Business events (in-person and virtual), such as conferences, team-building activities, and charities, can be a great boost for your brand awareness campaign or fundraising if done right.
However, compared to social media campaigns, events come with a series of challenges that need a mature and responsible approach.
For once, if the event will happen in person, you have to worry about finding a venue, organizing the interior setting, sending invites, hiring caterers, and so on.
If the event is virtual, there are still a few hurdles to overcome, such as finding the right platform, making sure everyone can attend, setting up a theme that fits everyone’s comfort zones, and more.
So, the best way to have a successful live event is to start planning early. Of course, you also need to know what to plan, so here are a few tips to keep in mind for in-person and virtual events alike.
Use All The Tools At Your Disposal
Planning requires quite a mental effort, and due to shortening attention spans and extremely busy lives, most of us can’t rely solely on our brains to keep track of things. Luckily, this is where you can rely on technology to provide a much-needed helping hand.
In this situation, you should consider using event management software for nonprofits that can keep track of invitees, collect registrations and donations, and keep an eye on sponsors (among others).
Another software tool that can be just as useful is a note-taking app with sharing features. This way, you can create collaborative lists and schedules with the team without having to meet and discuss every aspect.
Know Your Budget
Depending on the type of event and the impact you’re hoping it will have on social media, you may want to push most of your resources into it. However, you have to be realistic and set an upper limit for your budget – otherwise, you risk going overboard without the expected results.
Plus, the success of an event is not directly proportional to the size of your budget. True, there are some expenses you can’t skip, such as finding a suitable venue, hiring highly-qualified catering (if it applies), and having well-trained staff to attend to the guests.
Therefore, the best way to know what you can afford is to start building a budget the moment you know what type of event you want to organize.
Promote The Event On Social Media
Social media is a fantastic medium to channel business growth and raise awareness about your upcoming event. This is why you have to work in parallel and organize a solid campaign that will get you more people in the seats at the event.
Start by creating social media pages dedicated to the event and promoting them on your official channels. Also, don’t be shy about pushing your message to the existing audience. People like to see that their favorite non-profit is active and looking to engage everyone in various actions.
This is especially true if your message touches on topics considered hot at the moment, such as environmental protection, social issues, human rights, and so on.
Don’t Stop Posting
A live event is a gold mine for social media content as it provides you with lots of topics that are engaging and enjoyable for the public. Just make sure you know how to make the posts as appealing as possible, and you may get a viral event on your hands.
Overall, you can post about a wide range of event-related things, such as:
- The event’s message
- Preparations and hurdles you had to overcome (in the upcoming weeks to create a buzz)
- Special guests (especially if they are famous)
- Special activities and surprises for the attendees
- Live streams during the event
- Pictures of people enjoying themselves at the event
- Testimonials from attendees
- User-generated content
- Results – if it was a fundraising event, you should post the amount raised and how you’ll use it
- The impact of your event – how the people felt, how the funds helped, and why it was a success
Overall, you can turn each live event into a series of small stories to keep the engagement going on social media. As a result, people will stay connected with your nonprofit’s online activities, which means they’ll be notified of new events and actions.
Key Takeaway
When you combine live events and social media, you reach a broader and more diverse audience. Plus, the potential for engagement (in real-life or online) gets higher, and people will feel more motivated to support any future actions and events.
Ella Marcotte
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