How Event Management Firms Leverage Their Facebook Page

As I’m certain you’ve been told time and time again, your event management firm should have a Facebook page. As the world’s leading social network, it’s generally one of the best places to connect with your clientele, and an even better place to promote your events. Why would you ignore Facebook?

Certainly, people offer some general advice on how to use Facebook – post funny, relevant, interesting content; be active and approachable, tease your potential atendees with content well in advance of an event…you get the idea. This advice is largely true, but we offer a bit of practical, tactical advice around how event management firms leverage their Facebook page to promote both their firm and events.

Your Page Should Express Your Brand

First piece of advice, know your brand’s value proposition. Everything you post to Facebook should express and better define your brand’s core values for your audience in some way. As we always recommend, watch what others in the event planning industry are doing with their Facebook page, can you immediately tell what their brand stands for, what they’re known for. For example, recently we posted a list of top personalities in the event industry – David Monn’s Facebook page highlights his passion for food.

Tip: pay attention to how a company uses their page when in planning mode for an event. This is an interesting time to pick up practical planning and marketing advice.

Your Cover Photo is a Landing Page

Many firms will use their Facebook account as a landing page for upcoming events. Your Facebook cover photo is particularly effective at grabbing a visitor’s attention. The cover photo should express something about the events purpose. Most often limited text is included, a key piece of information is provided. This info can be something tangible and useful such as when and where your event is being held, or it may be a bit more esoteric and brand-driven. Either way, it should aim to grab someone’s attention!

Take-away: clients and potential guests who visit the page should be greeted with information on an upcoming conference, trade show, or benefit, etc.

Highlight Key Status Updates

You can pin an important status update to the top of your feed so that it doesn’t fall lower down on your timeline. This update should include a call to action and a link to an upcoming event’s registration page or stand-alone website. Anyone who visits can quickly work out where they need to go next.

Not only will this serve to drive traffic to your event’s primary website, it’ll likely draw in a number of guests who might otherwise not have attended.

Invite Your Mailing List to Like Your Page

Many firms will have asked their email contacts to Like and follow their Facebook page – follow very simple instructions to do this. This is beneficial for a few reasons, but primarily because it allows you to connect with clients in a less formal way, keeping them up to date on your comings and goings without demanding too much of their attention. Facebook enables you to connect with them on a personal level, yet at arms length. A few followers might attend an event they otherwise may never have known about. They may even share an event with friends, promoting your firm to a larger audience without you having to ask.

Praise Your Sponsors, They Praise Your Event

Great Facebook using firms will also be getting all their sponsors and influencers involved with spreading the word on Facebook – and on any other social channels where they maintain profiles. This’ll allow you to reach an entirely new audience; one you might otherwise not have been able to connect with.

Hint: social sharing is a free way to get a bunch of traffic (and a surge of new attendees) without having to spend a dime on advertising.

Shell Out for Facebook Ads

Speaking of paying for advertising…yes, spend some money on Facebook ads. Again, watch what other firms are doing with promoted posts when marketing an upcoming event. The majority of the top event firms probably spend something on big event. Stay within your budget, and test your ad.

Tip: many ads have an organic look these days, blending into our feeds, but test two different ads. If an ad fails to drive a high click through rate, drop it and try another. 

So…there you have it. A bit of simple, practical advice on how you can utilize your Facebook page to promote both your events and your event management firm. Take from it what you will.