Robyn Pierce, head of social media at The Crocodile, shares advice on how to make your B2B event pop on social media
There was a time when the number of attendees at an event could be worked out by doing a simple on-site headcount. TV and radio helped larger events expand numbers by enabling people to tune in, but these days, harnessing social media can up participation exponentially, regardless of your event’s size.
The simplest thing to do is tweet from your business Twitter account or set one up for the event itself. However in the ever-changing social landscape, even this is beginning to feel a little passé – it’s so simple everyone is doing it and individual voices are being drowned out.
Your audience is getting ever more savvy and demanding – they want more information, more access and more reasons to choose your product/event/way of thinking. If you want to achieve competitive differentiation, you’re going to have to give them what they want.
With that in mind, here are half a dozen tips about how you can stand out from the crowd on social media and get your event noticed.
1. Use hashtags
Put simply, hashtags work. They build interest in the run up to your event, they give everyone a point of reference during the event and you can use them afterwards for post-event analysis to understand reach and engagement.
As ever, the key is quality over quantity – you need to find something short, snappy and unique that sums up your event. You also shouldn’t confine it to social media – include it on any collateral you send out and at the event itself as a signal for people to join the conversation.
An even bigger social call to action for event attendees would be the use of a real time ‘tag wall’ displaying tweets and parts from other social sites. Rewarding people with 15 seconds of fame on the wall will draw your audience’s attention away from their smartphone screens and encourage participation and engagement.
2. Incentivise social interaction
Getting people engaging with your hashtag early on can help build interest and ensure that the physical event is well attended and successful. How you go about this depends on your budget – you could give away assets for key influencers to use and discuss, or you could run a competition based on shares or retweets offering free entry, or other perks, to winners.
While putting ‘tag your friends to win’ may seem commonplace on Facebook, directly asking for retweets on Twitter isn’t used as much in B2B social, yet it can cause engagement to rocket.
3. A picture paints more than 140 characters
Just having words coming out of events won’t cut it these days. You need to include more visual elements. You could rely on people to feel inspired to take photos themselves, but it’s more fun to include a social media kiosk for people to create their own content.
Provide props and ensure the hashtag features somewhere in the background, then let attendees loose. Again, you can incentivise sharing by offering a prize for the photo that gets the most engagement. Providing free wi-fi wouldn’t go amiss so that content can be easily uploaded.
4. Provide video snapshots
Providing rich content needn’t stop at still images when video platforms are so readily available – 76 per cent of marketers are utilising them and they’re one of the most effective media available outside being physically at an event.
How can you make the most of it at yours? Aside from filming keynote speeches and seminars – we’ll discuss that later – you can provide snippets via Vine or Instagram Video. They may be short, but a brief interview with attendees or speakers will give an idea of what’s going on and whet the appetite for more information.
5. Live video streams
Even sharing recorded video isn’t at the vanguard any more – live streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat are the new kids on the block that can further enhance the richness of the content you have on offer from your event.
With the proliferation of 4G these days – plus any free wi-fi you provide – live video streaming is becoming a much more real possibility. As well as broadcasting events as they happen, you can make them more interactive by allowing for a Q&A with the people following the stream.
6. After the main event
Never think that the benefits of social media end once your event closes its doors – attendee and non-attendees alike will still want to catch up on what happened, particularly if they already know how content-rich it was.
You’ve got an audience, so make the most of it – show the videos of the speeches and seminars, publish a review of the event, share some of the more memorable short-form highlights, continue the push for what you’re providing and encourage people to keep following for future opportunities.
After all, you’ve made this event such a rich and engaging experience, why wouldn’t they want to come back for more?
