Facebook is often the first social media stop for most businesses — probably because it has the largest base of personal users (1.94 billion monthly active users worldwide as of March 2017, according to Facebook).
Facebook is all about relationships — whether you’re unearthing new customers/members/attendees or deepening and continuing relationships with existing ones. Your Facebook community can be a strong and loyal advocate, helping to improve your event, crowdsource content and spread the word about your initiatives.
Setting up and starting your business on Facebook is pretty straightforward. (You can save the more complex work for later.)
Here are some tips for using Facebook and having more ‘friends’ for your event:
- Take the time to learn about Facebook and how it works.
- Do your research. Review your Insights pages and your competitors’ Facebook pages to see what they’re doing.
- Set a specific goal. How many likes for this month? Do you want to drive registrations or gather leads? Make sure you have a system in place to measure that goal.
- Respond to people immediately. More people are using Facebook as a customer service tool — and according to Edison Research, 42 percent of them expect a response within an hour!
- Be human. Tell stories. Be entertaining.
- Have a content plan — perhaps even an editorial calendar. Plan activities, events, contests, polls, surveys, etc.
- Lots and lots of pictures! Most people on Facebook share photos.
- Be educational. Teach your audience something relevant and they’ll share it.
- Don’t just post. Have conversations.
- Use call-to-action.
- Think mobile.
For a deeper dive into Facebook — and a complete, definitive guide to using social media for events — download Cvent’s eBook on Social Media Checklist, which focusses on the shift in social media strategies before and during the event.
So, what are your social media goals for the next event? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
