Social media has fast become the smart way for event planning professionals to market, plan and implement their events. But, with the speed at which social media moves and updates, are you confident that you’re keeping up? If you’re unsure, try these tips for creating a successful strategy in social for your event planners.
Why Should Event Planners use Social Media?
Keeping an active social media presence should be an essential part of your marketing strategy, and even if it seems overwhelming at first, it’ll soon become second nature to you.
I’ve talked before about creative ways to use social media specifically for events, but now I’m going to go into more detail about how your social media strategies can boost your event planning business as a whole.
6 Social Media Tips for Event Planners
Social media is a huge part of marketing for any business, with Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram being only a selection of the different platforms available to entrepreneurs. So how do you make the most of these tremendously valuable channels?
Take it One Step at a Time
If you’re completely new to the world of social media, or your event planning business is in the fledgling stages, concentrate on one social media platform at a time. If you’re trying to get a number of different social media pages going at once it can seem overwhelming, so start with one, master it and then move onto the next.
Make it Personal . . .
Even though it’s your business page, giving all of your social media for event planners activities a personal touch is important. You don’t want to be too stiff and formal on social media, you want your visitors to feel like they’re connecting with a real person, not just a business name. I’d recommend always using a professional but friendly looking photo of yourself on all of your social media pages; it really lets your followers get the sense of you as a person.
For example, on Facebook if you have less than 10,000 fans, use the 10-4-1 ratio; each week, post 10 uplifting or inspirational posts, 4 educational posts, and one post that sells your services or products.
. . . But Not Too Personal
Don’t be tempted to over-share or complain on your business social media pages – save that for your personal accounts. This is how event planners can make the most of social media without alienating fans and followers.
Build Relationships
Unless you engage with your followers on social media, they may end up feeling that your social media platforms are just sell, sell, sell. This means checking in regularly, responding to any comments and starting discussions that capture people’s interest. This is a really important part of your social media strategy!
Listen to Feedback
You may get all types of feedback on your social media pages, the good, the bad, and sometimes even the ugly. If someone makes a suggestion, positive or negative, respond to them straight away and really consider what they’re suggesting. If you just say ‘yes, great idea!’ on social media, but then never follow up on it, it won’t look good to your followers. Now, hopefully you won’t get any negative feedback, but if you do, don’t panic about it being on a public forum. The way you handle negative feedback shows a lot about you as a person, so stay calm and respond politely. If you’re mad, wait a day until posting your response, and you’re likely to give a much better impression. Negative feedback can be the best learning tool you have so use it to your advantage and be sure to respond.
It hasn’t happened often, but I don’t tolerate cyber bullying or trolls on my pages and delete these comments immediately. I also send a message requesting constructive feedback along with a polite warning that if they continue to post attacks then they’ll be banned from my social media page.
Make The Most Out of Different Platforms
Whether you’re blogging, sharing on Facebook or connecting on LinkedIn, you can tailor your marketing messages so that they’re perfect for whichever social media platform you use. Try to adapt your message and the type of interaction so you’re making the most out of the different platforms. For example, Pinterest is perfect for the creative side of your business, so create fabulous Pinterest boards to show off your creative ideas, themes and events. LinkedIn is more about business, so join relevant groups, answer people’s question and network.