Social networks have become in indivisible part of our daily lives. Facebook alone has more than a billion users worldwide. Even if users have duplicate accounts, that still means that about a seventh of the world’s population is using the social platform. This should give you an idea of the popularity scale we are talking about here. But it’s not just Facebook. Most people set up profiles in more than one social networks which makes the likes of Twitter, Google+ and even YouTube the perfect mediums for promoting your social events. Social media as a marketing tool, as well as a means for promotion simply cannot be ignored. However, not everyone is doing a good job at harvesting all the potential fruits of these rather beneficial methods of promotion. In fact, there are many who ignore them altogether. Why would you disregard one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal is beyond me. For those of you who want to learn how to properly utilize social media in promoting their events, here’s a step by step guide.
Step 1: Create your profiles
First things first – you need create the proper profiles on the different platforms you’re going to be using. Go for the most popular sites because they’re with priority. If you have the resources, you can involve less popular media, but that’s not really necessary. As of now, the most popular social media sites are Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Those are your go to networks. Like I said, Facebook has over a billion users. Google+ is still far behind with only around 500 million, which is why Google are trying to integrate it into YouTube even more. Twitter is a very close third. Even though about 40% of Twitter’s users don’t tweet, they watch other people… tweeting, so that works out for you. If you have the resources, you can also engage in videos on YouTube and start “pinning” in Pinterest. Like I said, there are many options but it really depends on your man-power and how much exactly you can afford. Make accounts in all the networks you’re planning on using. Customize those profiles well. You need to show people that you mean business.
Step 2: Define your event
You have to be able to clearly define your event. When you’re promoting something, you need to make sure that people properly understand what you’re talking about so you need a clear enough definition of your event. You have to describe it in an interesting manner so it actually intrigues people. Your explanation needs to be short because you don’t want people falling asleep while reading it. After you’ve got a clear definition of your event, you need to know whom you’re targeting.
Step 3: Identify your target demographic
If you want to be successful in your campaign, you need to be familiar with your target demographic. There is no such thing as a perfect social media campaign. Also, there are usually very few things that would appeal to people from different generations so you need to know whom you’re targeting in order to use the proper tools to interest and engage them. If your target demographic is young people but the event you’re promoting via the social media seems boring and stuck-up because you’re not using the tools in a proper manner, then you’ll fail. Likewise, if your target demographic is adults but your promotional texts and tweets are filled with slang, needless to say you’re not going to have much success. Identify your target demographic and work out from there.
Step 4: Promotions
You have the profiles, you have a clear view of what you’re promoting and you know your target demographic. It’s time to get to work and present the event in a meaningful and appealing way in accordance to the set prerequisites.
An important part of every campaign is the dialogue. If you’re posting things on Facebook and Twitter about your event, but no one is liking or re-tweeting, then you’ve done something wrong along the way and it’s time to change the tactics.
Oh, and one more thing. Keep in mind that these things take time so start building up your base in advance. Good luck!