Your live event poses a huge opportunity for your social media strategy if done right. An effective social media strategy will not only boost your visibility but will create invaluable connection with your attendees and followers. Here are 7 strategies to adopt for your event.

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1) Establish an Official Event Hashtag and Use It

Yes, hashtags are overdone and can seem pointless, but they are invaluable for your event as it helps you quickly and easily find photos and attendees at your event. Things you can do with hashtags.

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  • Encourage attendees to post on social media using your hashtag
  • Like and Repost photos from others
  • Follow your customers
  • Give shoutouts to attendees
  • Run contests and giveaways

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2) Post Frequently

Many are afraid of over posting on social media, but when it comes to your event, don’t be shy. If you are posting frequently, people will have a better chance at seeing what you share. Since most social feeds are based on algorithms, you’ll want to post several times in order to get seen. Here are some other benefits of posting frequently.

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  • Increase engagement
  • People who didn't attend get to see what they missed
  • You can attract new followers
  • Develop a photo bank for future promotions

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3) Use Hashtags

When posting, not only use your event hashtag, but also use hashtags related to your post. If your post is a quote, use a hashtag like #quote or #motivation. If your post has an image, use hashtags that describe that post such as #concert #festival and #fun. This helps your posts be seen by people searching topics as well as lets social media companies know what kind of people might like your page. A couple tips to know about hashtags.

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  • Use popular hashtags in your industry
  • Don’t use too many in one post, that can appear spammy.

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4) Use @Mentions and Tagging

Its an honor for an attendee to be recognized by the official event social media account. Be sure to take photos of attendees and then @ mention them or tag them in the post. They will love the attention and will also likely gain some new followers. In return, they will probably post on their social media accounts about your event and tag you. Win Win. Here are some tips for @ mentions and tags.

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  • Ask if you can feature them on your account and get their @ handle
  • Only use flattering images. No one wants to be embarrassed.

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5) Utilize Live Streaming

All of the major social media providers now have a native live streaming service built in. Use them all. Your followers span instagram, facebook and twitter. Live stream at least once from each account so your followers in each network can get a glimpse. Here are a few tips for live streaming your event.

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  • Make it interesting. Walk around and tell people about your event and talk to people while streaming
  • Show your face. People are riding along with you and want to see who they are with.
  • Interact with the new viewers and commenters. Say hi when they join, ask them questions, and respond to their comments.
  • Keep it short and sweet. It’s okay to stream only 5 minutes at a time. It’s better to be short and interesting and viewers will drop off after a few minutes anyways.
  • For broadcasting speakers, performances and sessions, utilize the Mevo camera which gives a broadcast quality live stream with lots of controls.

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6) Incentivize Following Your Account and Liking Your Posts

Give your attendees a reason to follow your account and look for your event posts. Just because you have an account and are posting doesn’t necessarily mean your attendees will follow it. Here are some ideas for how you can make it worth their follow.

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  • Offer exclusive discounts to social media followers that can be redeemed onsite
  • Give rewards or prizes to people who post using your hashtag
  • Offer behind the scenes look at your event, team or people
  • Promise a follow back. People want to build their own following and a promise of a follow back is good way to get them to follow you.

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7) Create a Social Media Wall

A social media wall is where you showcase posts containing your hashtag. This is why your event hashtag is important. You can post onto a screen all instagram photos containing a specific hashtag and have them rotate. This encourages your attendees to post and then look for their photo on the event wall. Few tips on a social media wall

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  • Include your event hashtag on the wall and the official account to follow
  • Encourage people to post with the promise their post will be seen on screen

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Using these 7 tips will make your social media account interesting, worthy of following and effective in building the relationship with your attendees.

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What things have you seen at events that you found effective? Share them with us in the chat below.