Social Media Tip #2: Promote events at least 2 weeks in advance
Got a big event for your business coming up? Get the word out early and often on every platform you use.
As a Social Media Manager at Bill’s, a large part of our business revolved around events. Some big and some small events and all involving very different groups of people. I learned over time the best ways to get what we were doing out to the right people. The biggest mistake I see many small businesses make is waiting to promote their event a day or two before and then they wonder later why they didn’t get more interest. Increasing the number of eyes on your event is the goal and posting about your event ahead of time will start this ball rolling. If you don’t know all the details yet, post a teaser for the event promising more information to come.
As a small business owner, you have a lot on your plate and it is easy to keep pushing social media to the bottom of your long to-do list. But your social media is too important to put off. Luckily there are some simple tools and techniques that you can use. Some social media platforms allow you to schedule posts in advance. I like to sit down every few weeks and schedule one post a week. You can always reschedule or delete posts if things change but at least you know you have something ready.
When creating an engaging event post, your first task is to find an eye-catching image to promote your event. This can be a stock image or one from your own library. Add key information like the day and time of the event and any other important information to entice your audience. Post this over 2 weeks before the event on social media platforms, search engines, and your website. If you are going to post about the event more than twice, change the graphic or image to keep your timeline from getting stagnant.
More Ideas for Social Media Events Posts
In addition, you can share your business post on your personal page if it is an event you think your friends would be interested in. Make your posts shareable so others can spread the word about your event. Use keywords that describe your event to boost your reach. If it is a nationally celebrated event like the Super Bowl or National Pizza Day make sure to include these words in the text of your post. This will help customers and publications find your event when using search. Go ahead and throw in a few hashtags and maybe an emoji. 🎉
What’s more, if you have a re-occurring event like a weekly trivia night, set the posts up ahead of time and get the word out. I found that consistency is critical for re-occurring events. People will start looking for your posts. You want to start building a following for that specific event. Encourage engagement by responding to every comment and make sure you change up the images and wording to keep things fresh. Encourage event participants to follow you on Social Media and share the event with their friends next time.
Finally, I always made sure to ask event participants how they heard about the event and other reasons that brought them in. This can give you a better idea as to what is working. Look at the analytic data that are provided free with your social accounts, this will give you a general idea of the audience for your posts. Tweak what you are doing until you find what works.
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