When it comes to raising awareness and drumming up interest for your event, it would take a very brave event manager to ignore social media completely. One of the most effective social media sites for event promotion is undoubtedly Twitter and one strategy that can work really well, especially for larger events, is the setup of a separate Twitter account for the event. Below you will find 5 great tips on how to do this effectively.
1. The first thing to consider when setting up a separate account is the Twitter handle you will be using, the information included in the bio and the image you will be using. Keep you Twitter name short and to the point, as a longer name will have an impact on the 140 characters that you have at your disposal for each tweet.
Ensure that within the accounts Twitter bio you have all the necessary information that a potential attendee could need – date, time, location and how/where to register or buy tickets. Finally an engaging Twitter profile picture and background is essential, so try and if possible re-purpose any event posters or promotional graphics for this.
2. Whilst this account will be separate to your usual company Twitter account it is important, especially in the early days, that you cross-promote this account and your event with your main account. This will help raise awareness of the new account to your existing followers.
You may also wish to temporarily amend your main accounts Twitter bio and background image to include information about your event and its specific Twitter account.
3. To make sure that your event Twitter account is successful, it will need followers and to get these followers you will need to go out and find them. It is important to start this well in advance of the event, allowing time for this standalone account to pick up followers and gain traction in your niche.
One of the major factors that makes Twitter a more effective outreach tool when it comes to event promotion, is that you can follow whoever you want and unlike Facebook, you will have a much higher chance of being followed back by people you do not know. Use this to your advantage by following key influencers and professionals in your sector with your new event Twitter account and interacting with them as much as possible.
Once you have them following you they can act as a great amplifier for your message, by re-tweeting information about your event to their Twitter following.
4. One way to create a ‘buzz’ around your event is to pick a relevant hash-tag early on in your promotional journey and stick to it – promoting it and including it wherever possible, both on and off Twitter.
Do this by including the hash-tag on any promotional material, on your registration page and most importantly alongside any tweets that you send out from your specific events Twitter account or your main account.
Once the use of this hash-tag begins to pick up and other users begin to add it to tweets regarding your event, this can lead to a snowball effect of publicity and perhaps even to the holy grail of event marketing – the trending hash-tag!
5. Finally if you have keynote speakers at your event who already have a substantial Twitter following, make sure that before the event that they tweet out event information to their followers using the hash-tag you defined.
As your speaker’s followers will most likely be interested in your event if they are following your speaker, these tweets can be vital when it comes to raising awareness.
About the Author: This article is compiled by Meetings Four You, who offer corporate meetings rooms in Bristol, Oxford and Gloucestershire.