Now that you have a venue and a date and a solid marketing plan in place, it’s time to introduce your event on Facebook. It should be no surprise that increasing number of adults get their news from Facebook. In fact, Digital Trends says, “Only two years ago, just about half of all adult Americans said they used Twitter and Facebook to get their news; in 2015, that number has spiked to 63 percent for both platforms.” We understand how much attention and effort event organizers dedicate to getting the word out about their event. With these 9 approaches to promote events on Facebook you’ll have an unforgettable Facebook campaign up and running as soon as possible.
1. Strategic set up: eye-catching titles and winning wall settings
Unleash the full power of the Facebook Events application with two very important first steps. Mindful branding goes a long way when coming up with your event page name, pull out all the stops when titling your event so the buzz can begin without a hitch. The second step is to allow guests to not only invite their friends, but to share posts and photos to the wall. These shared moments on the event page become actionable news items in their contacts’ Facebook feed, i.e. more visibility and engagement for both of you!
2. Wow people with the perfect event profile photo
Never leave your event page’s cover photo blank. Take advantage of the space and make all of those 784 x 295 pixels shine! Does the image you use clearly reflect your brand? If someone clicks on your cover photo, you will want to include a descriptive caption that includes information, links or even a call to action. And while you’re at it, you definitely want to do a quick check of how your business’ Facebook page looks. Jon Loomer has an excellent checklist that is tried and true to get you started.
3. Budget for paid promotion via Facebook’s targeted ads
Advertising on Facebook can be both incredibly creative and surprisingly frugal! Share the event hashtag, run a competition, or host a countdown… all while spreading awareness, boosting engagement and growing ticket sales. Using limited funds? A great trick is locate a Facebook post related to the event with a high engagement rate (like your Facebook Insights guide you) to “boost.” If you’re interested in more involved advertising, you can choose whether to target attendees’ friends or target a “lookalike audience,” which means targeting a custom audience that mimics the same interests as your fans, friends, eblast followers or planning committee.
4. Use your network and keep networking!
Just because you have a lot of friends doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep growing your connections. Look out for those who might be interested or spread the word with private messages to your well-connected acquaintances. Join an industry-related group and cultivate a broader network. Just remember, Facebook Event invites can only be sent to friends, so we encourage you to go out and make more.
5. Don’t assume your fans saw your post the first time
Share the event and link to it often. Paying attention to when peak times to post on Facebook is fantastic, but it also means your message can get lost in the high traffic hours. Make sure to share the key event information more than just once if you’re dependent on organic reach. For example, your Motivation Mondays and Throwback Thursdays can harken back to beautiful photos from events past or inspiring speaker quotes with a handy link to the upcoming event. Get creative and find fun content to promote your event without being too repetitive.
6. Cross-promote with fan pages, events, newsletters and more
Once you’ve exhausted sharing your Facebook Event on all other social outlets, invite volunteers, partners, or planning committee members to help with this effort in “closed” Facebook Groups for collaboration instead of endless emails. Instead of simply focusing on highlighting your event page on one channel, broaden your reach to other community members, clients and friends various social networks. Launching a dynamic, multi-platform campaign allows you to be efficient with your time and budget.
7. Include your Facebook event as a call to action in your email marketing
This invitation can be very minimalist like a colorful “RSVP Now” link or button at the bottom of the message. This can also direct attendees to share that they are coming, as Eventbrite data states 10% of those purchasing tickets through Eventbrite share the event on Facebook: usually 40% before purchasing tickets and 60% afterwards.
8. Provide as much detail as possible
When it comes to dates, times, locations, ticket pricing & sales, direction, or any other information, provide as much as you can to help people decide whether they can participate. This means providing registration links, other social media channels, photos and videos from previous events and the main event homepage. Also, it is wise to use Facebook-recognized venues rather than addresses. Include a map so it can pop up as a recommendation for nearby friends of attendees and other community members.
9. Maintain interest all the way up until the event
Remind folks why they want to come! Keep the momentum from the initial excitement going by posting event updates, teasers, prizes, speakers, pictures, videos, maintain interest of those who plan to attend. Your ticket sales will thank you.
Conclusion
Facebook is such a unique tool for event managers, especially since Facebook Events can track the number of people who have seen the event link, folks who have viewed the event, as well as the total number of people who joined, saved or maybe-d for your big day. If you hone your message and really take time to engage with your attendees (and their friends’ friends), we’re confident this efficient way of promoting your event on this social network can be very rewarding.
Facebook Events pairs up perfectly with Whova event app to make for a fantastic toolkit for seamless event promotion before, during and after the main event. Organizers can take event promotion even further than Facebook with other social media by using Whova’s event listing capabilities to reaching beyond their current audience. Meanwhile, attendees can engage with Whova’s Twitter function to build broader buzz for your event. As with Whova’s event listing, attendees can easily discover many other events nearby. Whova also has many other great features for attendees to enjoy and to discover even more helpful tips on how to build your event’s social media presence on other channels.