The Art of Getting a Great Turn-Out: 6 Tips for Event Marketing on Social Media
When the topic of marketing comes up, the conversation is often focused on promoting a business and the services or products it supplies. While this is a huge part of the marketing game (and a lot of what we do at BNL), another type of marketing is equally important but doesn’t get the same attention as e-commerce, lead generation, or online courses.
Of course, we’re talking about event marketing. That is, getting the word out about an event with the goal of getting people to attend. Whether it’s a golf tournament, fundraiser, street festival, live music night, gala, or even a webinar, you can only call an event successful if people show up. And for that to happen, they need to know about it first. That’s where event marketing comes in.
There are lots of ways to promote an upcoming event. Putting up posters, buying real-life ad space, sending out an email invitation, and even handing out flyers on the street are all great methods with proven results. But what if there was a way to reach an even larger audience of people who are already likely to be interested in your event?
If you know anything about us at BNL, you know what we’re diving into: the power of social media marketing.
What Kinds of Events Can You Promote with Social Media?
A lot of event marketing talk centers around corporate events—things like webinars, networking days, and panel talks; these are hugely important occasions for so many businesses, helping to establish a certain organization as a connector and a source of industry knowledge. Another key part of the conversation is for fundraising events, which are vital sources of revenue and community for private companies and not-for-profit charities.
Events are also one of the most important things for creative and community-oriented organizations to get right. We’ve had the opportunity to help promote music festivals, cultural celebrations, book and poetry events, and art gallery openings, all of which can help clients develop their community, rallying around their central mission.
We’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with clients of all kinds on event management. Some examples are the Black Music Month Festival and Taco Week YVR taking place in Vancouver, DunnEnzies event nights in Kelowna, and since 2023, BNL has partnered with and supported the Canadian Digital Marketing Summit, a marketing conference hosted in three locations across British Columbia: Victoria, Kelowna, and Surrey. In fact, as we write this blog post, we’ve just wrapped up our very first CDM Summit in Victoria.
In 2024, we helped the CDM Summit grow its online community by an incredible 340%. Yep, you read that right. Through strategic social media campaigns, we created buzzworthy posts that got people talking, sharing, and—most importantly—connecting. Their event success relies heavily on inviting speakers and creators to collaborate on posts (we’ll dive into that shortly) and highlighting event sponsors. By teaming up with these collaborators, we crafted content that not only showcased the events’ topics but also sparked genuine conversations. The result? More ticket sales and a vibrant, engaged community that’s still growing.
6 Tips for Event Promo on Social Media
Mix Up Content Types (And Don’t Spam Your Poster!)
Saying something over and over again doesn’t automatically make people interested in it! In fact, it might just make them annoyed. This is a tough thing to get right for event promo. Of course, you need to be consistently sharing info about the event to reach new people and remind those who already know. So, what’s the right way to continuously be a part of the conversation without being an online nuisance?
One great way to do this is by planning and scheduling various types of topics to spread awareness about your event. This means not just resharing the same picture of the same flyer over and over again. The good news is that this doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking! For example, you could create a carousel post with a bunch of photos and include the flyer somewhere in there. This means people get something new while also getting a reminder about the event. Video is another great tool, especially for reaching non-followers. Between TikTok and Instagram, you can create a series of videos that show why your event shouldn’t be missed, reaching a much larger audience than you would otherwise. Be sure to read our post on making the most of video on social media for more info.
2. Consider All Your Platforms
If you’ve got a big occasion coming up, don’t just create a Facebook event and call it a day! You should be posting on all the social media platforms where your target audiences are already active, creating unique content that fits each platform. This way, you’ll be building hype about the event with more people, helping to get more eyes on it and, hopefully, more (metaphorical or literally) butts in chairs on the day.
Facebook and LinkedIn are good places to start—they’re the best tools for creating a dedicated event page with details, ticket links, and updates. From here, you should be using Instagram stories, posts, and reels to catch the attention of new people and keep your most engaged followers up to speed. If you’re looking to promote something a little more creative or community-oriented, we recommend turning to TikTok. It’s a great platform for reaching local, often younger, people looking for something to do in their area.
3. Invite to Collaborate
Inviting collaborators to join you on Instagram can be a game-changer for event marketing. When you partner with influencers, local business sponsors, or even attendees who have a strong social media presence, you tap into their networks, amplifying your reach and engagement. This tactic not only boosts visibility but also really builds a sense of community and excitement around your event. By showcasing diverse voices and perspectives, you create a richer narrative that resonates with potential attendees. Plus, collaborative posts can spark conversations and encourage sharing, making your event the talk of the town long before it even begins. Collaborating is the ultimate way to tap into a new audience that may otherwise have never known about you, helping you to expand your reach!
4. Drive Engagement and Gauge Interest
Gauging interest is an important part of event planning. It gives you a sense of how many people to expect and lets participants share their voices about what they want from the event. While you can do this by email or with an online form, there’s another way to do it, and it boosts your social media engagement.
If you read our guide to the Instagram algorithm, you know that consistent engagement is one of the most important things to get right. It helps your account get pushed forward on the algorithm, meaning more eyeballs on your content, which means more people at your events. Instagram polls and question boxes are one great way to do it. Like the countdown timer, you can add these to your stories and posts in just a few seconds. It could be a simple, one-or-the-other question like, “Are you more interested in the panel speakers or the networking portion of the event?” Alternatively, you could ask an open-ended question like “What kind of free stuff would you like to see at this event?” Answers to this question could guide you as you finalize planning, all while boosting your accounts.
5. Give a Little, Get a Little
Another great way to get more attention for your upcoming event is to promote it with a giveaway! People love free stuff, especially if it has to do with your interests. So, if your event is a gallery opening, maybe you can do a giveaway for one of the artist’s pieces. If it’s a corporate event, you could offer a free trial of a business course. If it’s a music festival, it could just be free VIP passes! Whatever you’re promoting, remember that giving a little can go a long way.
6. Don’t Forget to Promote During and After
The work isn’t over just because the event is! A great way to promote future events is by continuing to showcase the success of past ones. On the day of the event, share plenty of content on your stories to highlight the excitement and success, while also resharing posts and stories you’re tagged in by attendees. This not only creates engagement but fosters a sense of community as attendees share their favourite moments. Afterward, make a post (or three) thanking your sponsors, attendees, guests, and so on. Go ahead and stoke the flames of FOMO a little bit—it just makes people more likely to be there next time!
Make a Splash at Your Next Event!
Let’s face it—event marketing isn’t easy, especially in social media land, which can change almost overnight. Although these 6 tips are a great start, there’s one we didn’t mention: Consistent, quality content coming out for weeks (if not months) before the event happens. Properly marketing your event on social media is a lot of work, and you might not have time to do it justice. After all, you have a whole event to plan!
If you’ve found yourself in this situation, don’t worry. We’re here to help!
The Social Media Unicorns at BNL have helped with social media marketing for events of all kinds, building buzz online that actually manifests into better turnouts. Whether you’ve got a business conference or a bustling block party on the horizon, our team can help you develop, create, post, and manage social media content that truly makes a splash. If you’re curious to discover how our team can help make your next event a success, get in touch with us today.
