Facebook is the head honcho of social media. It also has over one billion users; that means one out of every six people on Earth has a Facebook account. No matter how active you are on other social media, you can’t overlook the social network that paved the path for all others. With this in mind, how do you leverage the power of Facebook when promoting your conference?
If you have an account, then all the tools are available at your fingertips, and this guide will show you how to milk these tools for getting the best results.
1. Create an Events Registration Page
Rather than just announcing an event through a post on your social media channel, create an entire page dedicated to the conference. A step-by-step guide for creating an event page can be found here.
Here’s a very effective trick: create a flyer for the event and use it as the page’s front photo. The flyer should contain all the essential info, such as the date, location, and a call-to-action for guests to RSVP. This makes the photo look like an invitation, and all the info is displayed front and center, which cuts down on user questions and prompts them to input the date into their calendars.
To encourage attendance, you can also embed a RSVP app, which will allow visitors to quickly save the date on their Google calendar when clicked.
2. Add a Social Share Button
There’s so much more you can do with your events page to encourage visits and shares. Speaking of shares, make it easy for your followers to do so by adding a social share button. Position it at the top right and just below the main title. This keeps it visible without visitors having to scroll down. Share icons should also extend to include LinkedIn Share, TweetMeme Retweet, and other social networks you feel may be applicable.
Remember that social media is a numbers game, and shares ranging in the four to five digit ranges show to your followers that your conference is getting a lot of buzz, thus worthy of their attention.
3. Write on Your Wall Daily
Keep posting on your wall, though be sure the messages are relevant; otherwise, you’ll just annoy your followers. Don’t make your posts too promotional, though you can include call-to-action phrases to add a sense of urgency.
A few good examples include:
- Get your ticket now before they’re all gone
- Only x amount of tickets remain; reserve your ticket so you don’t get left out
- Register right away; there’s no telling when tickets will be sold out
Also be sure to include the link to your registration page. Postings can also include answers to frequently asked questions or even material that you would write about on your regular company channel.
4. Hand out a Few Tickets as Free Giveaways
To ramp up conversations and the engagement factor, set up a contest with a few tickets as the prize. There are no shortages of the types of contest you can hold.
Some fun contest ideas include the following:
- Raffle entry for “liking” the events page
- Caption this Picture: Post an industry-specific image, and let people add their own humorous captions. Those whose captions get the most “likes” wins.
- Have followers tell an industry-specific joke in the comments section with the winner being the one with the most “likes.”
- Get your followers to join your events page. The 100th, 500th, or 1,000th fan will win a free ticket.
5. Add Videos
If you have footage from last year’s event, post it and show everyone what a good time everyone had. Don’t post the video in its entirety; nobody wants to watch a drawn out conference. Just include snippets of the best moments where the guests are laughing and having a good time. You can even loop it or make it into a GIF for comedic effect.
Videos can also include testimonials from guests from a prior event. Be sure to also collect testimonials from the upcoming event that can be used to promote next year’s conference.
6. Incorporate “Micro Events”
Build up anticipation in the weeks leading up to the event with smaller events held online. Throwback Thursday, for example, has become a recent fad where people post old images of themselves. You can do something similar. Perhaps you can host your own company version of Throwback Thursday and post old and awkward photos of yourself and staff members and encourage followers to do the same.
In fact, you can make this into a contest outlined in step 4. Those whose old photos get rated as the most “geeky,” or has the most “OMG” factor wins.
Other similar events can include Lecture Monday where an industry-expert guest speaker volunteers for a live-streamed seminar free to the guests. Get creative and produce an event for every day of the week to increase the hype and excitement factor for the big conference.
Facebook Is Your Go-To Network for Event Promotion
Every conference needs a good build up to create hype and sensation, and there is no better place to do that than through the world’s most famous social network site. Facebook has all the resources to garner excitement and hoopla around your event and make it the talk of social media within your circle of followers.
