Cultivating a social media presence is an essential part of your event marketing strategy. According to Smart Insights, 58.4% of the global population uses social media — for more than two hours a day. This presents a major opportunity for reaching your audience where they’re already hanging out.
Experts widely agree: Social media should be at the crux of your marketing plan. In fact, Sprout Social reports that 88% of marketers credit social media with affecting their bottom line, with the top goals for marketers’ outreach on social media being brand awareness, engaging your community, and growing your audience.
But with users engaging with more than seven social platforms every month, figuring out where, when, and how to reach those people can be challenging — especially on top of creating your events.
This is where we come in. Our experts at Eventbrite Boost have done the work for you and rounded up the best social platforms for event marketing, so you can easily decide which is right for your business and why.
Best social media platforms for your events business
While you have dozens of social media platforms to choose from — Pinterest, Reddit, and WhatsApp, included — we’ve honed in on the three best options for your event marketing.
What it is:
Designed for sharing photos and videos, Instagram is a top choice for event marketers. After all, how better to capture the feeling of a live experience than through reel footage from your event? And with the platform’s Instagram Stories feature, you can grow your Instagram following with exclusive content showcasing your brand’s character, behind-the-scenes outtakes, and values. Also, it’s so easy for your fans to tag you in the videos and photos from your events, as well as for you to engage back with them through direct messages and comments.
Speaking of your audience, Instagram has continued to see rapid growth. According to HootSuite, Instagram’s 1.5 billion users worldwide spend 11+ hours on the platform each month. And Instagram users are comfortable connecting with their favorite brands on the site: 90% of them follow a business, and two-thirds of users count Instagram as a way to connect with that business.
Type of events it’s best for:
Instagram knows no bounds. Whether you lead cheese tastings or reiki trainings, you can use Instagram to build your brand with frequent, high-quality content. Just remember to keep your audience in mind.
What it is:
Facebook remains the world’s most-used social media platform: according to HootSuite, as of 2022, 36% of the global population comprise monthly active users. While not as popular as Instagram, US users still spend more than a half hour per day on Facebook. Many users engage with local businesses through their Facebook pages, which often substitute for standalone websites. And one-third of Facebook users make a purchase directly from the platform.
Plus, it’s a goldmine for event creators: With more than 700 million users engaging with Facebook Events each month, the platform offers serious opportunities to reach, engage, and convert attendees where they spend the most time.
Type of events it’s best for:
With Eventbrite’s Add to Facebook feature, there’s no reason every event shouldn’t have an event page on Facebook. It’s an easy way to drive engagement — and RSVPS, a surefire way to build buzz!
What it is:
The oldest social marketing platform still in use today, LinkedIn has evolved from its position as a resumé repository. More than 830 million professionals use LinkedIn, as well as 57 million companies. And businesses are finding more ways to leverage their LinkedIn content. After all, the site generates leads 277% more effectively than Facebook.
According to Altman Solon’s Michael Gurau in Forbes, “Using [LinkedIn] posts to market to potential customers is a very time- and cost-effective way to open the door to new business.” And that new business might be driven by your brand’s internal strategy. HootSuite found that, “Employees are 14x more likely to share content from their employers than other types of content on LinkedIn.”
Type of events it’s best for:
Conferences, seminars, lecture series, and networking events are great fits for LinkedIn. But don’t limit yourself. Posting quality organic content that’s relevant to your events is a great way to cast your brand as a thought leader.
TikTok
What it is:
The short-form video-sharing app is a scroller’s dream and another platform like Instagram that lets you and your attendees post content that captures the experience of a live event. With content that ranges from pithy to educational, think of TikTok as micro-YouTube.
And if you want to wrap your head around TikTok’s presence in its users’ lives, check out these numbers. Globally, the average time spent on the platform per day is 52 minutes, and 90% of users access it on a daily basis. In Q4 2021, TikTok reported 1.2 billion monthly active users globally. Whew.
Brands on TikTok see greater success when leveraging key best practices. Including catchy sound, harnessing TikTok trends, and bringing an authentic emotional appeal to your content helps users respond to the content. And don’t forget to make your point fast. TikTok research finds 63% of videos with the highest click-through rate articulate their message in the first three seconds.
Type of events it’s best for:
TikTok is a win for anyone good at keeping it brief. If you think in soundbytes, the app is for you and your events. Worried that it’s a kids’ app? According to Sprout Social, TikTok users are growing up: 42% of users are between the ages of 30 and 49.
Schedule your social posts with Eventbrite Boost
Whether you’re holding workshops or networking happy hours, you know that event-goers are hungry for connection — and that means business. With Boost, Eventbrite’s all-in-one marketing platform, you can manage your email campaigns, run paid ads, analyze marketing performance, and, of course, post on social media.
Now we’re adding another way for you to find and reach the right audience, without leaving Eventbrite. With an Eventbrite account, it’s easier than ever to share posts on LinkedIn in just a few clicks to reach engaged professionals on their platform. Subscribe to Eventbrite Boost, and you can even schedule your posts ahead of time. See it all come together in a clear calendar view and know you have a consistent stream of posts. The result? You get significant time back, so you can grow your attendance and market with confidence.
