Social Media Marketing For Events — Free Content Calendar with 21 Posts

Today’s digital world has made social media marketing for events a necessity. Marketing your event goes beyond listing your event on discovery platforms.

Beyond generic posts, let’s get into the details and science behind social media marketing for events.

At the end of the article, you’ll not only gain some valuable insights but also get amazing ideas.

A. Choosing the correct social media platform

Not all social media platforms work for all target audiences. For example, B2B companies and working professionals can be targeted very well on LinkedIn.

You can sometimes also go very wrong with this step. Imagine, targeting a tech-savvy Gen Z audience on Facebook.

Before you finalize the social media platform, make sure you’ve researched. Knowing your target audience and matching it with the platform user base is crucial.

This data shall help you make better decisions in your social media marketing for events:

B. Content over ads

I’m sorry to break it to you but you’re going to have to think beyond your event poster.

Gone are the days where you could simply create an online advertisement of your poster.

That’s simply the tip of the iceberg.

In today’s day and age, you have to be more creative.

Experiment with different content formats to keep your audience engaged.

Share infographics with key event details.

Create eye-catching motion graphics or reels to build anticipation.

You can also post bite-sized videos that offer glimpses of the event.

C. Tell stories in your posts

By weaving stories into your social media marketing for events, you can expect better conversions.

92% of consumers don’t just want straight-up ads, but rather stories. [Source: Leapmesh]

Don’t just list performers and event dates.

Try and create narratives around the value proposition for attendees.

In your content, focus more on the “why” and “how” of the event. That’s how you’ll be able to craft stories for your content marketing plan.

Other than discussing the impact your event will create, you can also discuss your efforts behind it.

D. Power of community in event marketing

Think of group psychology. When you see a friend liking and sharing something, you automatically develop a favorable opinion of it.

The long-term success of your event and its franchise depends a lot on this phenomenon.

For this, you need to begin by creating and nurturing a community of followers.

Allow for discussions to take place. Communicate directly with them.

By simply replying to individual DMs, you can make your community feel nurtured.

When you foster such connections, your community also contributes to the event’s marketing.

E. Collaboration ideas for social media marketing for events

Your event’s social media page won’t suffice for your marketing strategy. You need to think about how you can leverage help from other accounts.

• Influencers: Partner with relevant influencers for giveaways or let them take over your account for event teasers
• Sponsors: Cross-promote on each other’s channels
• Media outlets: Partner with industry publications for shoutouts. You could also be reaching out to Instagram accounts for certain cities or event promotion accounts. For example, @dfordelhi on Instagram talks about every happening event in the city

F. Paid ads on social media

Allocate a part of your event budget to utilize the paid features of various platforms. You have Meta ads, LinkedIn ads, and Instagram Boost all at your disposal. Use them wisely!

Paid ads allow you to target certain demographics, interests, and even behaviors.

They will help you reach the perfect attendee and not random people scrolling.

G. Retargeting campaign to close the deal

Did you know, you can have ads that specifically target people who have interacted with your event page before?

Most social media platforms and ad networks offer retargeting pixels.

These are tiny snippets of code that are placed on your website to track visitors.

As visitors browse your event page or website, the pixel collects data.

You can use this data to create retargeting audiences based on specific actions or interests.

H. Contests for a last-minute boost

Let’s say you’ve tried every trick in the book but still haven’t made maximum sales.

You can recreate the hype by organizing a giveaway for event tickets.

Even if you have made good sales, you can still organize a contest to give back to the community. In such cases, a giveaway after the event will also work.

However, don’t make it very straightforward. Here are a few interesting contest ideas for your social media marketing for events:

• Photo Contest: This will give you a lot of user-generated content. Ask attendees to click and upload photos from the event
• “Caption This” Challenge: Here, you can post an interesting image related to the event. Then, ask followers to craft the wittiest caption
• Trivia Contests: Post trivia questions about a topic related to your event
• Referral Giveaways: Incite friend participation by offering bonus entries for every friend tagged in a comment
• “Ultimate Fan” Giveaway: Create a grand prize package with event tickets and meet-and-greet opportunities to generate buzz

While organizing such giveaways, make sure they fit your budget ideally. Get your sponsors and partners to cover the cost of such giveaways if needed.

I. Create a content calendar

You can rely on bouts of creativity when it comes to social media marketing for events. You need to have some set ideas so that your community keeps getting reminders.

Here’s a social media calendar template for you to customize for yourself:

1. Twelve weeks before the big event

• Save the date post with eye-catching visuals
• Run on poll on people’s event preferences
• Poll on topics related to the event. Eg. Ask what your favorite summer fruit for a summer event
• Videos/snippets from the last edition of the event
• Post industry trends related to your event. Eg. Post trending startup news for a networking event

2. Nine weeks before the big event

• Highly shareable infographics that are helpful. Eg. how to keep yourself hydrated at a concert
• Teasers of key performers and speakers
• An “Ask Us Anything” live session
• “What to expect” posts

3. Six weeks before the big event

• Venue tour (brownie points for 360-degree videos)
• Shout-out to brand collaborations and sponsors
• Pop-culture references to create a brand image for your event. For eg. mean girls memes for an event catering to millennials
• “Caption this” challenge for behind-the-scenes photos
• “This or that” posts so your community can help you make creative choices at the event
• Early bird discount tickets announcement

4. Three weeks before the big event

• Countdown posts can begin now
• Share fan art
• Collaboration posts with micro and medium influencers

5. Just one week to go

• Event schedule or itinerary
• Do’s and don’t’s at the event venue
• “See you there” post from the performer/speaker
• Group discount

6. Post-event post ideas

• Timelapse videos of the event
• Montage of the best moments featuring attendees
• Glimpses of the top performances
• Gratitude post for all the attendees

Reminder: Twelve weeks sounds like a lot but it means that your event is only 2.5 months away. Ideally, your social media marketing for events should begin anytime now!

J. Specific event strategies

There’s nothing known as one-fits-all in the event industry. No matter how many guides you read, your specific event will have its own specific social media strategy. Here are some event-specific tips for your social media marketing for events.

1. Conferences
   • Get some influential people to attend the event and create hype through their own accounts
   • Make sure you emphasize that your event opens many networking opportunities
2. Workshops
   • Post helpful content in the months leading up to the event. Keep them short and limited to one helpful point per post. This will make your community trust you and buy tickets to the workshop
   • Offer discounts on a merit or need basis. This will show your audience that you’re actually committed to teaching
3. Concerts and Fests
   • Generate excitement through sneak peek posts
   • Get the performing artist to do promotional posts
   • Other than celebrities, you can also get influencers to post how they’re excited for your event
   • Make your event influencer-friendly with good coverage and photo opportunities
4. Product Launch
   • Focus on social media platforms with strong announcement features like Twitter. Google Ads are also great for this purpose
   • Be as disruptive as possible with wide PR coverage
   • Offer sneak peeks to get the audience talking about the product before it launches

K. Things to keep in mind

Everybody out there is doing their social media marketing for events. It’s rather difficult to stand out in this market.

In such cases, it’s helpful to remember:

1. Authenticity: Give your posts and social media engagement a tone such as excited or serious. Keep it original with the tone and post content. Yes, you can do various social media trends, but do it in your own authentic way. Avoid generic marketing language
2. Visual Storytelling: Use high-quality posters, infographics, and videos to market your event. These posts should tell a story so make sure you invest in good graphics
3. Responsiveness: Social media is a two-way street. Be active while replying to comments, answering questions, and building relationships

With these tips, you won’t just ensure better sales but also maintain a good brand image.

L. FAQ

1. What is user-generated content in events?

User-generated content is content that is generated by your audience but can be used on your page. By creating contests or giving good photo opportunities to attendees at the event, you can get such content. Ensure that you ask attendees to upload this content with a specified hashtag. This hashtag will help you sift through social media for user-generated content and then post.

2. Are ads a good idea in social media marketing for events?

Absolutely! Organic reach on social media can be tough. Targeted paid advertising campaigns can help you get more registrations. However, you need to ensure that your content and creatives are high-quality. This will in turn ensure that you don’t waste ad spend.

M. Conclusion

By tailoring these strategies, you can easily create your social media marketing plan for events.

Be sure to not take event marketing on social media for granted. It’s a powerful tool and costs a lot less than old-fashioned marketing.

Remember the art of visual storytelling and the importance of being responsive.

Pro Tip: We recommend hiring a social media team (in-house or agency) that can translate your vision into campaigns.

And with that, we are hopeful that this article was helpful in teaching social media marketing for events.

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