Don't Turn Into Your Mother - The Right Way To Use Social Media To Promote Your Event.

For those who don't understand the power of social media I often pose them the question:

'Are you most likely to listen to a friends recommendation, an experts advice or your mothers nagging?'

This mantra is key to understanding how to improve the social media exposure of your event. Social media is all about credibility and events need to become less of a nagging mother, and more of an aspirational friend.

Here are a few points on ways to achieve this:

1. Use your Customers Material

The days of writing your own reviews about events are more past it than Bruce Forsyth struggling to read the autocue on Strictly Come Dancing. When a customer logs onto Facebook, or Twitter or Instagram they are scanning to see what their friends are doing, what they have missed or what they should be doing next. 

So how can events use their crowds material?

Firstly they can encourage them to be more proactive on Social Media. Having a big screen with a promoted hashtag means that your crowds activity on social media can be assembled under one clear and continuous voice. 

Secondly you can reward your crowd for using your hashtag. By using a live Instagram slideshow you can create photo competitions providing an incentive for your audience to use your hashtag. 

2. Become Friends With Your Customers

Social networks were formed for friends to keep in touch with each other and that is still the primary object for their use. Brands and events have begun to muscle their way in on these friendly networks, but potential customers are wise to it and will only engage with your content if it is of benefit to them. 

Paddy Power is a great example of a company that has become a friend to their customer. Their updates are humorous  topical and more often or not something you want to share again with your own friends. Each post is a photo which makes the content easy and quick to understand.

Photos are a fantastic way of creating a casual and friendly relationship with your audience and non are prolific than Instagram. If you haven't already begun taking and sharing your photos of your wedding, festival, event or venue then your missing a massive opportunity to expand your market. 

3. Become An Information Source To Your Customers

If you can't be friends with your customers then at least become an expert source of information for them. Social media has grown so much that it is not only continuous status reel for your social network but it is also an update for your news, business, sport and leisure stories.

Now back to your mother. She can be a source of information, and most of the time she is right, but you don't necessarily want to hear it from her. Use other experts in the field to back up your claims. Re tweet interesting articles or stories, and start liking photos on Instagram that are relevant to your event.

Social media is absolutely vital for events of all types, shapes and sizes and the most important thing is that you start to get involved with it, even if sometimes you sound like your mother.