The Ultimate Guide for How to Promote an Event on Social Media

It’s estimated that there are 239 million social media users in the US. That’s over 70% of the entire population all catching news, engaging with friends, watching videos, and more online every day. 

The best news is, it’s completely free to post on most social channels. Your audience is waiting there for you to find them and introduce them to your epic events. 

So, it’s no wonder that many organizers are wondering how to promote an event on social media. Luckily, at TickPick, we’ve been promoting events on everything from Facebook to TikTok for years. 

Now we’re going to pass on all that experience to you for free. Here’s how to promote an event on social media.

Image from Pixabay. 

The Importance of Knowing How to Promote an Event on Social Media

Social media is not just a place for cat videos and selfies. It’s a powerful tool that can exponentially increase the reach and visibility of your event. 

Without it, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of potential customers who might be interested in your awesome events. But that’s not all! Social media allows for real-time interaction and engagement with your audience. You can answer questions, share updates, and build a community around your event. 

And guess what? It’s free! Compared to traditional marketing methods, social media is a cost-effective way to reach a larger audience than ever before. 

However, with that incredible reach potential and negligible costs, you need to have a solid strategy to maximize the benefits of your event’s social promotion. 

Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms

The days of throwing enough crap at the wall until some sticks are long gone. To maximize your potential on organic (unpaid) social media promotion, you need a strategy. 

It’s the same as bagging the perfect venue for your event. You want to make sure you’re platforms are conducive to your content. 

Not all social media platforms are created equal. To choose the right ones, you need to know where your target audience hangs out, what they love & hate to see, and in what format that content exists.

The first step to understanding this is confirming the best platform for you. 

Which Social Media Platform is Best for Event Promotion?

The truth is, all platforms have their own strength when it comes to self-promotion on social media. So, the better question is what type of content works best on each platform?

• Facebook: Best for event pages, groups, and detailed information.
• Instagram: Ideal for visual content, stories, and influencer partnerships.
• Twitter/X: Great for real-time updates and engagement with hashtags.
• LinkedIn: Suitable for professional events, B2B marketing, and networking.
• TikTok: Effective for reaching younger audiences with creative, short-form videos.

All you need to do now is find where your tribe hangs out and give them more of what they like. 

Lollapalooza generates a buzz on X by hinting at big performances and artist collaborations happening at the festival. 

Creating Compelling Content

The first thing to say here is that content is king. Whether it’s written reviews, images or videos from your show, engaging GIFs and polls, or iconic memes. Loading your social media with great content that your audience enjoys is vital. 

Leveraging high-quality photos and videos captures attention. Now you just need to think about what makes your brand and events unique, then showcase it. 

Live streaming is also a great way to create excitement and offer behind-the-scenes glimpses of your event – it’s also a perfect way to start instilling some FOMO (fear of missing out) in those who decided not to buy a ticket. 

One way to leverage live streaming to its maximum potential is with the POS solution for at-the-door sales in the TickPick Organizer Platform. You could be taking bookings and scanning tickets at the door with ease, while streaming the whole thing. 

When it comes to written content, craft engaging headlines and posts that draw attention. Clearly communicate the essential details of your event: who, what, when, where, and why. And don’t forget to use user-generated content (UGC). Encourage your followers to share their experiences and reviews – then they’re creating the content for you! 

If you don’t have any UGC at the moment, posting awesome testimonials and reviews can provide a nice boost of social proof for new customers. Another cool way to generate some UGC is to make it an entry stipulation for a competition. 

For example, you could give away free tickets or merchandise to the person who takes the best photos from your show. 

Social Media Event Promotion: Engagement Strategies

All those content ideas buzzing around your noodle are great. But knowing when to post is as important as what you post. 

Keeping the hype around your event going is a pre-event, during-event, and post-event gig. However, again, knowing how different types of content work best is key. So, what should you post when?

Pre-Event

Post teasers building up to the event, like announcements of performers. Partnering with influencers in your scene can also help drive engagement. 

At this stage, you should also think about creating event pages or groups to foster hype and a sense of community, or generate some graphics allowing ticket holders to show off that they’re going to your event. This is perfect for allowing people to feel like they ‘belong’ to an event. 

EDC Orlando did a great job of this recently: 

One-man show on small stage. Photo by Michel Grolet on Unsplash

During the Event

This is where your live-streaming prowess comes to the fore. Post real-time updates of performances or important moments, photos, and videos. Awesome crowd shots can also help build the FOMO. 

But it’s not all about engaging those who decided not to come or couldn’t make it; you also need to engage attendees. Polls, Q&A sessions, and live chats are perfect for this. 

Post-Event

The vibes don’t stop when the event does. This is where you can come over all nostalgic. Share highlights, recaps, and thank fans for coming out. 

Additionally, it can be a good idea to run feedback surveys, not only will this help improve and educate changes to future events, but it will also drive audience engagement on your pages – a crucial metric for social growth. 

Measuring Success

Another year-round job is to track key metrics like engagement rates, reach, impressions, and conversion rates. This is how you discover what content your audience enjoys or reacts best to. 

Use platform-specific analytics tools and third-party software to gather and analyze data. Based on the results, adjust your strategies for future events to make them even more successful. Basically, when you know what they love, give them more of it – and less of what they don’t. 

When you know all of this, you can then maybe start to earmark some of your event budget towards paid social media adverts to help generate even more hype. But it’s important to know what works for you before splashing out on ads. 

Start Smashing Your Social Promo Goals

Social media is your secret weapon for promoting your gigs, concerts, and performances. Choosing the right platforms, creating compelling content, and implementing effective engagement strategies is your ticket to generating and keeping a massive audience. 

Then, when you have that audience, you can start to build anticipation and drive ticket sales. Suddenly, selling out your shows becomes a cinch!

In the meantime, though, if you want the best chance of filling a venue without creating heaps of social content, then our Organizer App can get more bodies through the door without impacting your profits.