Events are an essential marketing tactic for any business. They have shown to provide a positive effect on relationships with customers, as well as increase visibility and improve professional connections for your business. I had the pleasure of hosting this month’s #SocialSixty online panel with industry professionals who are strong believers of using events to promote your business. Mark Walker from Eventbrite UK, Emma Andrews from Vega, and Melissa Loomans from FreshBooks, all provided us with great insight and tips on how to promote your business through events and social media.

Here are 6 tips from the pros on how to promote your business with events

Tip #1: Use events to position yourselves as thought leaders

Events are a natural marketing channel that allow you to meet many business objectives. You can host various types of events, such as speaker series, workshops, panels, conferences, and networking events, to help position your business as a thought leader in your space. This will allow you to build trust amongst business leaders, as well as provide value to your customers.

Tip #2: Set the tone of your event through social media

Use social media to set the tone before, during, and after your event. Promote your event through teaser social media posts to set the stage; engage with your event attendees during the event; and thank and resolve any questions from your attendees after the event. If you have an official hashtag, make sure to include it in all of your social media posts. Easy monitoring of conversations around your event, as well as trending topics and attendee comments, will set your event up for social media success.

Tip #3: Schedule your social messages in advance

Use Hootsuite’s scheduling feature to schedule your teaser social media posts in advance to ensure you’re effectively promoting your event through social. You can also schedule some messages for the day of the event, so you can focus more on event logistics and execution. Just remember not to get too carried away with scheduling, and leave room for real-time interaction during the event.

Tip #4: Price your events carefully to achieve the best turn out

Pricing an event can be a difficult task. Do you price low, high, in the middle? How will people perceive your event if you price too low or too high? These are all great questions, the answers to which can dictate your entire event strategy. If you’re going to host a free event, keep in mind that not everyone who RSVPs actually shows up. Where people who have paid for an event are more likely to attend an event they have invested in. However, if you’re going to charge for your event, make sure to price your event in accordance with your expenses, and deliver on the price people are paying to attend your event.

Tip #5: Acknowledge the event attendees who are unhappy at your event

Avoid any social media fumbles by acknowledging your social media audience. If someone is unhappy with your event and they are tweeting about it, respond to them with your brand in mind. If someone posted something on your Facebook event page, acknowledge it and take it offline, if possible, to resolve the issue. Doing this will ensure your event sentiment stays positive, you’re not tarnishing your future events, and you are maintaining those customer relationships.

Tip #6: Find a shareable moment and expand on it through content marketing

Numbers are great to prove the success of your event, but finding a shareable moment really helps position your attendees as the heroes of your event. If a story or a photo from the day of the event was particularly popular on social media, commemorate it on your official website or blog. Customers and fellow professionals will appreciate the opportunity to feel like they’re a part of a community, by reminiscing on these moments. These moments also show off the event to those who didn’t choose to attend, potentially making the next event more attractive to them. These shareable moments provide you with content marketing opportunities, increase visits to your company website, and increase social shares.

Learn more about how to promote your business through events and social media by watching the recording of the latest #SocialSixty panel:

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