Maximise your events attendance using these simple facebook features

This has been such an awesome week for me as I finally take the plunge into self-employment.  If you’ve gone before me you will know the feelings associated and I'd love it if you can pass on a few tips and mistakes to avoid.

One of my first priorities is to network, and having been responsible for promoting events online for the last few years, I thought I'd share some of my top tips if you're thinking of hosting an event online in the near future.

The whole online space has become such a whirlwind, particularly over the last few months, and with most events being free to attend, it's become a very crowded marketplace. So how do you make your event stand out?

Where shall we start?  With Facebook of course! There are other platforms but it seemed sensible in this blog to focus on the most used and loved for events promotion.    

List your event on facebook

So, you've gathered all your details of the event together and you start to create your event on your business Facebook page - have you decided if it's an online event in the form of a Facebook live or perhaps a zoom event? You can choose either, just remember with the zoom event you’ll need to send your access link.

When listing your event, ensure you tag yourself in the event content i.e. your personal facebook page. That way your event will show up on your personal page as well and get exposure to your contacts there. We all hear about the algorithmic reach on our business pages being restrictive, so adding yourself as a personal page can help circumnavigate those restrictions.

Another useful tool in the “Create Your Event” section is to disable the ”only admins can post” and enable “ posts must be approved by admin”. This gives you the opportunity to start a conversation within your event post, which in turn will help with reach.

Are you collaborating on this event?

I'm sure you'll have had some collaborations in the past and will again in the future, so take the opportunity to add in “co-hosts”. You can tag in your collaborator’s business Facebook page which will display as “pending” until they have accepted the co-host position. Once accepted it will display as an event on their page too, increasing the reach to their audience. And, of course, if your collaborator permits, list them in the content section on their personal page as well. All of those extra tags can make a significant difference to views on your event.

Once you have created your event there is a tab called “Discussion”. This is a fabulous feature and so underutilised. You have already set your permissions to have external posts approved so you needn't fear “ crazy people comments” and nobody wants those, am I right?! In this section you can start commenting as your personal page and your business page and encourage others to join the conversation. Why not enlist a couple of business friends to get the ball rolling, if that's what it needs? You’ll then find your event popping up on other people's timelines.

Make Facebook groups work for you

Most business owners spend time in Facebook groups, so check out the rules of the group and see if you can talk about your event in their space. Check out complementary Facebook groups - so rather than hang out where everyone else does what you do, for example if you're a yoga teacher you don't want to be hanging out where everyone is a yoga teacher, rather look at those compatible spaces. Maybe it's coaching businesses, or pages where busy business women who might be looking for some self care hang out. 

Be social, comment and like other people's comments (from your personal profile) and if human nature is anything it's inquisitive! If you comment, I'd be very surprised if the person who receives those notifications doesn't check you out! When they're checking you out what do they see? ….someone of interest they'd like to see more of. You'll be surprised how much interest you can gain from this type of activity. Be warned this is for you if you're in it for the long haul. This is not a quick fix but friendships take time to nurture and that's what you're looking to do with your audience. Nurture it and you will reap the rewards. Remember all those people who clicked “interested” or “going” on your event will get a notification every time you or anyone else posts in the discussion section, so it’s really important to encourage interaction there.

The final countdown!

Don't forget to regularly remind people of your event as a “countdown” to your event. If you only post the event 6 weeks out and then never mention it again, your audience will either forget it’s happening or think you’ve cancelled it. Mark your content calendar at suitable time intervals. Reminders can also be done by sharing the event back to your timeline taking all those discussion comments with it. 

Finally, enjoy your event, have fun with your audience and keep them coming back for more!

Make Facebook work for you without ads. Yes it takes time, but if your budget doesn't allow for advertising, it's a great marketing tool for your events. I’ll post about using other platforms for promoting your events in the future but I hope that’s given you some useful pointers. 

If you'd like some support promoting your event, check out my services page or simply drop me an email or phone call. I look forward to hearing from you.