Harnessing the power of social media can elevate event exposure and the guest experience. The trick to getting this right, however, lies in some strategic social media management. Contrary to popular belief, using social media to your advantage is not a simple matter of making up a hashtag, dashing down some copy and slapping an image onto your posts. In fact, this approach is a recipe for disaster.
The immediacy of social media means that any typo, cultural gaffe or insensitive post (however well intentioned) can do you brand harm in a matter of seconds. A powerful and effective social campaign requires razor-sharp focus, adequate planning and meticulous management – here’s how to get it right:
Understand who your audience is, and choose your channels accordingly
If you’re posting to a channel that’s not used by your audience, you’re essentially posting into a void. Do your research and pinpoint the channels that your guests embrace, and then ascertain what kind of content they’re interacting with. Who are they following? Do they gravitate towards video or images? What are some common themes that come up?
Plan out all posts ahead of time
This may seem counterintuitive, given the immediacy of social media and its availability to allow users to post what they want on the fly, but when it comes to your brand’s reputation, tweeting on the go can be a risky pursuit. Added to this is the fact that planning and orchestrating an event with a sizeable guest list means your attention – and spare time – is in short supply. By compiling a content calendar of scheduled posts, you’ll ensure that all team members know what’s going up, when. You’ll also avoid any embarrassing or potentially damaging posts, as well as repetition. Feel free to supplement your content calendar with content that’s relevant as and when it happens – but be sure that any supplemental posts are on brand and in line with your overarching social campaign.
Hone your hashtag game
Avoid the temptation to pepper all posts with superfluous hashtags. Too many hashtags instantly mark your posts as ‘spammy’. Remember that the point of using hashtags is to make your posts searchable and visible to people who aren’t necessarily following you – thereby increasing exposure. To make your hashtags work for you, do some research using free tools like hashtagify.me, which indicates the hashtags related to your content that are trending. As well as using a few strategically-placed industry-related hashtags, create your own, unique event hashtag that gives attendees a point of reference and ensures that whenever they take to social media, they can a) join in the conversation, and b) follow all related content as it’s posted. Share this hashtag in all of your event collateral and have it visible at the event itself.
Invest in a social media manager
Successful social media campaigns require the dedicated attention of a social media manager. As we’ve mentioned, social media is instantaneous, and you need to ensure that you’re able to reply to mentions as soon after the fact as possible. As social media becomes the customer’s preferred point of contact with brands, a crucial component of a successful social campaign is the ability to reply and acknowledge all feedback timeously. Lastly, if you’re planning on live tweeting your event or displaying a live social media feed, it’s absolutely crucial that all posts are monitored and vetted before they’re broadcast to your attendees. This enables you to filter out any profanity, irrelevant tweets, and potentially damaging content before it’s visible to your guests.
We’re experts in creating corporate events that are worth talking about. Get in touch to find out how we can assist you in planning and orchestrating your next world-class corporate event.
