Most event planners are clueless about social media because we are in-person people!
However, there is no escaping the world of social media, which is why I have come up with…
- “The 5 W’s of Social Media” (to ensure your foundation is set up right)
- “The 5 W’s of Event Planning” (according to the 5 W’s of Social Media)
- Totaling to be the “10 Ways To Use Social Media To Market Your Event”
5 W’s Of Social Media
Here are my 5 Ws of social media to increase (and improve) your online visibility.
1. WHY?
Why are you on social media?
There are different goals for using social media as a marketing strategy, a few of them include:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Influencing the buying behavior of existing customers/new customers
- Recruiting new talent
- Innovating your products
- Generating more sales
- Profiling yourself as an expert
Once you have defined your goals, it will become clearer which social media channels you will need to achieve them and what type of content you ought to share.
2. WHO?
Who would you like to reach? Who is your ideal client?
Or as we say in marketing, who is your Buyer Persona?
The Buyer Persona is fundamental to your business, because it gives you insights about:
- Who they are
- What they want
- What they do
- And their challenges, interests, age, gender, and income…
Based on these insights, you can create a concrete content plan.
3. WHAT?
What do you need to communicate?
Because we are already overloaded with information, content should be very focused and easily recognizable by readers so that they feel understood.
I often hear people say they are not inspired or have no time to post.
However, there is so much valuable information to share. The art is making sure it is not lost in the existing ocean of content.
If your post stands out, if it is original content, an inspiring story or quote, or a peek behind the scenes, people will read/watch it.
A good way to get started is setting up a content calendar. Here are just some ideas:
- Tip of the day
- Post a tutorial
- Give a freebie
- Video behind the scenes
- Share the tools you use
- Share a sneak peek with your followers
- Share a book you are reading
- Ask questions
- Post a testimonial or success story
- Give a special discount to your fans
4. WHERE?
Which social media channel should you use to post which content?
My advice to you is not to share the same content via all your social media channels, because people will experience this as spam. So, choose well.
Surprise your followers each time with different content.
- LinkedIn is a business network. Post more business-related posts like talent recruitment or management books you are reading, your challenges as an entrepreneur, ask questions, or dare to ask for advice.
- Facebook content can be more informal and entertaining. But keep it authentic. Use some emoticons to spice up your post.
- Instagram posts should be aesthetic and don’t forget to use Instagram Stories. This is a great way to share a sneak peek behind the scenes. Posts about travel, fitness, health, fashion, and food are very welcome on Instagram.
- Twitter is best used to share the latest news, to position yourself as an expert and generate discussions.
5. WHEN?
Consistency is key.
Posting on a regular basis will keep you top of mind among your followers and attract new followers. A secret formula doesn’t exist because algorithms change and are updated.
To get an idea of when it is best to post, take a look at your statistics and compare your different posts. Which post did well, meaning: reach, likes, comments, interaction.
When is your Buyer Persona most likely to be online?
- For example, it makes sense for a bakery to post a picture of a warm loaf of bread on a Saturday morning.
- For a beauty parlor, a post on a Friday evening about taking time to relax when the weekend starts, will reach its target audience.
So, check out which time works best for you and your audience.
Practice makes perfect.Click To TweetNow that you have the foundation of your social media set up correctly, we can dive into how to promote your event effectively!
5 W’s Of Event Planning
Answering the 5 W’s is incontrovertible before you start to organize an event.
1. Why?
Start with why. Why are you planning an event? Define them in a SMART way to ensure success.
Your objectives could be:
- to inform, transfer knowledge and information
- to thank, to reward, to stimulate
- to celebrate, to have fun
- to motivate
- to sell, to generate profit
2. What?
What are your objectives? Your objectives influence the type of event:
- Meeting
Workshop
Symposium - Conference
Teambuilding activity - Seminar, party
- Trade show
- The launch of a new product
- Networking reception
- Open door
- Kick-off
- Incentive travel
- Awards ceremony
I don’t need to explain that a teambuilding activity requires different content and design than a trade show or conference. Once the type of event has been defined, you can search for a suitable venue.
3. Who?
Who is your target audience? Who will be invited to this event?
If people need to register for the event via a (personal) invitation, then we are talking about a private or closed event. For example, a staff party, that only employees and possibly their partners are allowed to attend.
If ‘everyone’ can register for the event, we are talking about a public or open event. For example, a conference about digital marketing where you buy a ticket via the event website. Young, old, marketing professional or not, everyone can attend.
4. Where?
The venue is determined based on the type of event.
Firstly, consider the area/region and then further refine.
Several factors determine the choice of venue:
- Capacity (how many meeting rooms are available, what is the maximum capacity)
- Facilities (accessibility, parking, equipment, catering)
Such venues can include:
- Hotels
- Exhibition halls
- Castles
- Congress halls
- Cinemas
- Farms
- Ships
- Water towers
- Old hospitals
- Historic buildings
- Prisons
- Parks
- Etc.
Think out-of-the-box!
5. When?
When is the event taking place?
Check if other events are being organized in the same area and on which dates. If several events are being organized around the same time, people will be receiving a lot of invitations.
Decide the date with care! Don’t forget to take into account the time needed to organize the event, which is sometimes underestimated!
To organize a successful event, it is all in the preparation, planning, and details.
Geraldine Huybrechts is a multi-faceted entrepreneur who offers corporate event management & social media coaching services (online & offline communications). She is passionate about empowering fempreneurs, daring them to step out of their comfort zone and make their dreams come true by staying true to themselves and following their heart.
Idalia Phon says
I needed this, thank you!