17 Expert Tips for Social Media Event Promotion

Sweatpants or suits; it doesn't matter. A solid social media strategy is the real dress code for filling up your virtual event, whether it's an invite-only webinar or a public trade show.

Virtual events are a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engaging with potential customers. From hosting giveaways to using interactive polls, they offer a unique opportunity to build relationships with your target audience.

Use this guide to leverage social media, create a buzz around your event, and drive ticket sales.

7 ways to promote an event on social media before it happens

Getting the word out about your upcoming event, whether through event landing pages, event hashtags, or giveaways, can help you reach a larger audience.

Here's our list to get the most out of your social media strategy:

1 - Create a countdown
2 - Make your event landing page shareable
3 - Use polls to gauge audience interest
4 - Post teasers of the event
5 - Create an event hashtag
6 - Create a LinkedIn or Facebook event
7 - Host a giveaway or contest

We’ll cover these in detail below.

So, if you’re hosting an invite-only webinar, where users have to sign-up in advance, or running a contest with limited spots (more on this later!), this is a clever way to hype your event and get those registrations rolling in.

Pro tip: Add clickable links of your webinar landing page to Instagram stories and generate traffic and increase ticket sales.

But with an online event platform like Livestorm, you can create custom registration pages that reflect your brand. You can include social sharing buttons like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. So your audience can easily share your event page with their social networks.

Pro tip: You can track the source of all your registrations with Livestorm and see how many users have registered through your social platforms. Just check out your analytics dashboard!

Ask questions like:

• What type of virtual swag would you like to win?
• What type of post-event resources would you find most valuable?
• Which speakers would you like to hear from?
• What networking opportunities are you most interested in?

4. Post teasers of the event

Post sneak previews of the event’s lineup to build hype and spark interest. Use Snapchat, Instagram Stories, or TikTok to create short, engaging videos your audience can quickly view and share.

Here are a few teaser ideas:

• Behind-the-scenes preparations
• Quotes from speakers and panelists
• Images of virtual swag or giveaway announcements
• Event schedule or agenda
• Sponsor shout-outs

5. Create an event hashtag

Hashtags are the new business cards. They should be short, easy to spell, and unique, so other unrelated content doesn’t end up there. Plus, it's a great way to keep the conversation going long after the event.

Here are some examples of branded hashtags:

• #SXSW is the timeless hashtag used by the South by Southwest festival — easy to remember, recognizable, and all-encompassing.
• #CMC2022 is the official hashtag of the 2022 Content Marketing Conference — specific, short, and effective.
• #Brandweek is the hashtag of the 2022 Brandweek Conference by Adweek — reflects the brand, catchy, and memorable.

If it's a paid event, you can also offer a special discount code for the first 100 people who share the event page with their friends. This will help you to reach more potential attendees and increase the chances of filling up your virtual event.

7. Host a giveaway or contest

A great way to get your audience to attend your event, in addition to our other social media ideas for events, is to host a giveaway or contest. Let’s face it: everyone loves free stuff. For example, if you’re targeting small business owners, you’ll get more qualified leads by offering a free trial of your product rather than a random free cooking class.

You can also ask them to tag friends in the comments, repost your event, or follow your account to participate in the giveaway. It's a fun way to add some friendly competition to your event and make it more exciting.

5 ways to promote an event on social media while it’s happening

Yes, you can promote your virtual event on social media, even live while it’s taking place! Here’s how:

1 - Live tweet during the event
2 - Invite the audience to engage with social media during the event
3 - Invite your audience backstage
4 - Live stream your event
5 - Interview attendees on Instagram Stories

Pro tip: You can share clickable CTA links during Livestorm events to help your attendees engage with specific tweets or other brand materials.

2. Encourage user-generated content (UGC)

As well as engaging with your tweet-along, encourage attendees to post their own content on their social media channels. This is known as user-generated content (UGC) and is often thought to be more authentic and persuasive than overt brand marketing because it comes from a trusted influencer or personal connection.

Encourage UGC by creating photo opportunities, sharing hashtags, and responding to posts, shares, and comments online. Make sure there are breaks between speakers or segments so attendees can share content when they’re not distracted from the event itself.

You can also invite influencers to attend your event and do “takeover” social media posts. This social media event marketing strategy gives your audience something to look forward to while keeping them focused on the event.

4. Livestream your event

You can use social tools like Youtube Live, Facebook live, or Instagram Live to reach your extended audience in real-time. This is great for anyone who wants to attend your event but didn’t register. Livestreaming your event can also inspire other attendees to join in, even if they weren’t planning on attending. You can also leverage video engagement metrics during your live stream.

If you’re using Livestorm, you can host your virtual event on-demand, live, or pre-recorded. That way, you can manage your virtual event from start to finish, all in one place.

5. Interview attendees on Instagram Stories

Just like you’re on the red carpet, select a few attendees at your virtual event and interview them about their experience during breaks between speakers or segments. This is a great way to leverage your attendees’ existing networks, make them feel involved, and ensure they repost your content.

7 ways to promote an event on social media after it ends

Your event was a big hit! So, make sure to share all the moments that made it special on your social media accounts. Here are a few more tips to spark excitement for all your future events:

1 - Repost user-generated content
2 - Turn your event into a blog post
3 - Save event highlights to your Instagram Highlights
4 - Conduct a post-event survey
5 - Create and share on-demand videos
6 - Create on-demand videos to replay and share
7 - Use social media to continue the conversation
8 - Turn event highlights into a meme/GIF

Let’s take a look at these in detail below.

1. Repost user-generated content

Event's over? Time to share the love! Gather any UGC from the event to show how successful it was. If they used your hashtag, their posts will be easy to find, respond to, and repost. It'll also give you a sense of which platforms your audience is most active on. For example, if you notice that most of the attendees have posted on Instagram, you can focus your efforts on Instagram engagement for future events.

To turn your webinar or virtual event into a blog post:

1 - Download a recording of the event
2 - Pick out key takeaways and memorable quotes
3 - Include any relevant statistics or data
4 - Remember to weave everything into a narrative for an engaging read
5 - Add photos and embed the source video from the event
6 - Include links to any post-event resources that were provided
7 - Insert CTA to sign up for the event's newsletter or to follow the event's social media accounts.

Pro tip: Use Livestorm’s automatic transcription software to quickly transcribe the audio from your event and repurpose it into a blog post.

3. Save event highlights to your Instagram Highlights

Creating an Instagram Highlight ensures that your content doesn’t get buried in the feed. Instagram Highlights are pinned to your page, so all the hard work you put into your Stories doesn’t disappear after 24 hours.

You can organize Stories into Highlights by:

• Theme — highlight interesting topics that show page visitors what you’re all about.
• Sponsor and speakers — feature their involvement in the event.
• Attendee engagement — you could highlight interesting polls, Q&A sessions, or highlights from your virtual networking sessions
• By audience demographics — small business owners, C-level executives, etc.
• By type of content — keynote speeches, workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions.

4. Conduct a post-event survey

Want to make sure your next event is even better? Ask your attendees for feedback. Use polls to gather their thoughts and opinions. For example, you can post polls in your Instagram Stories for viewers to rate satisfaction with the event, the speakers, and the activities.

You can also ask open-ended questions like "What did you like the most about the event?" or "What can we improve next time?". Use webinar survey tools like SurveyMonkey to gather more in-depth feedback and make data-driven decisions for future events.

Repurpose your video into digestible snippets and share it with your audience on social media. You can also gate the full event to capture leads when people sign up to view.

Pro tip: Livestorm can automatically record your events and track virtual event metrics like replay views, average duration, and sessions.

You can also use social media listening tools to gauge what people are saying about your event outside the group. Make sure you’re open to all types of feedback to ensure you’re fostering an open conversation.

7. Turn event highlights into memes or GIFs

Want to make your virtual event more relatable and shareable? Turn funny or memorable moments into memes and GIFs that your audience can relate to. For example, if you had a speaker who made a particularly witty comment, you could turn it into a meme with an appropriate caption.

Or if you had a moment where all attendees were in sync, you can turn it into a GIF with a caption like "When you're all on the same page." By making your content more shareable, you increase the chances of it being seen by more people and spreading your message.

Supercharge your virtual event with social media

Maximize the impact of your virtual event by using social media to promote it at every stage. You can plan posts to generate buzz before the event, engage attendees during the event, and to keep the conversation going after the event.

Make sure your event platform is tied into your social media strategy too. For example, you could be capturing the results of live polls or Q&As from your platform to post online. You can also use the built-in recording and transcription features to create on-demand content when the event is over.

Livestorm is a complete solution for hosting large events or webinars, capturing leads using integrations with your existing CRM, and helping you track event analytics to inform future events. Use Livestorm to maximize the ROI of your webinar marketing efforts and make your upcoming virtual event a success.

Frequently asked questions about social media event promotion

When should I use LinkedIn to promote my event on social media?

You should use LinkedIn to promote your event on social media if you’re a B2B brand targeting working professionals. You’re likely to reach a smaller audience on LinkedIn, as opposed to Facebook or Instagram, but that smaller audience is easier to target and more likely to be interested in your event.

When should I use Instagram to promote my event on social media?

Use Instagram to promote your event on social media if your brand primarily targets millennials, women, or both. This is because global Instagram users aged 16-24, and women, in particular, prefer Instagram over any other platform. To promote successfully on Instagram, make sure you’re posting high-quality images and videos.

When should I use Facebook to promote my event on social media?

Use Facebook to promote your event on social media if you’re targeting a general audience. Facebook has approximately 2.96 billion users across all age groups, meaning any marketing campaign can see success on the platform based on users alone.

When should I use Twitter to promote my event on social media?

You should use Twitter to promote your event on social media if your brand has a pulse on what’s happening right now and you’re not afraid to react to it. Tech industry giants, socially motivated companies, and food brands have managed to use Twitter exclusively to run great, agile campaigns.

Which social media is most widely used for event promotions?

The most widely used social media platforms for event promotions are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You may find that one platform works better, depending on your target audience. So if you’re targeting a younger demographic, then Instagram may be the best option, or if you’re targeting working professionals, then LinkedIn would be the ideal platform to promote your event.

How can social media be used to promote an event?

Social media can be used to promote an event in several ways. You can post engaging content leading up to the event, create a hashtag for your event, and use targeted ads to reach more people with your message. Additionally, you can use social listening tools to monitor conversations about the event and create a dedicated event page that can be shared across all your channels.

What are the advantages of using social media for event promotion?

The advantages of using social media for event promotion include:

• Target specific demographics based on their interests, behaviors, and location.
• Boost engagement with interactive elements such as polls, Q&A, and live video.
• Answer questions and address concerns in real-time.
• Create a community around your event.
• Track the success of event promotion campaigns.