The way we communicate has changed drastically in the last 8 years because of social media. We no longer seek out news; it finds us. Bloggers are now competing with traditional journalists to break news first. Traditional outlets are finally figuring out how to leverage social channels to connect with their digital audience.

And the digital audience is growing quickly. Facebook currently has 955 million monthly active users—543 million of them are mobile. One million accounts are added to Twitter every day. Two people sign up for LinkedIn every second. And in just two years, Pinterest is driving more traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace combined.

These social media sites play a major role in our daily lives. They give us instant access to anything we want to know. They also document our experiences, shape what we share with each other, enhance our relationships, and keep us connected.

How does this relate to events? Your attendees are already sharing content from your event on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. You can make it easier for them by including social sharing tools within your mobile event app. If you're not sure how to get started, this eBook on social media for event marketing can help.

The more attendees share their unique content and experiences, the more visible your event becomes. This is especially important since people trust their peers’ opinions—in fact, 80% of social media users will try things based off their friends’ suggestions. If each attendee shares one positive comment about their experience from your event, it can quickly spread well beyond your own reach and be seen by hundreds and thousands of other people.

Social media continues to get more popular every day. By now, businesses know they need a strong social media presence to stay ahead of the competition. It’s also an easy and effective way to build brand awareness, interact with people in real-time, and form long-lasting relationships with customers.

As more people access these sites on their phones and tablets (In August 2011, more than 72.2 million people accessed social networking sites or blogs on their mobile device), the push towards improving social sharing features on mobile apps will be more in demand. Your attendees have all the power to make your event more popular. Now you just have to give them the right tools to generate content, spread the word, and bring more value to your event.

Want to know more about marketing events with social media? Check out this infographic by Cvent.