Social media has rapidly become an asset for marketing with its vast outreach and audience of 3.81 billion users (backlinkco.com). Utilizing these platforms to promote your events is a must for any event, but your success is determined by implementing the correct tactics. Below we will outline a plan of action to help you secure success for your next career event.
Establish an Event Hashtag
The first step is to create an event hashtag you can use in all your social messaging leading up to the event. This gives attendees and others interested in your event an easy reference point as well a way to help you promote the event. Encourage members and attendees to reshare your posts and use the event hashtag.
Create Banner Images
Banner images are a great way to promote your event with an eye-catching image and call to action. If you are using an image for your event already, make sure to be consistent and use the same imagery for your banners. This will create brand consistency and viewers will begin to recognize your event. Keep banners clean and simple, you can always add a short blurb to the post if you want to be more descriptive.
Here is a banner example from the American Heart Association:
Make a Facebook Event Page
Create a unique Facebook page for your event, no matter how large or small your event may be. The process is fairly straight forward but if you are looking for steps you can check that out here. As soon as you create this page, followers of your association page will be notified immediately. Likewise, when a user clicks “attending” or “interested” the page will also show up in their friends feeds as well, instantly growing your audience. You can also consider posting relevant and helpful content in the page to keep users engaged, such as resume tips, or short videos on the event experience.
Update Cover Photos
Since events are run on a shorter cycle than other marketing strategies, update your cover photos on your social media account with the banner images you created. This will grab attention of anyone who has landed on your page, without scrolling through your posts. Also include a link to register for the event in your bio or profile information.
Run a Social Media Campaign
Dedicate a small piece of your budget to running paid social media campaigns. This is a powerful tool that can help you target your messages to the appropriate audiences. For example, you can focus content on those who work in the recruitment industry, or for in person events, users who live within traveling distance of the event.
Most importantly retarget anyone who does not convert! Another essential tool in the digital toolkit for marketing is retargeting. 98% of users do not convert right away (retargeter.com) and consistently keeping your brand and event in the forefront of your audience is a great way to ensure more conversions. Social media platforms have several options for this, such as contacts lists, website visitors, and app users.
Take the next steps.
Whether you use one or all of these tactics, you are bound to see results and contribute to successful marketing of your career event. A career event’s success depends largely on the balance of candidates and employers, and social media can be a huge advantage to making sure you have a strong number of candidates in attendance.
