Keynote presentation to International Special Events Society (ISES), Pittsburgh Chapter. Includes tactics event planners and vendors can use to increase reach and visibility with social media.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR EVENT PLANNERS
AND VENDORS: 8 TACTICS YOU CAN USE
Presented by Deanna Ferrari!
November 16, 2011

2. “‘Build it, and they will come’ only works in
the movies. Social media is a ‘build it,
nurture it, engage them, and they may
come and stay.’” – Seth Godin

3. TODAY’S AGENDA
§ About Deanna
§ Fast social stats
§ Learn the 8 tactics:
§ Pre-event
Twi$er
Hashtag:
§ During the event
#ISESpgh
§ Post-event
§ Bonus tactics
§ Questions/comments

4. ABOUT DEANNA

5. FAST SOCIAL STATS

6. Source: Digital Buzz Blog

7. Source: GoPopcorn.ca

8. Sources: SocialHype, OnlineSchools.org

9. LET’S TALK TACTICS
Source: Old Spice

10. PRE-EVENT

11. TACTIC 1: PLAN IT OUT
• Set a goal
– Attendee number?
– Gain new business?
– Create awareness?
– All of the above?
• Make a list
Collaborative tools you can use:
• Develop a schedule
• Google Docs/Calendar
• PB Works
• Stick to the plan
• Yammer
Import editable Excel spreadsheets
and pertinent dates

12. TACTIC 2: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
• Partner with other organizations to split
costs and gain more reach
• Meet frequently to touch base on progress
• Link love: use your partners and affiliates to
link to you on their website/blog/social
networks

13. Example:! Facebook
Wedding photographer
Blog
Source: Leeann Marie Photography
http://www.leeannmariephotography.com/

14. TACTIC 3: GET THE WORD OUT
Invitation/event page: Choose where all event details/RSVPs
will be hosted (make sure it’s easily sharable via social
media!)
– Facebook (Events tab)
– Eventbrite
– Anyvite
– Blog post with share buttons (Facebook, LinkedIn,
Google+, Twitter) – already integrated with Tumblr and
Wordpress
Event hashtag: Decide on a universal hashtag to use before,
during and after (#ISESpgh)

15. Facebook Event:
Integrate with Eventbrite:
Direct RSVPs
http://www.eventbrite.com/t/facebook-connect-eventbrite

16. TACTIC 4: USE THE POWER OF
ONLINE REACH & INFLUENCE

17. The power of a tweet
1 tweet = 2,945 followers reached
4 retweets + 1 mention = 11,764 additional
followers reached
TOTAL = 14,709 people reached

18. TACTIC 5: TEASE & ENTICE
• Tease event with sneak previews/weekly info
• Have special guests or speakers talk about
the event on their social networks
Weekly spotlight
Friday fill-in-the-blank
Keynote retweet

19. TACTIC 6: CONSIDER REWARDS &
INCENTIVES
• Develop a schedule leading up to the event
– Weekly trivia
– Contests
– Rewards for those
who come to event

20. DURING THE EVENT

21. TACTIC 7: BRING THE EVENT TO
LIFE BY BRIDGING ON & OFFLINE
§ Live-video stream (Ustream)
§ Live-tweet (use the same hashtag from the
event promotion)
§ Photo uploads as they happen (Instagram,
Lockerz, Facebook mobile uploads)
The event is shared from multiple
perspectives, both in attendance and at home

22. Live-tweet stream!
Encourage attendees to live-tweet the event and project it on
a big screen (consider Tweetdeck for this)

23. Drive people back online!
Exclusive deal for those in attendance, just
for “liking” you on Facebook

24. Drive people back online, con’t!
Engage people at the event with
exclusive content and a call to
action via a QR code (“Like” us,
Follow us, discount, more info, etc.)

25. POST-EVENT

26. TACTIC 8: FOLLOW UP
§ Do a blog or Facebook recap
§ Create and link to a photo album (consider
Facebook or Flickr)
§ Embed the archived video from Ustream into
the recap
§ Create a Twitter transcript from
TweetReports.com
§ Use same hashtag to promote post-event
recap and continue conversation
§ Favorite tweets by those who participated

27. Twitter transcript
uploaded to SlideShare;
promoted via Facebook
Event photo album
Favorited tweets

28. BONUS TACTICS

29. Instagram it
Create a unique album of Instagram
images to share with your audience
Don’t have an iPhone? Try similar Source: Leeann Marie Photography
apps such as streamzoo or picplz http://www.leeannmariephotography.com/

30. “Pinspiration”
Use Pinterest to garner new ideas
as well as showcase your own
Add a “Pin it” button to your blog

31. DIY Playlists with Spotify
To promote 500 Days of Summer in
Europe, 20th Century Fox partnered with
Spotify for a competition that had people
submit playlists of their top 3 favorite
songs. The best playlist submitted each
day would then be featured on the site.
Use Spotify to create a playlist at
your event, then share the code with
guests to listen to post-event

32. FINAL NOTE: !
Don’t let social allow you to lose
the moment

33. Thank you!
Questions?
dferrari@marcusa.com
Twitter @dferrari
deannaferrari.com