Does your small business have a major event coming up?
Whether it's a weekend sales event or a customer appreciation day, using social media for your event marketing endeavors is the way to go.
Here are just a few benefits of putting your next business event in the social spotlight:
Importance of Social Media for Event Marketing
If you're planning your next small business event, but you're unsure of which marketing route to take, it's time to start thinking about social media. A surprising percentage of consumers visit social sites like Facebook and Twitter each day.
In fact, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, a whopping 74% of all Internet users take part in social networking.
Roughly 90% of those users are ages 18 to 29, 82% are ages 30 to 49, 65% are ages 50 to 64, and 49% of users are age 65 and over.
Facebook leads the social pack getting 71% of all adult social traffic with Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin falling in the 25% range.
With the numbers above in mind, it's plain to see why social media is so important to your event marketing endeavors.
Here are just a few more reasons to go the social event-marketing route:
Event Hype
Increased attendance is the key to a successful event, which is exactly where social marketing comes into play.
The article "Social Media and Events: Connecting the Dots" mentions the importance of reaching out to attendees before an event takes place.
With social media, you can create hype around your event by posting updates and event information weeks in advance.
Whether you tweet event dates, upload venue photos on Instagram, or share guest speaker updates on Facebook, social media is a hype-building machine.
Real-Time Marketing
Chances are most of your event attendees has a number of different social apps on their smart phones.
By marketing your event on social media, you'll have the ability to reach attendees in real-time and on a mobile level. This makes marketing before, during, and after the event an instantaneous process.
Sharable Marketing
Social media isn't called social for just any reason.
Social media sites of all kinds make it easy for users to share just about anything with their friend, family, and followers.
By encouraging your business's followers to share information on your event, you can take advantage of word-of-mouth marketing.
For example, Facebook makes it possible for your followers to not only like your upcoming event, but also share it with a select few friends or all of their followers in one shot. This helps put your event in front of a massive online audience.
Marketing Diversity
Social media wraps video marketing, traditional text marketing, mobile marketing, and word-of-mouth marketing all into one platform.
In other words, when your small business chooses to market its event using social media, it allows you to use just about any marketing strategy under the sun.
Don't let your next event slip by unnoticed - use social media marketing to get more attendees through the door.