Harness Social Media to Create Event Buzz

ZapstarsSeptember 18, 2016Conferences, Events
Harness Social Media to Create Event Buzz

Every event’s different and varies in the occasion, the planning and the exposure required. If it’s a PR event, for example, then much of the planning will focus on achieving maximum exposure.

But there is one thing every event has in common: when it comes to promotion, you need engagement and most certainly you need to create that ’buzz’ of anticipation.

These days, technology and social media have made promotion, engagement, and exposure so much easier than the old, traditional methods of promoting an event. You just need to know how best to leverage the available tools.

In this blog, we’ve highlighted some ways you can use social media to create that buzz. Read on…

1. Engage: Aside from actively promoting an event, grab your audience’s attention by ‘crowd sourcing’. Get them involved. Ask for their opinion. What would they ideally like to see during the event? A promise to act on the best of their suggestions for the event can help boost attendance.

2. Intrigue: Use social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Eventbrite and the like to reach your target market – your potential attendees. Post teasers, photos or phrases to grab attention. Using a variety of social media channels gives additional exposure, especially in search engines such as Google.

3. Refresh: Don’t just rely on your initial promotion. Keep the engagement alive. One way you could do this is to run a simple competition through Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to create even more interest in the event. For example, you could ask the audience to guess the speaker or the special guests by providing a cryptic clue or two. Offer free tickets or other incentives as prizes.

4. Stream: Facebook has a great live streaming tool. During the event (or in the run-up to it) live-stream what the audience can expect. Tease them with glimpses of what’s coming. It’s likely not all your target market will have the time to go to your event; but if you create enough hype, you can convert the merely ’interested’ into actual attendees.

These are just four ways you can create event buzz through social media. Do you have a novel idea for hooking potential attendees? Share it with us by posting a comment!

When Technology Changes the Landscape of the Event Industry

ZapstarsJune 14, 2016Uncategorized
When Technology Changes the Landscape of the Event Industry

Jamie McEwen, Technical Director

 

These days, Event and Technology go hand-in-hand.

Not too long ago, when staging an event, a marketing team (for example) had to simply setup a venue, hire a caterer and audio visual technicians, and invite entertainers or speakers to make ‘inspirational’ presentations.

Today, if your event’s not creating a buzz, then you’re probably not evolving. Apart from the glitz and glam, everything nowadays is hi-tech; and yes, this is actually a good thing. Technology has transformed the event industry landscape and it’s one of the best things that ever happened!

Over the last five years, we’ve seen major changes in how people from the events industry handle events. Gone are the days of brochures, heavy projectors, DIY props and huge equipment. The digital world – the internet, and other technological developments – are taking over.

The people working behind this ever-growing industry adapted to the changes quite easily. Back then, the demand for superior event production was high. So the producers trained to deliver superiority. Hi-tech has made hi-end production much easier, which benefits both customers and providers.

Social media is another factor that’s brought about change. Moving away from traditional marketing, professionals are now keen to target audiences using social media. As the platform provides demographic information, it’s easy to target relevant audiences. The audience, too, has higher expectations when it comes to an event, anticipating more interest and engagement.

Looking back, there was no such thing as ’event technology‘. Now, with technology in widespread use, the term is actually one of the most used by people working in the field of events. When pitching for an event, for example, clients are keen to hear what the supplier offers in terms of their event technology.

It’s definitely safe to say that these technological advancements are beneficial to the events industry. They help deliver enhanced experience and set the tone and mood for event attendees. As the technology continues to advance, it will no doubt change the way we communicate too. So it’s important to embrace the changes and make them work for the benefit of your event-related business.

Change is constant and change is good in almost all industries. We must just learn to embrace it.