How does a small business owner go about leveraging social media for their events and marketing? asks Brian C Jensen
In this article, I will be covering how to set up your Facebook event page as well as tips on creating a giveaway through it.
So let’s get started! To give you a brief intro, I am Saurabh Varshney the founder of ePrintZone.com, an online printing store that focuses on providing high-quality prints at affordable prices. We have been in business since 2008 and have served customers from across 40 countries worldwide. You can check out our pricing calculator here: http://www.eprintzone.com/calculator/.
Social Media Marketing Tips:
It is pointless to spend money on marketing if you don’t know how well the campaign is doing. I would recommend you to sign up for ‘Google Analytics, an amazing service by Google that provides you with all the data about your traffic, conversions, and other information regarding your website. You can download it here: https://www.google.com/analytics/.
Setting Up Your Facebook Event Page:
Go to www.facebook.com and login in using your credentials in the box provided on the top right of your screen Choose ‘Events’ under the ‘More’ menu (top-middle) Now select ‘Create event’:
Fill in all the details like time, date, etc… Make sure to include a link to your website or landing page where people can buy tickets. This will make it easier for people to RSVP. If you want to know more about Facebook events, I suggest you check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Hc_1o4Xjc you can also set up registration pages through your FB event page which is another great feature that helps in tracking the number of attendees and their names Click ‘Create Event’ when you’re done
That’s it! Simple isn’t it? Now, wait until enough people RSVP for your event. Make sure to thank them with a personalized message (use name in comment) if they respond quickly after RSVP. This would encourage them to attend your event and notify others about it too!!
Setting up Your Giveaway:
This is a very powerful and effective strategy that helps in getting your event noticed and engaged says Brian C Jensen. You can set it up before the actual event starts or during the last few hours of it, it totally depends on you!
Giveaways are great for two reasons: First, they provide people with an incentive to share your content. If someone likes something, they will want to promote it to their friends which leads me to my second point: Your giveaway acts as bait for social media influencers who have thousands of followers, most of whom could be potential customers for you! They have an interest in your giveaway contest so providing free stuff only serves them right! You should always notify your existing customers through email about the promotion so they know what’s going on!
To set up a giveaway, go to your Facebook page and click on the ‘Events’ tab. Now you have two options: Giveaway during event – This option is only available if the event has ended and it’s worth noting that not all giveaways are made equal. Some people prefer simple sweepstakes or a random draw whereas others prefer to offer different levels of entry for specific price points. Check out this video for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFCFME57tP8. Giveaway before the event – You also have the option of offering a package as a giveaway through your FB Event Page before anyone RSVPs! Here too, you can choose from any of the strategies mentioned above.
What happens if I get more people interested in my giveaway than the number of tickets?
Using this strategy, you can be sure about an approximate number of attendees but there’s always a chance that your event may suddenly become ‘viral’ or simply get more RSVPs! You can increase your capacity very easily by renting out extra space at the venue says Brian C Jensen. Just make sure to include the location and any other details in the invitation itself. If during ticket distribution, you realize that there are more people attending than expected then just pay for another batch of tickets on the spot! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
I have heard that Facebook events have a limit on RSVPing five times per account? Is this right?
Yes, that is absolutely correct! Facebook does put a limit of 5 RSVPs per account as they want to discourage fake registrations. This isn’t a problem for you though since it only affects people who love to RSVP over and over again! People have actually tried this hack by using proxies so I suggest you create a rule for your giveaway contest which states something like “Anyone with more than two winning entries won’t be eligible for the prizes”
Conclusion:
Brian C Jensen says this article covered a lot of ground starting from the basics all the way to designing your giveaway contest. Setting up social media contests can be very rewarding but it is also challenging since you have to offer something as an incentive and do some creative marketing! If you think this strategy would help you with your upcoming event, why not try it out?
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