Using Social Media to Capitalize on Big Events

Whether it’s a star-studded red carpet or the biggest game of the year, February is filled to the brim with huge televised events. Millions will tune into the Grammy’s, the Academy Awards, and the Super Bowl this month. While some businesses are spending millions of dollars for 30-second ad spots and massive promotional displays, we have a few tips to market your brand during these events without breaking the bank.

By using a few smart social media tips, you can use the captive audiences to your advantage. The key is to create a plan for before, during, and even after the event. Here are a few things to consider during each of these stages.

Before the event

Research

This step is crucial in just about any marketing campaign. It is critical to figure out who your audience is, what platforms to reach them on, and what content they will be receptive to.

Planning

Create goals. Decide who will man which platforms during the event. Make premade content for different possible scenarios. Construct Twitter lists for important people to follow or reach out to. Think of a custom hash tag to track conversations. Everything you do in this step will make the day of the big event that much easier.

Promotion

Inform your visitors that you will be live during the event. Post on social media or even send out an e-mail inviting your current and potential clients to join the conversation. If posting on Facebook or Twitter, pin the post so it will be the first one that visitors see.

During the Event

This is your brand’s time to shine. The type of content you post will be based on the event, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

Be engaging.

Interacting with your audience is the best way to get noticed. Ask open-ended questions, reply to tweets, and make riveting commentary.

Stay current.

No one wants to read Tweet’s about what happened 20 minutes ago. Be ready with premade content or templates to speed up the process.

Keep it personal.

Make your brand feel more approachable by using humor, when appropriate.

Give a Different Perspective.

If you have a team member at the event, Snapchat and Periscope are great tools that can be used to show a different perspective. People love behind the scenes action that they won’t get on TV.

Be Unique.

There will thousands of people posting about every little thing that happens. Try to offer commentary that is unique or helpful. If you don’t have anything useful to add, don’t hesitate to retweet or share great content.

Provide offers.

Create a landing page that will give visitors access to content that is related to the event. For example, a gym could offer an e-book with exercises to work off all the Super Bowl junk food. This offer could easily be the start of an entire lead generation campaign that makes it more liekly that these visitors become your customer. For help creating a campaign get your free E-Book Introduction to Lead Generation with step-by-step instructions.

After the Event

The conversation doesn’t end when the TV is turned off. Analyze the big things that happened. If you’re a marketing firm, you could talk about what Super Bowl ads were the most and least effective. If you run a beauty blog, you could post video tutorials of how to get the best make-up looks from the award shows. Whatever your business, find ways to creatively connect it to the big event.

Did we miss anything? What events are coming up that you are planning to capitalize on? We would love to hear from you below!