Social Media has become an enormous topic. All event marketers agree that social media is important, but sometimes the sheer volume of tasks (on top of everything else you are responsible for) can be overwhelming.
This guide is meant for people that are promoting live events such as concerts, sporting events, or music festivals.
Defining who is responsible for social media management in your organization is very important. In a perfect world, you would have one dedicated person who focuses on organic social media. Many people in the entertainment business find that social media ends up being another task piled on to an already over-extended marketing director.
These 10 tips should provide some guidance to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
1) Provide Value
Regardless of how your organization is structured, your focus needs to be clear. Most event marketers are obsessed with ticket sales. Ultimately, that is our goal. However, It’s important to remember that customers are on a journey & you need to nurture them along the way. Shouting at them & posting ticketing links won’t work out very well at the end of the day. Your posts should be a pretty even mix of the following:
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Inform: Concert Announcements, Pre-Sale Codes, and Information about your events fall into this category. Just don’t get stuck in a rut where this is all you do.
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Convince: Sometimes you need to make a little extra effort to explain why your event is worth attending. Share news, artist updates, and information about the experience at an event. Most of your social media posts should fall into this category.
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Convert: In addition to going after a ticket conversion, Try asking for people RSVP or to enter a contest. You are going to have a much better response because there is less friction. Plus, you can use these actions to create audiences you can market to later.
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Help: Post information about what to expect, weather delays, security procedures, parking information, travel alerts, etc..
2) Establish Your Brand Voice
Make a decision about the type of voice your brand is going to have on social media. Remember that as an event marketer you have a LOT more room to be fun, snarky, or over the top. People kind of expect that from a music venue. Remember that every time you schedule a post, write copy for a Facebook Event, or respond to a message you need to stay consistent.
3) Remember That You Have A Cool Job
If you have been marketing live events for a while you have probably lost touch with the fact that you see things people would kill to see. Keep that in mind when brainstorming for content. Snap photos of dead cases backstage, a line of people in a meet & greet, or remember to capture the countdown to the start of a set.
You obviously can’t go around posting photos of people backstage, artists performing, or anything else that would land you on the radar of a tour marketer. However, You can create suspense for an event by showing the line of semi-trucks outside or the local stagehands assembling the stage. When in doubt, ask for permission.. But, don’t ever stop asking.
4) Use An Editorial Calendar
Make a plan and share it with your team. This process is more for your peace of mind than anything. The last thing you want to do is just wing it.. Create a simple spreadsheet & start plotting what you are going to post. Informational posts are the easiest to plot on a calendar. Make sure you block off some space for posts built to engage with your audience. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Event Announcements
- Pre-Sale Codes
- Event On-Sales
- ‘Know Before You Go’ Posts on event days
- Artist Updates (Album Releases, Video Debuts, Interviews)
- Contests
- Support Artist Additions
- Reviews of Events
- Photo Sets from Events
After you plot your topics you can dive a bit deeper & begin creating copy & images a few days (or even weeks) in advance. Be sure to have someone on your team proof everything before you send it out. Scheduling your posts a few days in advance & knowing that your content has been proofed is a huge burden off your back.
5) Contests & Giveaways
You spend a lot of time setting up promotions with local radio stations & music blogs. They see value in running promotions for ticket giveaways and so should you. Contact the tours you are working with & try to add in meet & greets, signed merch, early entry, etc.. Minimally, just set up a simple enter to win contest for a pair of GA tickets.
Don’t forget to offer an opt-in for your mailing list. This is a great way to build your e-mail database quickly + you can use the information you gather to market more efficiently in the future.
6) Be Responsive
Remember that these events are a big deal for a lot of people. They have handed over their hard earned money & committed their time to attend your event. We are in the business of creating memories, so keep that in mind when answering every question.
You can maintain your brand voice, but do your best to channel your inner Disney World when it comes to customer service.
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Respond To Direct Messages: It’s not a great idea to sidetrack your productivity every time you have a notification, but you should block off a time each day to check in on all messages. Especially on event days.
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Answer Questions: Many people ask questions on your Facebook Event or as a comment on one of your posts or tweets. Dedicate some time to answer these questions publicly.
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Engage with people on Twitter: Make sure you engage with people that mention your event or venue. Set up a few alerts so that you can engage with people that don’t tag you in a post. This is especially important during events so you can have a good pulse on any customer service issues you may need to address.
7) Don’t Forget About Event Pages
Many social media managers focus so much on producing content for their editorial calendar + responding to messages that they completely neglect Facebook Event Pages. People that have RSVP’d to your event have shown interest, so be sure to post content directly to these pages in addition to your normal news feed. This is a great place to post low ticket alerts, and ‘know before you go’ posts. Users that have RSVP’d will receive a notification if the event owner made a comment, so your reach on a post in a Facebook Event can often out perform a post on your news feed!
8) Don’t Obsess Over Growth On A Platform
Back in the early 2000’s, marketers were obsessed with growing their presence on MySpace. It’s pretty obvious to see that all that effort was wasted on a platform that eventually went the way of the Buffalo.
Then came Facebook.. It seemed obvious that your new goal was to have 100,000 likes on your Facebook Page. Then Edgerank bursted everyone’s bubble & now you have to pay to reach more than 2% of your followers. Instagram and Twitter followed suit.
Social platforms will come & go, so don’t obsess over how many people follow you. Instead, focus on delivering value to your customers where they are. Ironically enough, you will end up getting more likes or followers by being authentic. People can smell a desperate marketer from a mile away.
If you want to focus on growth (aside from ticket sales), E-mail marketing has remained a constant driver of ticket sales for over three decades. Focus on growing your database.
9) Don’t Ever Hit The Boost Button
For the love of everything that is good, Stop “Boosting” your posts! It’s tempting to take Facebook up on their offer to show your post to an audience for only $10. However, You are severely limiting your options when doing this ‘lite’ version of Facebook Ads. Instead, take a few minutes to set up Facebook Ads Manager.
10) Track Analytics
Great marketers have a clear understanding of what metrics are important. Defining what is important for your business & tracking your efforts is the only way you will learn what is working & what isn’t working. Don’t just leave it up to your gut & say that a particular post did really well, with no data behind it.
Different posts have different objectives. First, Identify if your posts are focused on reach, engagement, clicks, or conversions. Then you can classify your posts & determine what works best. Over time, you will figure out ideal posting days/times for certain posts. Many people have found that videos outperform static images. However, that’s bound to change so you just need to keep a sharp eye on your numbers.
