Connecting with people in person is more important and valued than ever, so running any kind of event that brings people together has built-in benefits from the start. It may seem a bit counterproductive to encourage people to be on their phones, but having specific breaks or incentives to focus on social media can really boost the benefits for both them and you.
The benefits of social media at your in-person event
1. Relationship building
Encouraging people to swap social media details helps increase attendees’ connections and cement initial relationships so people can find each other later. New connections are a metric that attendees often use to gauge whether they think an event was “worth it” for them or not, especially if the event is marketed as involving networking.
If you’re running a bigger event, having an activity that requires people to put their social media handle on a sticky note, or having lanyards or stickers with usernames as well as names can help prompt people without having to specifically ask or announce.
2. Increased visibility
The more attendees you have posting about your event (and tagging you), the more of their friends and followers you’ll reach. It’s likely that each person turning up to your event knows a handful of people who would also be interested in your brand and/or other events you offer in the future, so this can grow your organic reach significantly and help you continue to build on your events and any related services you offer.
3. Keeps the momentum going
Even after your event has physically finished, you (and they!) can keep the party going by posting and resharing photos and takeaways from the event. Taking the discussions online and encouraging attendee engagement means forming deeper connections – and means they’re more likely to have more touch points with you or recommend you/other attendees in future.
You could also follow up by asking for feedback via a form, getting testimonials from attendees, or asking them to join your mailing list.
4. Benefiting from UGC content
When you already have a lot on your plate and you’re likely already tired from promoting, planning, organising and actually running your event, user-generated content – the videos, photos, doodles and posts your attendees create – can be a lifesaver.
It’s not only much quicker and easier to share other people’s content about your event compared to creating your own, but it’s also great social proof for future events or can be used as testimonials. It’s also great for improving your reach.
How to encourage social media engagement at your event
Have signs and take advantage of visuals
It’s an obvious one, but people are prompted and reminded if they can literally see your social media handle (and hashtag, if you use an event hashtag) in front of them. If you don’t have your own signs, we can put out a pegboard for you with details. We also have an easel and flipchart you can prop a board or sign on – if you’re feeling artistic, you could even write your own!
Consider where else you can integrate your social media username, such as in the footer of your presentation or prominently on the first and last slides of your deck, on business cards or flyers you have for the event.
Make it part of your event intro
Mention your social media username and hashtag in your event intro, and include a call to action to prompt people to follow you on social media. You could even have an extra incentive, such as a prize draw based on people who follow you and like your most recent post.
Make it an activity or gamify it
This could be a quiz question or scavenger hunt where they have to tweet you their answer or upload it as an Instagram Story and tag you. You could have prompt questions for people to add a bit about what they do or share their website.
If you’re going down the competitive route, consider a leaderboard or small prize, or showcase people’s answers on a TV screen to gamify the experience and make it more interactive.
Ensure people have well-timed reminders
As well as mentioning social media at the beginning of your event, remind them before you have a break or when you’re switching activities as people will quickly forget!
If you have any activities that could be enhanced with social media, you could incorporate it directly. Some event hosts even ask attendees for video testimonials at the end of the event so there’s no need to follow up after and no risk of forgetting!
Have a business card swap or joint prize draw or goody bag get-together
Asking your attendees to bring cards to swap, or an item for a communal goody bag or prize draw boosts the value of your event as well as providing additional photo or video opportunities.
Use badges or lanyards
For bigger and/or higher ticket events, you could have name stickers, badges or lanyards for your attendees that include their social media handle/s as well as their name. If you’re short on space, include the logo of the social media network next to their name rather than writing out the full URL. This means you can also print names bigger!
Feeling extra? You could have a t-shirt or hoodie made with your social media details on, so people can’t miss them!
Set up something to take photos/videos of
People will naturally grab their phone to create social media content if there’s something of interest. Although people often take photos and videos of the Createry spaces anyway (see how to stop video flicker for a handy guide!), having small areas of interest set up can also be an incentive.
This could be something as big and obvious as a photo booth setup, a middle ground of nice table settings or table decor, or as subtle as a well-positioned book and plant on the coffee table.
Make it a feature
Everyone loves more followers, so having a stand or board where people can add/trade social media handles can work really well. You could even add more interest by using a magnetic board with letters so people can add their own usernames as a list and it’s easy to read and take photos of.
You could even have people take a Polaroid snap of themselves and Sharpie their handle on – if you don’t have a camera, we have an Instax + film packs available for an extra cost.
Setting up a small area slightly off to one side is also a great way to add more interest to the event space and get people moving around the room more. It comes in handy at the beginning of your event or during breaks when people are looking for something to do.
Tag us
We’re @thecreateryuk on social media, so if you’re tagging us in your content we can reshare for reach too.
And that’s a wrap! If you’d like to find out more about hosting an event with us, you can pick up more details on our Events page.