Checklist To Promote Your Event On Social Media

Do you face challenges in managing social media for your events or conferences? Is the digital marketing pie from the whole marketing mix giving you jitters during your product launch? If yes, then this blog can suggest you some pointers to make things easy.

All the marketing tactics that are used for an event is divided into three stages: pre-event, on-ground and post-event. We all are sailing in the evolved boat of marketing wherein PR, social media, digital marketing, media buying, creative & content have converged into Integrated Communications. 

These days leveraging social media for event marketing is like adding salt & pepper to your food. Therefore it is extremely important for all of us to have a ready checklist that will help us with the following: Engage - Generate Curiosity - Amplify - Promote - Convert - Monitor - Analyse

Promote your event with social media. Image source: IIP via Google Images

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein

Here is a list of things to be done & some questions to be answered before execution of the event. It will be handy for you to just check, tick and be sure that everything is under control:

Pre-Event 

1. Mediums for outreach
• Website - Will it be a website, landing page or a microsite
• Social Media - What will be the platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram) 
• App - Will my app help convert leads
• PR - What will be the mix of traditional and online PR
2. Content & Messaging
• Hashtag - Is it small, easy to understand, associated with the main brand
• Messages - What are my standard messages for promotions and consumer queries, is the press release following the same messaging
• Creative - Are the creatives following a theme, are you resizing for all mediums,  
• Content Type - What is the right mix of image, text and video content during promotions
3. Partnerships
• Sponsors & partners - Are your sponsors active on social media. Will they promote
• Ticket booking platforms - Is your event listed out there for people to easily book
• Bloggers & Influencers - What genre of blogger & influencer will you reach out? What is the klout
4. Amplification
• Have you started the online promotions
• Is your content calendar meeting your agenda
• Are bloggers promoting the event
• Are sponsors supporting the promotions
• If there is any ambassador/ celebrity associated, then is she/he promoting
• Have you started with contests, teaser videos
• Is your pre event coverage giving you mileage

On-ground

1. Going Live
• Are you doing Facebook Live
• Are you on periscope
• Is their a live tweeting team 
• Are you putting up Instagram posts and stories
• Are you putting up snapchat stories
2. Engagement
• Is there an on-ground contest or activation that you are promoting
• Are you encouraging the audience so that you get UGC (user generated content)
3. Monitoring 
• Are you tracking your event regularly - Monitor responses, reply to audience tweets, tracking the reach and impressions, tracking the influencer tweets, traction of your tweets and influencer tweets, taking snapshots regularly

Post Event

1. Albums, videos and coverage
• Is the picture album uploaded on Facebook and promoted on other social channels
• Are the videos uploaded on YouTube and promoted on all channels
• Is your website updated with all the information of the event (pictures, videos, testimonials and next year dates if any)
• Have you promoted the event coverage on all channels
• Have you thanked all sponsors and attendees with specific pictures on social media
2. Coverage
• Are you following up with bloggers and online partners for post event coverage
• Is your traditional coverage on track
3. Reports
• Detailed performance analysis - Number of posts, engagement (like, RT, share, replies), your responses, contest engagement, UGC, influencer-blogger performance and what's pending 

Also, it is essential to note down the learning from the past event so that it gets added to the checklist of your next event. 

I hope I have shared some great tips for maximizing your event marketing with social media. These are just a few ways to prepare for the next conference or an event. If you have more ideas, feel free to share the knowledge in the comments section.

Hello 2017

2016 was a very unusual year for me. I cannot call it happy and I cannot call it sad. I bought a house in this year which was a really big achievement for us (Everyone as an opinion on rental and buying and I feel 'to each his own', whatever makes one happy in a longer run). We took a major risk and it was a period of testing times - big loans, savings all gone, the seller was very arrogant and shallow. There was zero travel due to the new house. Lethargy had set in due to constant pressure of saving, saving and more saving. Reading also became almost zero. Exercising and healthy lifestyle took a backseat because the juggle between office, the old house and the construction of new one took a toll on me.
Work became the only savior. It became my focus and I was spending more & more time & energy on my career.
Fun times with friends, colleagues and family were obviously beautiful.
And then came the month of December wherein I had a family wedding and after that back to back illness - Fever, severe back and neck issue and many other things. I was frustrated. Was it depression? - I don't know but whatever it was, I wanted to be out of it.

I was reading and surfing the internet on December 24 when I read these two quotes:

At the moment of truth, there are either reasons or results - Chuck Yeager

Those who don't want to change, let them sleep - Rumi

I chose not to sleep, dear Rumi and thus on December 25, I decided to put strict discipline and lots of fun back into my life.

Are they my resolutions for 2017? Maybe yes as far as I stay motivated on all of these:-

Stretch more

Move ahead, stretch myself at work, take challenging roles, learn-unlearn, explore new areas, teach, share and evolve continuously



Read one book per month

Putting a goal of one book per month is like putting a deadline. And I work best when there are cut to cut deadlines and pressure.

Buy or borrow will be the mantra. I already have a list of few books that are in the 'to-read' list. 

Write blogs

I love writing whether it is about digital marketing, brands, PR, perfumes, good ads, food recipes, travel and more. 

I learn so many new things everyday so why not share them at-least once or twice in a month?

Gain health - exercise and good food

1 hour cardio and some core strengthening exercise at least 4 times a week, controlling sweets ( a combination of punjabi and bania can never say complete no to sweets), eating lot of veggies, fruits, nuts and sprouts

Explore

Walking on a full moon nights, gazing stars, sitting in the balcony soaking some sun on a weekend, just walking miles, cooking or baking. What stops us doing these things when we grow up? Time cannot be blamed. I have already started doing some of these and will indulge more

Travel
India or abroad; beach or mountains; by road or by sea I want to travel. Small vacations and one big vacation (no harm visioning it). Rohan & I want to our travel and adventure to be back in our lives




Last but not the least

Meditate, do mandala, stay happy and spread love around

I wish happiness and peace to all :)

Cheers

Neha

Images in the post are taken from Piktochart and then edited