Promoting your event on Facebook is a good way to attract more people to your
event, while marketing your business in a subtle way, even to those who are not
planning to attend. That's true with events sponsored by charities and
non-profit organizations as well.
Here are a few guidelines that will make your event promotion more effective
while ensuring that you do not annoy people while getting the word out.
There are a few different strategies you can use to promote your event. We will
talk about them in a minute. First, here are some general tips about promoting
your event that apply no matter which strategy you decide to follow.
When you create an event on Facebook, be sure to choose a catchy name and
tagline, something that will arouse the curiosity of the viewer and entice them
to want to learn more. Include as much detail as you can in the description of
the event. Be sure to include a dynamic image and add your web address if
applicable.
Once you've created your event it's time to start promoting it.
The Friends Strategy
The first thing to do is invite your friends. If there are other people
involved in the event, ask them to invite their friends too. If there will be
speakers or performers at the event, ask them if you can post their pictures on
the event page you've created. This helps in two ways. First, it means that
every time you update the Event page, the information will appear in the other
person's News Feed. Second, after you add the photos, you can identify and tag
the people who are in the photos. This will add even more visibility to your
event. If you have any videos or related articles, add them to your Event Page
Wall. Try to encourage people to comment on the Event Page Wall.
Be sure to add the logos of any companies that are sponsoring the event and ask
them if they will post a notice on their Facebook Business Page. If you are able
to post on the Wall of their Business Page, do so yourself. But post only once.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make on Facebook is posting the same
information, over and over. People do not like that and, often, they will block
all of your future posts.
Some people think they are clever by changing the title or picture for their
event everyday, knowing that all of the invitees and attendees will get another
notice about the event. Again, don't do that. More than likely they will simply
block any future correspondence from you.
The Group Strategy
If there is a Group whose members are a good prospective audience for your
event, you can create the event right in that Group. Just go to the Group Page
and click the "Create an Event" link in the right side column.
There are two reasons why this is an effective strategy. First, all the people
who belong to the group will see your event. Second, you can then easily invite
all the people who belong to that group.
If there is no group that really fits with your event, you can create one. This
is especially effective with repeat events that will happen weekly or monthly.
To create a Group in Facebook, click the "Create Group" link in the left side
column of your Facebook Home page. Fro maximum participation, be sure to make it
an open group which will allow people to join. You may even invite some of your
"friends" to join this group.
Whenever you create an event, create it in that Group. When you create the
event, mention in the text somewhere that people can remove themselves from the
group if they do not want to receive your invites and notices.
As you create your event you have the option of inviting all members of the
group. Since you've given people the opportunity to opt out of receiving your
invites, you know that the people who will receive the invitation actually want
to receive it.
From time to time, post news and information about your group on your wall.
Encourage people to join if they are interested. Have your like-minded friends
and others in your organization do the same.
Don't Over-Invite
By the way: If you are going to invite people, don't just ask everyone
willy-nilly. Choose the people who might actually be interested. If you are
holding a local event, it doesn't make much sense to invite people who live on
the other side of the world. And don't forget, invite people only once. Do not
spam people with invitations. You might think that is effective but it actually
works in reverse as people block future messages from you. Plus, it's just
downright rude.
Also, don't invite too many people at one time, or send too many messages to
your Groups members in a short period of time. You could end up violating
Facebook's spamming rules and they will cut you off, or even delete your
profile. But if you give yourself enough lead time before your event, you can
spread out your invites and messages over a longer period of time and not run
afoul of Facebook's rules.
If you are promoting a Bahamas event, be sure to invite the BahamasB2B
webmaster, Niki
Bright. She will make sure your event gets posted on the
Bahamas Calendar on
BahamasB2B.com. Unless you have more than 20,000 friends, BahamasB2B can get the
word out to more people than you can ever reach on Facebook, unless you
advertise.
Facebook Advertising
If you have a budget and can afford it, Facebook advertising can really
generate interest for your event. A nice feature of Facebook ads is you that can
narrowly target your ads to very specific audiences.
You can target by geographic location, age, gender and a variety of keywords.
Only people who meet the criteria you set will see the ads. And you only pay
when someone clicks on your ad.
When you are creating your Facebook ad you can either link it to an external
webpage, or to your Facebook event page. That way, when someone clicks on your
ad, they will automatically be taken to your Facebook event page.
If done right, Facebook ads can give you a good bang for your buck. A successful
campaign can be executed for as low as $50.
Another effective use of advertising is to place an ad in the weekly Bahamas
Newsletter. You'll reach thousands of interested people for about $2.50 per
thousand.
If you do not have the time, or do not want to fuss with a Facebook ad campaign,
contact BahamasB2B. Our
advertising gurus can plan and execute a highly effective Facebook advertising
campaign for your event.
