Social media’s role in event marketing cannot be underestimated. Since events by nature are social, social media plays a crucial role in every part of an event from planning to promotion, as well as integration within the event itself. A recent study from Constant Contact revealed that over three quarters of respondents regarded social media as either very important or somewhat important as part of their event promotion activities.
Are You Using Social Media to Promote Your Events? Mary Crogan, Constant Contact
While the majority of those who took part in the survey believed that attracting attendees and driving word of mouth about events were their primary goals, social media can also be completely integrated into the event itself, giving participants the ability to share and comment in real-time. It can also be used to follow up with guests after the event to get their feedback and thank them for attending. Below are some ways, recommended by Social Media Examiner, how social media can play an active and up-to-the-minute role in your next event:
QR Codes for Presentations
Share your presentation with your guests, even without a projector, by uploading your presentation to Slideshare, then creating a QR code that points to the presentation. Print an image of the code and anyone with a smartphone can scan it and view your presentation.
15 Ways to Bring Social Media to Events, Ekaterina Walter, Social Media Examiner
Sharing Guests’ Information, Images and Comments
A Twitter backchannel run on a program like Tweetwally, can allow an audience to give their comments on talks, and those who are not able to attend can also follow along. Your participants can also upload their event pictures to Flickr, which can help with building a photo record that can also be used for promotions in the future. Foursquare is also a great way to make sure your guests check in at different locations within your venue to make sure they don’t miss any displays or lectures.
Even better, check out the latest in social media photo booths, which can serve as a fun way to give your guests the chance to record their pictures and video themselves, and then share them on Twitter and Facebook, giving your event the chance to go viral before the concluding speech is even given. Their email addresses can also be collected which you can also use for future promotions and events.
Video Streaming
Recording your event live is also an option now with Ustream, Facebook or a dedicated YouTube channel. This is a great option for large talks as it is usually difficult for people to get around to all of the events, although it can require a lot of bandwidth.
The options available to incorporate social media at events is expanding all the time, giving marketers even more opportunity to understand and engage the needs of their target audience. Keshot Photo Booths is always seeking out new and better ways to make social media an integral and useful part of your event marketing mix.
