You鈥檙e on the right track if you鈥檙e promoting your events on Facebook and Instagram. But so are a lot of other events. The competition for 鈥渁irtime鈥� on users鈥� feeds is real.
And let鈥檚 face it: There鈥檚 only so much you can do with your own social content. You might reach some or even most of your followers, especially if you鈥檙e targeting with paid ads. But to really build momentum for your event, user-generated content is where the magic is at.
User-generated content is content that your event-goers post and you can share on your accounts. This content isn鈥檛 just easy for you to re-post 鈥斅爄t鈥檚 a powerful driver of ticket sales, too. After all, that user-generated content is trusted 12 times more than marketing coming directly from the organisation.
But inspiring user-generated content takes a purposeful social media approach. Once you know exactly what user-generated content is and why it鈥檚 important, you can harness it to reach many more people than ever before.
Why user-generated content is critical to event discovery
Today鈥檚 social media users have become savvy at tuning out marketing messages when they lose interest. But they鈥檙e still deeply invested in authentic content created by friends and people they admire. In fact, that user-generated content has an influence on what they buy.
As people find out about your event聽and get excited about it, they start to share your content. The magic happens when they post their own original content about your event. It might be live video, snapshots told in Facebook or Instagram Stories, or witty captions describing their experience. The point is, it鈥檚 original, it鈥檚 authentic 鈥� and it promotes your event.
User-generated content is the key piece to the 鈥渆vent discovery flywheel鈥� 鈥� a self-reinforcing cycle where social media efforts build upon each other to create momentum. The more you post, the more people come to your event. The more people come to your event, the more people post their own content about your event 鈥斅爓hich attracts more and more people to your event.
鈥淭his flywheel is a powerful way for businesses to be discovered by their local community,鈥� says Mike Bronfin, product marketing manager at Instagram. 鈥淓ncouraging the right types of content creation and sharing while customers visit your event is the best way to get discovered.鈥�
Get attendees sharing more content, more often
Some user-generated content will happen naturally without your intervention. People who are excited about the tickets they just bought for your event might post an announcement to their friends. And while at your event, people often post pictures and status updates.
But smart event brands don鈥檛 just rely on happenstance user-generated content to do the job. They actively motivate followers to post more and better content. Getting attendees to share more content, more often is the direct path to event buzz. Here鈥檚 are two examples of ways to inspire user-generated content, and event brands that do it well.
User-generated content idea #1: Interactive contests
The Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia, has an aggressive social media strategy for promoting events. This includes running four Instagram contests each year tied to special exhibits. Fans are invited to 鈥渟ubmit鈥� pictures they鈥檝e taken in these exhibits by posting them in their own feeds. By tagging Lewis Ginter鈥檚 Instagram handle, users enter the contest.
But something else happens, too. According to Jonah Holland, who runs social media marketing for the gardens, 鈥渨e see huge engagement on the original photo that someone posts to enter.鈥� Followers share with their friends, and suddenly, the brand is reaching people way outside its own fanbase.
Social media contests are a creative, engaging way to motivate word-of-mouth from your followers to their followers and beyond. And there are plenty of ways to execute them, from free ticket giveaways to hashtag contests.
User-generated content idea #2: Partnership agreements
When your goal is to encourage more user-generated content, don鈥檛 forget about the partners you have in your event ecosystem:聽performers, speakers, vendors, sponsors, and paid influencers.
Maker Faire, a showcase for creative makers in San Francisco and New York (and a growing number of cities around the world), has its own 鈥渕aker marketing strategy.鈥� Director of Marketing Joan Rosenburg supplies every participating maker with a digital resource kit. Makers can use these assets 鈥斅爋fficial logos, links, and content ideas 鈥斅爐o promote the event to their own followers.
Make sure your partner agreement includes parameters around social media promotion. The more you encourage your partners to share, and give them the tools they need to do so, the higher your chances of reaching a wider audience.
Influencing user-generated content takes a certain degree of effort and ingenuity. But the momentum it can create for your event is truly magic.
User-generated content is just one of three key marketing strategies the experts at Facebook and Instagram say you should be using to promote your event. To learn more, download聽Facebook and Instagram Reveal How Users Discover Events.
