Leveraging the power of social media for event promotion

Social media is, undeniably, a powerful tool for promoting events. Whether you’re organising a small seminar or a large-scale conference, effective use of social channels can significantly increase attendance, engagement and overall event success.  

Social media platforms offer an unparalleled opportunity to connect with potential attendees, providing a direct line to your audience before, during and after the event.  

This three-part guide will walk you through all you need to know about how best to leverage social media in your event marketing, from goal setting and creating a cohesive plan to measuring and evaluating success. 

Part 1 – Defining and setting event promotion goals 

Before diving into social media tactics, it’s essential to have clearly defined, actionable goals for your event promotion. Establishing specific, measurable objectives will guide your social media strategy and ensure every action you take is aligned with your overall aims. Setting this foundation will help you track success and make informed adjustments along the way.  

Why is goal setting crucial? 

Without clear goals, it can be very difficult to determine whether your marketing efforts are effective or to identify any improvements needed.  

By setting clear goals from the outset you can concentrate your efforts on what matters most. They also provide the direction needed to make your social media activities more purposeful and will help ensure all team members are working towards the same targets, in a unified way. 

Robust, clearly defined goals will inform your strategy, empowering you to choose the right tactics and allocate resource effectively. It will also provide a benchmark against which to measure progress and success . 

Making your goals SMART  

To focus your efforts and make goals more effective, apply SMART criteria. 

Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve, avoiding vague goals like “increase awareness”. Instead set targets, such as “increase social media followers by 15%.”  

Measurable: Ensure your goals can be quantified, so you can track progress and determine when it’s been achieved. For example, “generate 500 new registrations”. 

Achievable: Set realistic goals that are attainable given your resources and constraints. Ambitious goals are good, but they need to be within reach.  

Relevant: Your goals should align with your overall business objectives and rationale for the event. If the aim is to build industry connections, setting a goal to increase engagement with relevant professionals would be relevant.  

Time-bound: Specify a timeframe for achieving your goals to create a sense of urgency and to help with planning and execution. For example, “increase ticket sales by 20% within the next three months.”  

When setting your event marketing goals and applying SMART, here’s five to consider: 

Goal 1: Increased registrations 

Whether it’s a free webinar, a paid conference or a local workshop, one primary goal is to drive registrations and increase attendance. To set this goal, define a specific target number of registrations and set a deadline for achieving these numbers e.g. 200 registrations within 4 weeks of starting your campaign. 

• Specific: Increase event registrations by 30%.  

• Measurable: Track the number of registrations weekly.  

• Achievable: Based on previous event data and current marketing efforts.  

• Relevant: Higher registrations lead to greater event success and more networking opportunities.  

• Time-bound: Achieve two weeks before the event date.  

Goal 2: Higher engagement rates 

Engagement metrics such as likes, comments, shares and retweets are important for building community and generating noise around your event. A high engagement rate would indicate content is resonating with your audience.  

When setting this objective, determine a target engagement rate. This might be a 20% increase in likes and comments for example (compared with your previous event promotion). Also identify the types of engagements you want to track, such as comments on posts or shares. 

• Specific: Achieve a 25% increase in social media engagement.  

• Measurable: Monitor likes, comments, shares and interactions.  

• Achievable: Based on the current follower count and past engagement rates.  

• Relevant: Enhanced engagement can lead to more registrations and increased event visibility.  

• Time-bound: Achieve by the end of the promotional period.  

Goal 3: Improve brand visibility 

This is an important objective to track, especially if your event is aimed at growing brand awareness and recognition within a particular industry or community.  Establish targets for reach and impressions, e.g. achieving a 30% increase in social media reach compared to your previous campaign.  Track mentions of your brand and event across the different social media sites.  

• Specific: Increase brand mentions by 40% across all social media platforms.  

• Measurable: Use social media analytics tools to track mentions and reach.  

• Achievable: With targeted content and influencer collaborations.  

• Relevant: Greater visibility builds brand recognition and trust.  

• Time-bound: Achieve within the three months leading up to the event.  

Goal 4: Lead generation 

For B2B events in particular, generating leads and capturing the contact information of potential clients and partners who attended, or were interested, is a top priority.  To measure success, first define what you consider to be a qualified lead for your business. Set a target number of these to be generated through marketing activity. 

• Specific: Capture 300 qualified leads from event publicity efforts.  

• Measurable: Track lead generation through landing pages and sign-up forms.  

• Achievable: Based on data from previous events  

• Relevant: Qualified leads can be nurtured for future sales opportunities.  

• Time-bound: Achieve by the event date.  

Goal 5: Revenue generation 

If your event involves ticket sales – a paid conference, workshop or festival perhaps – revenue generation is likely another crucial objective.  Set a revenue target based on ticket prices and expected attendance (based on current and previous events). Track progress regularly to ascertain if your strategy needs to be amended to achieve your target. 

• Specific: Generate £10,000 in ticket sales through social media promotion 

• Measurable: Track ticket sales coming from landing pages and registrations 

• Achievable: Based on historical data and current marketing campaigns.  

• Relevant: Advertise event on channels more likely to attract key target audience  

• Time-bound: Achieve two weeks before the event date 

Track and adjust your goals  

Setting goals is just the first step to success. To really maximise the benefits of this process, it’s vital to regularly track and measure progress. Such insights will highlight if something is not working or if you need to focus more on a specific audience.  

Progress can be tracked using the analytics tools available on many social media platforms where you can regularly check metrics such as engagement rates, click-through-rates and conversions 

Based on these insights, you may want to adjust your social media strategy to better meet your goals. 

Create regular reports to summarise your progress and log any changes made to your campaign. This will keep your team informed and ensure they remain aligned on the status and next steps.  

Insight from your campaigns can also be used to refine goal-setting and strategies for future events. Over time, this continuous learning and refining will improve your publicity efforts. 

Part 2: Creating a social media strategy for event promotion 

Now you’ve established your goals, it’s time to think about how you’re going to achieve them. Clever planning and a robust social media strategy is a must. Here’s six components to include in your campaign plan to maximise impact. 

1. Choose the right social media platforms. 

Not all social media platforms are created equal. Each platform has its own unique features, audience demographics and best practices for engagement. Choosing the right platforms to promote your event is crucial for reaching and engaging your target audience and achieving your goals. A tailored strategy for each platform is essential. 

LinkedIn: The Professional Network:  LinkedIn is ideal for professional and business-related events, webinars, corporate workshops and B2B marketing and is the go-to platform for professional networking and industry-specific content. Users are typically professionals looking to expand their knowledge and connect with peers. There are a number of ways to use LinkedIn for event publicity: 

• Create a dedicated event page to centralise all information and updates, making it easy for attendees to find details and register.  

• Post and share articles, whitepapers and thought leadership content relevant to your event to highlight it as a valuable learning opportunity.  

• Join and participate in relevant LinkedIn groups to share your event details and engage in discussions  

• Use LinkedIn’s sponsored content and InMail to target specific professionals and drive relevant traffic to your page.  

Facebook: The Community Hub: Facebook is the perfect home for community events, local gatherings and for reaching a wide and varied audience. With a broad user base, Facebook is a versatile channel for a range of events and its features include detailed event pages, extensive sharing options and community building through groups and pages.  Possible event marketing opportunities on Facebook would be:  

• Setting up a dedicated event page to share all the details, post regular updates and interact with attendees directly.  

• Creating a specific Facebook group. This is particularly valuable if your event is community-focused or niche and inspires ongoing engagement and builds a sense of community. 

• Using Facebook Ads Manager to target ads based on users’ demographics, interests and behaviours to promote your event to specific audiences.  

• Live streaming certain parts of your event e.g. keynote speeches or Q&As, using Facebook Live to engage with a broader audience in real-time.  

X (formerly Twitter): The real-time platform: X is ideal for real-time updates and communications, as well as posting industry news and stimulating discussion.  It’s fast-paced nature and use of hashtags are perfect for live event coverage and engaging with attendees, before, during and after the event. To use X effectively in your event marketing: 

• Develop a memorable and unique event hashtag. Use it consistently across all your communications and encourage attendees to feature it in posts about your event to create a unified conversation.  

• During your event, live post key moments – quotes from speakers, images and behind-the-scenes updates – to keep followers engaged and inform those unable to attend.  

• Respond to posts, repost attendee content and join relevant discussions to show you value followers’ engagement.  

• Promote your event through X’s advertising options – using promoted posts and promoted trends to reach a larger audience.  

Instagram: The visual storyteller: Instagram is a highly visual platform, making it perfect for events with strong visual elements such as festivals, exhibitions, and product launches. It’s also a good option if you want to engage with younger audiences. Features such as Stories, IGTV and Reels offer different ways to capture attention. To maximise the power of Instagram: 

• Use high-quality creative photos and videos, and professional images and visuals, that capture the essence of your event to draw attention 

• Use Instagram Stories to post behind-the-scenes content, live updates, and interactive polls. These are ideal for real-time engagement and keeping audiences informed.  

• Integrate Reels and IGTV. Reels are best for short, engaging videos and IGTV for longer content such as interviews or event highlights. Both are a good way to cultivate deeper engagement. 

• Collaborate with relevant Instagram influencers to promote your event to their followers and extend reach. 

TikTok: the creative platform: TikTok’s explosive growth and popularity among younger audiences make it a very valuable platform for event promotion. Its focus on short form, creative videos provides an innovative and entertaining way to capture attention and drive engagement. To make the most of TikTok: 

• Develop short, fun, creative videos that highlight key aspects of your event and those involved. Piggyback on current trends and challenges to increase visibility and engagement. 

• Launch a hashtag challenge to inspire user-generated content. This can create a viral effect and further spread awareness. 

• Partner with popular TikTok creators pertinent to your event topic. Their endorsement could significantly enhance the event’s profile. 

• Invest in TikTok’s advertising options – In-feed ads and branded hashtag challenges – to reach a larger and more targeted audience. 

Use multiple platforms for the greatest impact  

While each platform has its strengths and unique features, a cohesive social media strategy often involves using multiple channels in tandem.  

To create a unified presence, maintain consistent branding across all platforms, using the same logos, colour schemes and event hashtag. Your social media accounts should also be promoted across the different channels – so share Instagram Stories on Facebook or post about your Facebook event page on X.  

Tailor your content to fit the platform’s style. For LinkedIn, post detailed professional content, use high-quality images for Instagram and for X, real-time updates. 

To encourage interactions across the different platforms, ask your X followers to check out your Instagram for behind-the-scenes content or invite LinkedIn connections to join a conversation on Facebook.  

2. Create a content calendar  

Developing a content calendar to schedule your posts will ensure you post consistently and cover all aspects of your event from beginning to end. Plan posts around key dates and milestones. This might include: 

• event announcements,  

• speaker introductions,  

• early-bird registration deadlines,  

• behind-the-scenes glimpses,  

• countdown reminders, 

• live updates at the event,  

• post-event highlights, 

• thank you messages. 

3. Craft engaging content  

Creating engaging content is pivotal to capturing your audience’s attention and maintaining interest. Content should be varied, visually appealing and interactive. Combine different types of content to maximise impact.  

Teaser videos are a fantastic way to kick off your campaign and create noise. They provide a sneak peek into what attendees can expect, generating curiosity and encouraging registrations.   

Your video could be a short montage of past event highlights set to upbeat music and dynamic graphics or footage of event setup, overlayed with text to highlight key details like dates and location. Keynote speakers or performers could also be featured. 

Teaser videos checklist 

• Teaser videos should be short and sweet – aim for no longer than 30-60 seconds. They should be short enough to maintain interest but long enough to convey key messages. 

• Highlight key features by showcasing the most exciting aspects of your event i.e. renowned speakers, unique activities or special performances. 

• Use high-quality visuals. If budget allows, invest in professional video production so your teaser looks polished and compelling. 

• Include a clear call to action, whether it’s encouraging viewers to visit your event page, to register or share the video with their networks. 

Speaker spotlights are a chance to profile the expertise of your event speakers, build anticipation and add credibility, allowing audiences to see the value in attending.  

Spotlights could comprise of a series of posts, each dedicated to a different speaker, to detail their biographies, session topics and the expected takeaways for attendees. Or you could film short pieces to camera with speakers to discuss their presentations and why they’re participating. Post-event, create infographics to summarise speakers’ key achievements and session highlights. 

Speaker spotlights checklist 

• Share detailed biographies of your speakers, including their professional achievements and expertise.  

• Include personal anecdotes or quotes to build connections with your audience and make sessions relatable.  

• Use photos, short video clips and interviews to make spotlights more appealing.  

Behind-the-scenes style posts humanise your brand, giving would-be attendees a glimpse into the hard work that goes into organising an event. It can help build a personal connection and foster a sense of anticipation.   

Use time-lapse videos to show the event setup and transformation of the venue. Or post photos and short videos from your event planning meetings, with captions introducing team members and their roles. Livestreams or Stories can be used to capture the hustle and bustle of the final preparations. 

Behind-the-scenes content checklist 

• Share photos and videos of the event setup, team meetings, and rehearsals. Highlight the effort and attention to detail involved.  

• Introduce your event planning team and their roles to help attendees feel more connected to the people behind the event.  

• Post real-time updates as you prepare, keeping your audience engaged and informed.  

Interactive content encourages audiences to actively participate, increases engagement and provides valuable insights into preferences and opinions. Tactics include posting surveys and polls to explore which elements of the event people are most interested in and hosting live Q&As where attendees can submit questions to be answered in real-time.  You may also like to add a competition element, offering a chance to win a prize or free entry to your next event. 

Interactive content checklist 

• Use polls and surveys to gather feedback, ask questions or gauge interest in different aspects of your event.  

• Host live Q&A sessions with speakers, organisers, or industry experts using platforms like Instagram Live, Facebook Live or LinkedIn Live.  

• Organise contests and giveaways to incentivise participation. Offer attractive prizes such as free event tickets, merchandise or exclusive access.  

User-generated content (UGC) harnesses the power of your audience to create authentic and relatable promotional material. It builds trust and a community around your event and extends your reach through participants’ networks.   

Examples include running a hashtag campaign for attendees to post photos, videos and stories from the event with the best posts featuring on your official channels or urging attendees post event, to share their favourite moments and takeaways. This pool of testimonials and feedback may also prove useful for future campaigns.  

User-generated content checklist 

• Develop a memorable and unique hashtag for attendees to use when posting about the event.  

• Regularly share and interact with attendee posts on your official social media channels. This not only provides fresh content but shows appreciation for their contributions.  

• Organise specific campaigns or challenges to prompt attendees to create and share content. Offer incentives such as featuring their content on your event website or social media pages.  

Remember your social media efforts shouldn’t end when the event does. Post-event interaction is vital for maintaining relationships and building momentum for future events. Share event highlights, thank attendees and gather feedback through surveys or by tracking comments. This continuous loop of engagement will help you fine-tune your strategy and keep audiences connected.  

4. Driving engagement through influencers and partnerships  

Collaborating with influencers and partners can significantly amplify your reach and add an extra layer of credibility. By tapping into their networks and reputations you can connect with a broader audience, increase involvement and drive higher attendance.  

When identifying influencers, choose people whose content and channel aligns with your event’s theme and target audience. They need have a relevant following. Search for influencers with high engagement rates (likes, comments, shares) rather than just a large follower count.  Engaged followers are more likely to act on the influencer’s recommendations. 

Go for influencers who are authentic and have a genuine connection with their audience as their content is more likely to resonate with followers. Review their previous collaborations with brands and organisations to find out what experience they have promoting events or similar content. This will provide an idea of how they might be able to promote yours. Explore any conflicts of interest – have they promoted an event for a competitor recently or posted content that’s negative or controversial in tone? 

The type of influencers to bring onboard will vary depending on your event, but as a rule of thumb:  

• For professional conferences look for industry thought leaders, keynote speakers, business coaches and LinkedIn influencers.  

• For health and wellness events consider fitness trainers, nutritionists, health bloggers and wellness advocates.  

• For tech and innovation summits enlist support from tech bloggers, start-up founders, tech journalists and YouTube tech reviewers.  

• For lifestyle and community events work with lifestyle bloggers, Instagram influencers and local celebrities. 

How to engage Influencers  

Approach influencers with personalised invitations, highlighting why you think they’d be a good fit for your event and the mutual benefits of participation. 

To help secure buy-in you may want to offer exclusive access to your event, be it a VIP pass, behind-the-scenes tour or an opportunity to interview speakers.  

Be prepared to discuss compensation. Many influencers (particularly those with large follower bases) may charge a fee for promotional posts, depending on what’s required. This compensation could be financial, or in kind, i.e. free tickets or accommodation. 

Once terms are agreed, work with your chosen influencers to create collaborative content to promote your event. This could include: 

• A guest blog post: Invite influencers to write a blog post for your event website focusing on a particular l theme or session 

• A social media takeover: Ask influencers to take over your social media accounts for a day, to provide a unique perspective and behind-the-scenes access.  

• A live Q&A: Host a live Q&A session with your influencers where they discuss the event, interview speakers and answer questions  

• A pre-event webinar: Co-host webinars with influencers to build anticipation and generate valuable content tied to the event’s theme.  

Identifying and collaborating with industry partners 

Industry organisations and trade bodies have established networks and credibility within your event’s specialism. Collaborating with them as part of your campaign enhances legitimacy and helps attracts a more targeted audience.  

When seeking would-be collaborators, again, look for organisations who align with the goals and target audience of your event. They should be reputable organisations who are well-respected within the industry. Another consideration is their network size and scope – those with a large and engaged membership base will offer a bigger reach. 

The partners you approach will be determined by your event focus and audience: 

• Professional associations and trade bodies: Find partners related to your event’s theme or topic. For example, collaborate with a marketing association for a digital marketing conference or a health organisation for a wellness event.  

• Educational institutions: Tie up with universities or colleges that offer programmes or have fields of study/research related to your event. They could also help promote the event to students and faculty members.  

• Corporate partners:  Capitalise on the involvement of companies with a vested interest in your event’s success, i.e. sponsors, exhibitors or other organisations looking to engage with your audience. 

How to engage industry partners  

To spark interest and secure the involvement of partners, your approach should highlight the benefits of the partnership to both parties and explain how their participation will provide value to their members and/or audience. You could also offer exclusive opportunities, such as speaking slots, branded content or special recognition at the event.  Other collaborative activities include: 

• Sponsored sessions: Invite partners to sponsor a specific session or workshop offering them visibility and branding opportunities.  

• Exhibitor opportunities: Offer exhibitor space so they can engage directly with attendees.  

• Joint marketing campaigns: Work together to launch a joint marketing campaign that will leverage both organisations’ audiences e.g. email newsletters, social media campaigns and/or website banners.  Explore opportunities for cross promotion to maximise reach. 

• Educational content: Join forces to develop educational content, such as whitepapers, case studies or research reports which will appeal to your audiences and promote the event.  

• Create co-brand content: This might include press releases, social media posts and promotional videos to announce your partnership. 

For a unified voice bring influencers and industry partners together   

To have the biggest impact, combine the efforts of your influencers and industry partners.  

Ensure consistent messaging is used across all influencer and partner comms to reinforce the event’s key messages and retain a cohesive brand image.  The timing of their social media posts should be coordinated so there’s a steady flow of content in the event build up and to keep it top-of-mind. Remember to include collaborators posts in your content calendar. 

Track the performance of their social media posts to measure the success of each collaboration and make necessary adjustments if needed. 

 5. Using hashtags to amplify reach 

Hashtags are a very effective tool for increasing the visibility of your event and generating a sense of community among attendees. They have the power to amplify your event’s reach, create buzz and enhance interaction across social media platforms.  To make the most of hashtags in your event marketing strategy: 

Create a unique, memorable hashtag: Your hashtag should serve as a digital rallying point for your event. It consolidates all related conversations, making it easy for attendees and followers to find and engage with your content. A distinctive hashtag sets your event apart from others and ensures the content associated with it is easily identifiable.  

Hashtags should be kept short and simple. It needs to be easy to remember and type, so avoid long, complicated phrases that are prone to typos. The hashtag should be relevant, reflecting the event’s theme, name or purpose so attendees immediately associate it with your event.   

Uniqueness is essential. Before finalising your hashtag, search for it on various social media platforms to check it’s not already in use. Finally, if your event is annual, include the year in your hashtag (e.g. #TechSummit2024). This not only distinguishes it from previous years but indicates the event’s recency.  

Examples of effective hashtags: 

• #TechInnovate2024: Short, relevant, and includes the event’s focus and year.  

• #FitnessFestDubai: Combines the event’s theme and location, making it specific and identifiable.  

• #GlobalHealthConf: Reflects the event’s theme and is easy to remember and use.  

Consistency Is key – Consistency in hashtag use ensures all posts related to your event are easily searchable and grouped together. It creates a cohesive stream of content that attendees and followers can monitor for updates, announcements and live event coverage.   

To maintain consistency use your hashtag in every social media post, real-time updates, email newsletters and all event materials (pre, during and post-event). This repetition helps embed the hashtag in the minds of your audience.  Share photos, videos and attendee testimonials with the hashtag prominently featured and continue to use it when sharing event highlights, or to promote post-event surveys or content.  

Everyone involved in the event, from social media managers to event organisers, should be using the hashtag consistently, with the same hashtag used across all social media platforms. 

Prompt attendees to use the hashtag: If attendees use the hashtag in their posts it not only expands the reach of your event but also fosters a sense of community and boosts involvement. User-generated content under your event hashtag provides authentic insights and perspectives, enhancing the overall event narrative.  To promote this behaviour: 

• Display the hashtag prominently on all event materials, including tickets, programmes, signage and presentation slides.  

• Set up social media walls at the event venue displaying posts featuring the hashtag in real-time to inspire attendees to contribute and have their posts featured.  

• Host live Q&A sessions during the event, asking attendees to submit questions using the hashtag 

• Purpose a branded photo booth in the venue where attendees can take pictures and share them on social alongside the hashtag. 

• Run contests or giveaways that require and incentivise attendees to use the hashtag. You could offer prizes for the best photo, most creative post or highest engagement. 

• Like, comment on and share posts that feature the hashtag to show appreciation and incite more people to participate.  

Using hashtags to build a community and generate buzz: A strong sense of community around your event brings deeper connections and interaction. It extends the life of the event beyond its duration, creating lasting relationships and continued interaction.  A well-utilised hashtag can generate significant buzz, draw more attention and attract last-minute registrations.  

Pre-event, start building momentum by engaging with potential attendees, sharing sneak peeks and spur discussions around the hashtag. When the event starts, facilitate interactions and networking among attendees through social media – asking them to share their experiences, insights and new connections made.  

To capitalise on your hashtag, run teaser campaigns with countdowns and exclusive reveals, as well as posting real-time updates throughout the event build-up and open period to keep online audiences involved.  

Your event community doesn’t need to stop when the delegates go home. Keep the conversation going post-event by sharing follow-up content, highlighting key moments and urging attendees to share their takeaways.  

6. Run social media ads  

Social media advertising can significantly enhance your publicity efforts, reaching a broader and more targeted audience than organic posts alone. Platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram all offer intelligent advertising tools that enable you to pinpoint specific demographics, interests and behaviours to help reach the right people.  

With the ability to tailor ads to specific audiences, your content will be seen by those most likely to be interested in your event potentially leading to higher engagement rates, increased .  registrations and ultimately, a more successful event.  

Ad platforms include: 

• Facebook: Good for reaching a broad audience. It’s advanced targeting options allow you to reach users based on demographics, interests, behaviours and more.  

• LinkedIn: Best for professional and B2B events. Targeting can be based on job title, industry, company size and more, making it ideal for reaching professionals.  

• Instagram: Great for visually appealing events. The platform’s visual nature makes it perfect for promoting events through eye-catching images and videos.  

• Twitter (now X): Effective for real-time engagement and reaching users interested in specific topics or hashtags.  

• TikTok: An important channel for engaging younger professionals with creative, short-form video content.  

Creating effective social media ads for your event 

There are different types of social media adverts to consider depending on your event and audience. 

Image ads are simple yet effective and use a single image to capture attention. This could be a high-quality, relevant visual that highlights key aspects of your event.  

Video ads are highly engaging and can convey more information than image alone. By creating short, dynamic videos you can showcase the excitement and value of your event.  

Another option is carousel ads. These feature multiple images or videos in a single ad, each with their own link. Carousel ads are perfect for highlighting different speakers, sessions or activities.  

You may also want to consider sponsored posts to amplify your organic posts to reach a larger audience. This can be particularly valuable for posts that have already received high engagement.  

Finally, some platforms, like Facebook, offer specific ad formats for events which will include event details and a clear call-to-action for users to RSVP or buy tickets.  

Creating your ad content 

If you decide to invest in social media ads you’ll want them to be as effective and engaging as possible.  Create compelling visuals, using high quality images and videos that capture the essence of your event and are relevant to your target audience. Potential ad formats include: 

• Short videos to build anticipation and showcase highlights of previous events or provide a peek of what’s to come.  

• Ads featuring prominent speakers that lead on their credentials and inform attendees what can be expected from their sessions.  

• Promotions offering discounts for early bird registrations to create a sense of urgency.  

• Ads showing the preparation and effort that goes into organising the event to build interest and trust.  

Messaging should be clear, with copy kept succinct and to the point. The ad should convey the benefits of attending your event and include a compelling call-to-action. Where possible, it should direct to an event landing page for interested parties to find more information and/or register.  

Ads should be tailored to resonate with your target audience and be pertinent to users of the platform you’re advertising on. For example, use professional language for LinkedIn ads and more casual, engaging content on Instagram.  

Targeting the right audience 

Your ads need to hit the right audiences to have the desired effect. Your plan should take into account: 

• Audience demographics, their age, gender, location, and language. If your event is local, focus on users within a certain geographic radius.  Facebook’s location targeting, for example, can reach users within a certain radius of where the event is taking place. 

• Interests and behaviours. Target and reach users most interested in your event topics, whether they’re industry professionals or hobby enthusiasts.  For a trade conference, target LinkedIn users with job titles pertinent to your event’s theme, such as “Marketing Director” or “Software Engineer.”  For a wellness event, target users interested in fitness, nutrition and wellness on Instagram and Facebook. 

• Tap into existing and custom audiences. Upload email lists to target previous attendees or those who have expressed interest in similar events.  

• Develop lookalike audiences. Reach new users with similar characteristics and profiles to those already engaged. 

• Use retargeting ads. Reach those who’ve visited your event website or engaged with your social media content but have yet to register. 

Testing and measuring the success of your ad campaign 

An important aspect of any successful social media ad campaign is testing, learning and optimising. You need to measure your campaign performance to evaluate its effectiveness.  

There’s several metrics to use. A key one is monitoring Click-Through-Rates (CTR) to ascertain how many users clicked on your ad. A high CTR indicates your ad is performing well. Another metric is conversion rate. This tracks the percentage of users who completed a desired action after clicking on your ad, such as registering for your event.   

You should also monitor Cost Per Click (CPC) to discover the average cost from each click on your ad. Having this information will enable you to optimise ads for a lower CPC, so you get more from your budget.  

In the same vein, Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) will measure the revenue generated from your campaign against spend. A higher ROAS indicates a more effective campaign. 

Finally, it’s worthwhile monitoring engagement with your ads. Pay attention to likes, comments, shares and other interactions to gauge how well your ad is resonating with your audience. 

Optimise your social media ads 

To optimise the performance of your ads, analyse and test campaigns as they run. The more data you collect, the more you can learn about which campaigns are performing best and who’s responding, so you can make tweaks. 

A/B testing is a good place to start.  By running multiple versions of your ads with slight variations in images, copy or targeting you can see which performs better. Use these insights to refine your targeting and reach the most responsive audience segment. Shift budget towards the best-performing ads. 

For ongoing optimisation and to maximise ROI, regularly review and adjust your ads based on the different performance metrics. 

Part 3 – Measuring success and adjusting your strategies  

Tracking the success of your social media efforts is crucial for understanding what’s working, what isn’t and what changes may be needed to your strategy – either for this event or your next.  

Social media platforms provide a variety of analytics tools that offer insight into campaign performance, covering a wide range of evaluation metrics.   

The social media metrics to track: 

Engagement rate: measure how actively your audience interacts with your content. That’s the  likes, comments, shares, retweets and saves. A high engagement rate would suggest your content is doing its job and prompting people to interact. The more engaged the audience the more likely they’ll attend your event and spread the word. 

To monitor and track engagement rates, use the native analytics tools on platforms like Facebook insights, Instagram insights, LinkedIn analytics and X analytics. 

Click-through rate (CTR): this measures the percentage of people who clicked on your post or ad and is an important indicator of how effective your content is at driving traffic to your event and/or registration page. If CTR is high, your content is having the desired impact. 

Most social media platforms provide CTR data in their advertising dashboards. Facebook Ads Manager and LinkedIn Campaign Manager for example offer detailed CTR metrics for your campaigns.  

Conversion rate: this measures the percentage of users who take a desired action after clicking on your ad or post, be it registering or purchasing tickets. It’s a direct indicator of your campaign’s success. The conversion rate also affords insight into the efficacy of your call-to-action and landing page and tracks how well your social media campaign is translating into actual event registrations.  

Conversion rates can be tracked using tools like Google Analytics (GA4) in combination with social media platform analytics. Set up conversion tracking pixels (small pieces of code added to your website or blog) or UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters to accurately attribute registrations to specific social media campaigns.  

Reach and impressions: Reach refers to the number of unique users who have seen your content, while impressions count the total number of times your content is displayed, regardless of whether it was clicked. These metrics help you understand the scope of your content distribution. High reach and impressions indicate your content is being seen by a large audience, increasing the potential for engagement and conversions.  

Social media platforms provide reach and impressions data in their analytics dashboards and Facebook and Instagram will provide detailed reports.  

Audience growth: Track increases in your followers or fans to evaluate the success of your social media campaign in attracting new audiences. If your audience is growing, so too is your brand awareness and pool of potential attendees. 

Regularly monitor your follower count using the analytics features available or use tools like Social Blade and Sprout Social to track audience growth across multiple platforms.  

Conduct regular reviews and adjust your strategy  

Frequently assessing and tweaking your social media strategy is crucial to achieving the best outcome.  

Establish clear, measurable goals for each social media metric based on your objectives. These will serve as a benchmark to compare performance against and enable you to objectively evaluate the campaign’s success.  Define specific, achievable targets, for example, aim for a 5% CTR on Facebook ads or a 10% increase in Instagram followers over a month.  

Review your performance data repeatedly to identify trends, successes and areas for improvement. This will help you stay agile and responsive, with continuous monitoring flagging issues early on so you can make adjustments.  Schedule in weekly or bi-weekly reviews of your analytics data, using dashboards and reports to track performance across different periods and identify any significant changes.  

Use insights to refine and optimise your campaign strategy. Focus on amplifying what works and adjusting or discarding what doesn’t to maximise your investment and resource. For example: 

• Tweak content – if a particular type of content (e.g., video vs. image posts) performs better, create more of that content.  

• Refine targeting – if analytics show certain audience segments or demographics respond better or are more likely to register for your event, adjust your targeting criteria to focus more on those groups. 

• Budget allocation – shift budget towards high-performing ads and reduce spend on less effective ones.  

• Fine-tune your ad creative – if video ads have a higher engagement rate than image ads, concentrate more on producing high-quality video content.  

• Optimising post timing -if your audience engages more with your posts at certain times of the day, schedule posts accordingly to maximise reach and engagement.  

Harnessing social media for event marketing is an art that requires strategic planning, creative content and continuous engagement. By selecting the right platforms, crafting engaging content and interacting with your audience, you can maximise your event’s reach and impact. 

Ready to take your event promotion to the next level? At Noble Events, we specialise in creating bespoke marketing strategies that align with your business goals and will appeal to your audience.  

Schedule a call with us today to discuss how we can help you deliver an unforgettable event experience.