For this to happen, you need a way to stay in touch with attendees. Years ago, this might have meant gathering phone numbers or mailing addresses, but this is no longer as efficient. Instead, it's better if you can connect with your visitors digitally online, giving you a way to instantly connect with hundreds - or even thousands - of people. But how to do this?
With social media, you have the ability to quickly connect to people all over the world. From there, you can either use the email address a person used to create their social media account, or ask them for their email address now that you've made the initial connection. Now, not only are you able to interact with them on social media, but you've formed an important tool for building your email list. Social media is one of the most effective tools available to companies, making it essential that you promote its use at your event. Here are a few ways to do that:
Social media is a great way to alert people in attendance about updates to your event. Things like schedule changes, presentation reminders, food locations and more can all be shared easily with anyone who follows your business on social media. Once they begin to follow you, you can promote periodic reminders to subscribe to your email list - both during the event and after - and hopefully bring in some email addresses that way. Even if you don't, most people will continue to follow your social media accounts after the event ends, giving you a way to stay in touch.
Sometimes people are not able to attend your event in person, but still want to follow along. Hashtags are a great way to host a conversation through social media, and connect people who are either in attendance or somewhere else. Hashtags can even bring in people who hadn't heard about the event yet. If you want to make it easy for people to talk about your event online, hashtags are the way to go.
If people still need a reason to follow you on social media, consider holding a contest at your event. For instance, give away a gift certificate to one random follower. Let attendees know that in order to enter, they need to follow your social media accounts, and provide their email address for notification. This will gather in more social media followers, and more email addresses.
Finally, with all of this social media use, people are going to need a solid internet connection. Rather than forcing your visitors to use up their mobile data, you can offer free Wi-Fi at the event, and implement social Wi-Fi marketing. With Wi-Fi marketing, when users connect to your Wi-Fi network, they are required to enter in an email address. In exchange for the free internet, you get their email address, and the ability to contact them after the event. With Wi-Fi sensors, you also get analytics software, allowing you to learn more about your visitors and their behavior. Data is an essential part of any marketing plan, and Wi-Fi sensors provide an abundance. So if you want to provide a service to your event attendees, but also deliver yourself something of value in return, consider social Wi-Fi marketing.
No matter what type of event you are hosting, or the size, you'll want to have social media involved. When used correctly, social media is not only a great way to keep in touch with visitors after they leave, but an excellent tool in leading them towards your email list. Best of all, setting up social media accounts, and actively promoting them, is a relatively affordable marketing option. There are practically no downsides to having a social media presence at your next event, so be sure to include it.