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Social Media Marketing – The New Standard
for Meeting Planners
The challenge of getting attendees to sign up for
your events has always been a part of the meetings business.
Nothing new there.
It used to be fine to send out
postcards.
But then, the Internet
happened.
Then, it became standard to send out
email invitations and build an event website.
But then, Social Media happened.
Today, meeting planners are faced with either
jumping into the world of social media or risk getting left
behind. Today’s meeting and event attendees are more and more
inclined to be connected on many different social media
platforms.
Even attendees who didn’t grow up in the social
media revolution have adapted. According to Facebook, out of
its 1,590 million users (as of April 2016), more than 60% of
adults ages 50-64 use Facebook on a regular basis. Younger
generations? Usage approaches up to 85%.
So, let’s burst that myth that only Millennials and
Gen Xers use Facebook, Twitter and all those other social
media platforms. That’s really good news for today’s meeting
planners.
Savvy meeting planners are discovering just how
useful it can be to leverage social media platforms to market
their meetings and events.
Some of the ways planners are promoting their
events in social media include:
- Promoting their event hashtag
- Inviting speakers, sponsors and
exhibitors to engage in social media promotion
- Use compelling graphic images
in social media as a way to encourage clicks and interaction
with prospective attendees
- And generally, finding ways to
connect with prospective attendees, generate buzz and
encourage prospects to come to events!
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms are
making it easier than ever to target key demographics, and
marketing to their user base via ads, videos, and interesting
content. Social media platforms are getting more and more
sophisticated every day!
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