about Facebook is conversion tracking. With conversion tracking, you can find out when someone sees your Facebook advert and then goes to your website to register for your event / or any other goal that you set.
I've found that my target audience are generally more receptive on Facebook than LinkedIn. Of course, your experience might be complete different.
4. Events
Create an events page on Facebook. Update the profile information to reflect the event banners / videos /. Visit this link here to create an events page.
Remember to send out the invitations to all your colleagues, all the registered participants, potential delegates, speakers, and the press. You can also create event response ads in both the Ad Create tool and Power Editor. You can read more about tools to promote Facebook events here
5. Contests
Contests can really amplify the reach of your event - In case you are thinking of offering discounted tickets to your e'vents, or to announce one sponsored seat, contests can really help. Read more here to get started.
Facebook is only one part of the entire social media pie - and a very important one at that. To have a consistent and thorough social media plan you really need to sync in your content / editorial strategy, the marketing / brand strategy and of course be prepared to catch what the user might throw at you.
If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
So hope this helps! And in case anyone wants to connect further on any of the above pointers, do write at blogbox24x7@gmail.com.
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