How to Maximizing Events with Social Media | Income Access

Large-scale events, like the London Olympics, are a great way for affiliates to expand the reach of their brand. How you ask? With social media!

With some calling the 2012 Games the “first Twitter Olympics,” it’s safe to say that high-profile international events provide numerous social media opportunities.

Here are some tips on how to make the most of events with social media:

Know your targets

Who are you trying to reach? Where are they? Do they use mostly Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you decide what events will get you the most exposure and what social media platforms to focus on.

Get to know the cool kids

Who are the influencers in your niche? Engage with them before the event, leaving comments on their articles and blogs, and interacting on Facebook and Twitter.

Clearly, this can’t be done overnight, but it’s worth the legwork. Establishing links with the “in-crowd” can boost your credibility and help with content promotion during the event.

Look the part

Make sure your social media profiles follow each platform’s best practices. Similarly, use high quality images and double check for typos and broken links.

Your website, meanwhile, should be aligned with any event-specific social media campaign, with special colour schemes, images and banners solidifying your association with the event.

Be original

To really leverage an event, you need original content. You don’t, however, have to be intimidated: high-profile events (like the Olympics) usually provide a lot of material.

Remember, though, quality is more important than quantity. Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience (what they would want to read or share?) and get your blog working for you. Make content as user-centric as possible and follow general Web content best practices, with clear, concise writing, headers, bullet lists, and a mix of text and multimedia.

Sharing is caring

To make the most of an event, you need an active social media presence. Find out what works best for each platform and post and tweet often throughout (but avoid crossing over into spam).

A recent study found that only 29% of tweets spark a conversation, with 6% retweets and 21% replies. As you can see then, retweeting (reposting) and replying to relevant content is fundamental. When replying, frame conversations around event-specific hashtags. When retweeting, go for short, well-written tweets with links and short URLs.

Use special tie-ins

Social media promotions, giveaways and contests are an easy way to leverage events. These can include: