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Your fifteen year old is obsessed with it. Your former classmates haven’t stopped “poking” you and even your grandma has joined and is now posting regularly. People, businesses, heck, even the Queen of England is on Facebook. It seems like the whole world is on there.
So how can you use Facebook to help take your event to the next level?
Facebook – From Zero to 750…Just Like That
For those of you who have been living in a cave, Facebook was launched in 2004 in a dorm room. Currently with over 750 million active users, Facebook has changed the way we use the internet. No longer used just to connect, Facebook is the go-to site for many members before other search engines such as Google or Bing.
Although originally launched as a tool to connect with classmates (and meet girls), Facebook literally exploded on the scene and grew rapidly, fulfilling a need that wasn’t previously being met. And now, instead of just being a tool to reconnect with your old high school boyfriend or to see the video of your nephew graduating from kindergarten, it’s used by businesses and government as well.
And now Facebook is also a great way to promote your event at little or no cost to yourself.
Who’s Not on Facebook?
Facebook is so easy it`s almost embarrassing! Even if you’re one of the two or three dozen people on earth who have never been on Facebook (huh?) the site is so user friendly, it literally just walks you through it.
A Facebook page is the easiest way and best way to generate buzz and create awareness for your event.
Facebook – Why Bother?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, it`s free. The only cost is your time. And few, if any, marketing tools have that advantage.
Facebook can reach literally millions of users and be a tool to tease or create excitement about your event. You can post pictures, information about meetings, schedules, links and tips about the host city. It enables you to offer a sneak peek to your attendees about how your event is progressing and let them know about recent developments, speakers and seminars.
You can link your Facebook page to your web site and vica versa. You can state it on any materials being circulated to further create awareness and help promote your event. The possibilities are endless!
Facebook – Watching Your Step
After an embarrassing and upsetting situation (from which I thought I`d never recover) my absolute favorite high school teacher, “Mrs W ” gave me great advice that holds true today. She advised me to never to put anything on paper that I didn`t mind everyone, and anyone, else seeing. And while I still exercise caution today, there are a lot of people out there that don`t seem to understand this.
The biggest (and most obvious) difference between paper and the internet is you can rip up a piece of paper. Once something, written word or photograph, makes it online, it’s almost impossible to get rid of it (ask anyone with a sex tape). And whether professional or personal, it`s incredibly important to remember that once it’s on the internet, it`s there forever!
Although it seems pretty simple and straight forward, never put anything that can perceived as derogatory to a competitor, or yourself, online. And although it is possible for people to post negativity, you have the control to delete comments on your own page.
Facebook – After the Event
Facebook isn’t just used to create awareness, it’s also a great tool to follow up after your event. You can post pictures and videos, papers and presentations, even announcements and follow-ups about next year’s event.
A few years ago the term “social media” was relatively unknown, yet today people can’t seem to do without it! Social media continues to grow and while Facebook shouldn’t be the sole way you promote your event, it`s a great tool to help create awareness and community.