Social media can undoubtedly play a massive role in creating buzz around an event. It is increasingly being perceived as a vital medium when it comes to drawing attendance to an event, engaging the attendees during it and also to populate the content generated at it. However, simply providing attendees with a few social platforms may not be enough. The term ‘experiential marketing’ calls for an enriching and personalized experience. Therefore, to establish strong connections with the audience it is imperative to encourage deeper engagement. Here are 7 tips to ensure you are sharp as a tack when hosting your next event:



Target a Relevant Audience



“When targeting a specific audience, social media helps a great deal in allowing psychographic filtering”, says Pratik Gupta of Foxymoron. He adds,  For example, when a company like Maybelline is segmenting its audience it knows it shares its consumers with Forever 21, Revlon etc. Through the use of social media it becomes easier to subset audiences”. Social media can also be integrated with registration to share the names of people attending and in turn lead to the involvement of many more.



#Hashtags 



Always present the audience with a hashtag to get an early start to creating buzz. For example- to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their G-Shock range, Casio released a specific hashtag weeks in advance before a celebratory event. Attendees and non-attendees were encouraged to use the hashtag to upload photos of their Casio watches on Instagram. 3000 photos were generated which were displayed on a live-feed throughout the venue. Similarly Twitter profiles can be created for the speakers (if any) so the audience can get early access to them. Keeping the hashtag central will ensure content is not lost and audience remains engaged.



Interesting Content 



People like to read, share and comment on interesting things. Make that available to your audience. Foxymoron executed a viral campaign integrating social media and on ground activity for launch of Maybelline’s SuperStay lipstick using a hashtag on Twitter- #DoesntLastLongEnough. Maybelline fans were encouraged to share their thoughts on what they wished ‘lasts as long as she does.’ The result was a high amount of cheeky content created by women across the country. ‘I have to do it again and again because #DoesntLastLongEnough’ and ‘I do at work because #DoesntLastLongEnough’ were some of the tweets. The topic trended #1 for 14+ hours in India and was discussed by Maybelline’s 1.7 million Facebook and 1500+ Twitter followers.



Build a Community 



In the digital age, people are no longer willing to wait around. Ensure all questions and comments are responded to very swiftly. Act in charge before the onset of the event and remain in charge till the event is executed. Offer prizes to the most interactive and engaged attendees. Offer something extra for engaging on social media. It could be anything from a free book at a book launch, to a copy of an industry report, to free registration for a subsequent event etc.



Social Media for a Social Cause



There is a feel good factor in doing the right thing or contributing to a social cause. Tap that emotion through social media where applicable. Pratik Gupta, Foxymoron, states, “For Garnier Men’s ‘Powerlight A Village’ campaign last year, the audience on Facebook was encouraged to actively like, share and comment.  Each activity contributed as a predetermined unit of energy which was eventually translated into actual ‘energy donation’ to bring electricity into remote villages of India”. The scale of the social cause may of course vary from event to event but there’s always a chance that the media might pick it up.



Promotional/Recap Videos 



Teaser videos are a great way to capture the interest of a possible audience. Snippets of what the event has to offer, views of the speakers, subjects of discussions etc can be released before the event to entice the audience. Once the event concludes, highlights can be merged into a video and made available to a global audience through Youtube.



Tireless Engagement



Keep the community engaged for as long as you can. Share blog posts and write presentations that can be viewed on your own platform/website. Besides tying social network outposts together, a solid homebase can lead to even stronger engagement on the home site.