Event planners do this exercise and the pay back can be huge in terms of increased social engagement and promotion of your event, resulting in a boost of delegate numbers.
If you are an event planners, event coordinator or an event organiser you should always start by defining your ideal social media influencer, i.e. the person you think will add incredible credibility and reach to your target audience. Here are some simple profiling questions to get you started.
- Do they have over 1,000 followers? Visit LinkedIn first to get a feel for numbers
- Scan their social media content, does it relate to the topic within your event
- Do they have a blog and if so, does it rank high on SERPs? (search engine results page)
- Klout uses social media analytics to rank its users and if you use Hootsuite you can view the individual’s Klout score.
So, you’ve now compiled your list of top social influencers what next? How about creating an ‘I’m attending’ social media card, with the purpose of allowing delegates to advertise the fact they are attending and a shout out to colleagues to meet and network if they intend to go also.
Add a little humour to the mix, send a ‘wish list of things to do’ (graphic format) in the city they are visiting (for out of town visitors) for example, where to find the best pancakes, the best beach, the best gift shop! Encourage delegates to share the ‘I can dream… my wish list for down time at XX event’.
There are so many ways to boost delegate attendance and the pressure is always on just weeks out from an event, add this tactic to your contingency plan today.
