How can you design events that are optimized for social media sharing? Social media is a powerful tool to promote your events, reach new audiences, and generate buzz. But to make the most of it, you need to plan ahead and create events that are not only engaging, but also shareable. Here are some tips to help you design events that are optimized for social media sharing.
Before you start designing your event, you need to understand who your target audience is and what they want. What are their interests, preferences, and pain points? What are their social media habits and preferences? What kind of content do they consume and share? How do they interact with your brand and your event? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your event to their needs and expectations, and create content that resonates with them.
Different social media platforms offer various features and formats for content sharing. Tailor your content to leverage these features effectively. For example, utilize Instagram Stories for behind-the-scenes glimpses, Facebook Live for real-time updates, and Twitter polls for interactive engagement. By optimizing content for specific platform functionalities, you can maximize audience engagement and sharing potential across diverse channels.
As the event planner: Integrate the various social media platforms into the execution of the event. Instagram Stories, Tweets, posts all have their place in your day of marketing. Make opportunities for your attendees to be active in social. As the attendee: Use the downtime between sessions/events to reflect and share said reflections on social media with the platform you're most comfortable with. Look for hashtags and other markers from the event organizers so you can include them in your messaging. Also follow those same markers to network and engage with other attendees.
It's crucial to deeply understand your audience's preferences, interests, and behaviors on social platforms. For example, for a tech conference targeting young professionals, we researched trending hashtags, popular content formats like live streams and interactive polls, and topics that resonate with our audience such as AI, cybersecurity, and digital innovation. We incorporated these insights into our event design by creating interactive sessions, partnering with influencers for live coverage, and encouraging attendees to share their experiences using event-specific hashtags. By knowing our audience's social media habits and preferences, we were able to create highly shareable and engaging event experiences.
Quando as pessoas se sentem conectadas e envolvidas, é mais provável que queiram compartilhar seu evento com outras pessoas. -Tornar o evento interessante contando uma história envolvente. As pessoas adoram compartilhar experiências que as emocionam ou as fazem pensar. -usar fotos e vídeos legais para chamar a aten??o das pessoas. Uma imagem vale mais que mil palavras, e vídeos s?o ainda mais cativantes. -fazer perguntas, criar enquetes e incentivar o diálogo para que as pessoas interajamr e compartilhem suas opini?es. -fazer parcerias com outras pessoas ou empresas que tenham seguidores interessados no evento. - Oferecer vantagens ou incentivos como prêmios, descontos, certificados.
Before you brainstorm any ideas, understand who you're designing the event for. What are their interests and social media habits? What kind of content do they typically share? By tailoring the event to their preferences, you'll increase the chances of them sharing it with their network.
A theme and a hashtag are essential elements to make your event stand out and create a consistent identity across social media platforms. A theme is a central idea or message that guides your event design, content, and communication. A hashtag is a short and memorable word or phrase that identifies your event and makes it easy for people to find and join the conversation. Choose a theme and a hashtag that are relevant, catchy, and unique, and use them consistently throughout your event planning, promotion, and execution.
To enhance engagement, consider involving your audience in the theme and hashtag selection process. Conduct polls or ask for suggestions on social media platforms to ensure the chosen theme and hashtag resonate well with your audience. This not only fosters inclusivity but also creates a sense of ownership among attendees.
The best way to choose a catchy theme and hashtag as an event marketer is to consider the interests and preferences of your target audience while also aligning with the event's objectives and messaging. For instance, for a sustainability-focused conference aimed at eco-conscious professionals, we brainstormed themes related to sustainability, such as "GreenTech Revolution" or "Sustainable Futures Summit." We then created a catchy hashtag like #GreenTech2023 to tie in with the theme and make it easy for attendees to share their experiences on social media. This approach not only makes the event memorable but also enhances social media engagement and amplifies the event's reach beyond the venue.
By using storytelling and narratives, you can create an over arching theme for your event that will capture guests and leave them feeling emotionally connected - either to the brand in question or to the experience they had.
Social media is a visual and interactive medium, so you need to create content that captures attention and invites participation. Visual content includes photos, videos, graphics, and live streams that showcase your event and its highlights. Interactive content includes polls, quizzes, contests, Q&A sessions, and live chats that encourage feedback and engagement. Create visual and interactive content that is relevant, informative, entertaining, and inspiring, and that showcases your event's value proposition, speakers, sponsors, and attendees.
Our team attends big events and creates dedicated content for our social media channels. This plays into our strategy of humanizing the brand by featuring people and their work. It’s a big job but we’ve seen the results. It’s important to follow the different platform codes. This requires significant coordination and planning. We mainly focus on videos around the general themes of the event. Despite substantial pre-event planning, we have to remain flexible on-site to the opportunities that present themselves. You never know what/who you might see! We work with an external professional agency. We film in 9:16 to facilitate editing for all platforms and lately have really enjoyed the immersive effect of filming with a wide angle lens.
‘Photo moments’ dont cut it anymore. Full events need to be photos moments with content capture at the heart of every corner and experience within your event. This will encourage organic content creation.
Ask your event production vendor about services they can offer that will help with social media content creation. Some ideas include: framing camera shots with various aspect ratios in mind (i.e. vertical video,) ISO recording all cameras and/or microphones to give your content team more unique editing options, using a NAS and/or cloud storage to share recordings with your content team, use recording technology that supports "growing files" so that editors can edit and publish content in real-time, embed captioning data into recordings, etc.
To maximize engagement, leverage emerging trends such as augmented reality (AR) filters or virtual reality (VR) experiences that provide immersive interactions. These innovative approaches not only create memorable moments but also encourage attendees to share their experiences on social media.
The best way to create visual and interactive content as an event marketer is to leverage creativity and technology to engage your audience. For example, for a product launch event, we produced visually stunning teaser videos showcasing the product's features and benefits. We also created interactive demos and simulations that allowed attendees to experience the product firsthand. By combining captivating visuals with interactive elements, we not only captured attention but also provided a memorable and engaging experience that resonated with our audience. It's all about using innovative content strategies to make your event stand out and leave a lasting impression.
User-generated content (UGC) is any content created by your attendees and shared on social media. UGC is a powerful way to amplify your event's reach, credibility, and impact, as it shows authentic and diverse perspectives and experiences. To encourage UGC, you need to create opportunities and incentives for your attendees to share their content. For example, you can provide photo booths, props, backdrops, and branded merchandise that make your event visually appealing and fun. You can also create contests, challenges, and rewards that motivate your attendees to share their content and tag your event.
When considering how to ensure your event is optimised for social; it's more than just aesthetics. If the last few years have taught us anything; events aren't just about a good visual pull, an impressive goodie bag, or a captivating venue. Your content is king. Think about how can you develop keynote speeches, presentations and panels to be optimised for social advocacy or resharing; is it asking your speakers for "one sentence to sum up the industry right now" so that audiences can jot this down and echo their resonance with it post event? Or perhaps - creating follow up content that summarises key takeaways; with high level stats. Outputs like this work well in infographics = that naturally lend themself to social feeds.
The best way to encourage user-generated content as an event marketer is to create opportunities for attendees to share their experiences and stories organically. For example, at our last conference, we set up a dedicated social media wall where attendees could post photos, videos, and comments using the event hashtag. We also hosted a photo contest with prizes for the most creative and engaging posts. By actively promoting user-generated content and showcasing it in real-time, we not only empowered attendees to become brand advocates but also generated buzz and excitement around the event. It's about creating a participatory and interactive environment that encourages attendees to share their unique perspectives and moments.
In addition to providing incentives, consider incorporating social media walls or live feeds displaying user-generated content in real time at the event venue. This not only incentivizes attendees to create content but also fosters a sense of community and excitement as they see their posts featured prominently. Furthermore, actively engage with and amplify UGC by resharing posts and acknowledging contributors.
Finally, you need to measure and optimize your event's social media performance. Measuring means tracking and analyzing the metrics that indicate how well your event is doing on social media, such as reach, impressions, engagement, sentiment, and conversions. Optimizing means adjusting and improving your event design, content, and communication based on the insights you get from the data. Measuring and optimizing will help you understand what works and what doesn't, and how to make your event more effective and shareable.
Alongside traditional social media metrics, consider measuring sentiment analysis to gauge the overall perception of your event. Utilize sentiment analysis tools or conduct manual analysis of comments and mentions to understand attendees' feelings and reactions. This qualitative data can provide valuable insights for refining future event strategies and enhancing the overall attendee experience.
The best way to measure and optimize as an event marketer is to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and gather feedback to continually improve future events. For example, after our recent product launch event, we analyzed attendee feedback surveys to understand satisfaction levels, identify areas for improvement, and gather ideas for future enhancements. We also tracked metrics like registration numbers, social media engagement, and lead generation to evaluate the event's success and optimize our strategies for upcoming events. By using data-driven insights and feedback loops, we ensure that each event gets better and more impactful over time, delivering value to both attendees and stakeholders.
Engage all five senses to create lasting memories! Providing food is a fundamental way to show hospitality. A pleasant scent can induce relaxation. Let sound elicit even the slightest movement. Make the tangible details count. If something is visually stimulating, it will get exposure through multiple avenues. And if there’s a story to tell, the likelihood increases even more. People like to share happy moments. They also enjoy a healthy escape from their daily challenges. Trying to place oneself in the story sparks interest in an environment one didn’t experience. It becomes a mission to be present at the next occasion. And if the subsequent event continues the sensory adventure, the cycle lives on.
Create intentional shareable moments Creating intentional and shareable moments allow event attendees to capture content and still remain present in the event. Guide these moments by prompting audiences. Plan before and after moments then prompt audiences to put away devices and enjoy. This causes less distractions. A good time and perfect takeaways can be had by all. Love providing insights. For more, connect and subscribe to Creator Insights from #DryerBuzz ?? on profile.
Keep the chat going... Post-Event Highlights and Recaps: Continue engagement after the event by sharing highlights, recaps, and user-generated content on social media channels. Create video compilations, photo albums, or blog posts that showcase the best moments from the event and encourage attendees to relive their experiences and share with their networks.