Four ways to use the social media tool and trigger event attendance

Whether your company is organizing 1 event every week or a mammoth event every 6 months, social media is creating a tornado in the events industry that you need to take note of. From Facebook and LinkedIn to Instagram and Twitter, every social media brand has the power to drive attendance to all events – big and small. Using various social media platforms optimally and clubbing them with a few best practices can drive attendance as well as attract new visitors.

Read on to know how you can get started…
1. Spot the Social Influencers
Over 90% of the junta believes in word-of-mouth recommendations over targeted advertising. If you connect with some social influencers from your industry and have them recommend your events among their networks, you will surely see increased buzz converting into increased attendance at your event. But there is incentivizing involved – you need to offer these influencers with some VIP passes or a speaking slot. If you get them a dedicated slot to speak / perform or run an article on them (which is basically massaging their ego), it goes a long way in benefitting not just the current event, but the goodwill carries on to the next event too.

2. Optimizing Social Messages
As we all know, the audience’s attention span is less and only dwindling with each passing day. So, another pivotal factor to consider when using social media platforms is to keep the messaging strong, fun and effective. Also, remember that we humans process images and videos faster than bland text, so use a blend of text with strong imagery, which will be stored for longer in a viewer’s memory and has strong recall. What’s more? Try to weave a story through the messages and have an emotional connect so that your audience can remember your event basis that story, and last but surely not the least, have an even stronger call to action in every post.

3. Transparency is the best policy
Old and potential attendees value transparency, so put your attendee list on the registration page and let them know who all will be seen at your event. How does this help? Anyone who is in two minds about attending your event will see which of their friends, colleagues or competitors are going to be there, and peer pressure will works its magic for you. Here’s a little secret, in today’s times, people aren’t attending events for the booths or the mind-blowing VR experience you are going to offer, but to meet likeminded people and create a thriving network of opportunities. That’s that!

4. Allow Social Registration
Allow attendees to register socially by auto-filling known information, while also providing a method that they recognize and trust. On social media platforms, with a few clicks, attendees can fill forms and get registered. Honestly speaking, no one likes to fill long-drawn forms on mobile devices. And, registering directly on social media allows interested individuals to share the news of their attendance and let their network know about it.

Summing it up…
When used properly and effectively, social media can be the arsenal that helps you a lot to win the event registration battle. With performance-enhancing platforms, you can build a community around your event and ensure a year-on-year steady, and hopefully increasing, flow of attendees.