Elevate Events With Social Media For Unmatched Engagement

With its billions-strong audience, 24-7 availability, and relatively low cost, social media is an ideal partner for experiential marketing campaigns. Using social media channels to amplify the reach and impact of real-world events like brand activations and pop-up shops is about more than merely adding a hashtag to your promotional materials. Make the most out of your marketing events by seamlessly integrating social media into your next experiential marketing campaign:

Set the stage for social sharing.

Build social media into your campaign from the earliest stages to maximize sharing opportunities. Include hashtags and QR codes in the design of printed materials, swag, and signage. Create a tech-friendly environment with free Wi-Fi and charging stations, which encourage visitors to spend more time in your location.

Take it online.

Extend the experience online both before and after the event. Offer ticket contests and discounts to audience members who use your hashtag or DM your account. Share exclusive content like interviews with your fans and followers.

Create shareable moments.

Offer fun, interactive, irresistible photo ops to your visitors. Increase opportunities for shareable photos and videos with custom installations, giant props, or a photo booth. Create an immersive experience for visitors by building visually striking vignettes into a cohesive, thoughtfully curated space.

Offer memorable experiences.

Social media users enjoy sharing short videos of novel, fun activities. Give them plenty of videogenic experiences by building games, performances, and physical challenges into activations and pop-ups. Choose experiential activities that create video-worthy occasions, which users can then share as gifs, boomerangs, or full-length videos.

Run hashtag and QR code campaigns.

Make sharing as effortless as possible for visitors by creating — and prominently displaying — custom hashtags and QR codes. Promote the hashtag beforehand via your social media channels and website. Encourage use at the event by posting hashtags and QR codes everywhere. Make sure your street team or brand ambassadors promote the hashtag and QR codes.

Share user-generated content.

User-generated content (UGC) — including reviews, social media posts, videos, and any content created by your customers and event attendees — can turn a good event into a viral success. Genuine, unbiased, and fun, UGC will resonate with your target audience. Promote content creation by sharing UGC across channels or offering prizes for stellar content.

Hype it up with teasers and behind-the-scenes.

Before your pop-up or activation, build anticipation by sharing glimpses of what’s to come across your social media channels. Post video of the venue being set up, sneak peeks at new products, or short interviews with people involved. Offer special deals, tickets, or exclusive merchandise to users who engage with pre-event content by liking, following, or sharing.

Establish partnerships with content creators.

Content creators and influencers are experts at connecting with users on an emotional level. They also know how to stand out in users’ feeds and boost engagement, and brands who partner with creators gain access to those creators’ deeply engaged audiences. Invite the content creators you’ve established relationships with to your experiential events, and treat them like VIPs.

Hold social media contests.

Get people excited about your activation or pop-up by running contests or giveaways on social media. Ask users to follow your account, share a post using the event hashtag, or tag a friend for a chance to win event tickets, exclusive swag, product, or even cash. This motivates attendees to post and generates buzz and excitement around your event.

Live-stream the event or campaign.

Live stream your pop-up or activation, or post real-time updates, to give people who can’t attend a taste of the experience. Share live videos, photos, and stories showcasing the event’s atmosphere and highlights. During and after the event, share recaps of special highlights on social media.

Conduct Q&As and interactive surveys.

Interactive polls can both create content — users love to see updates on polls they voted in — and help you learn about your audience. Q&A or “Ask Me Anything” sessions give you a way to interact directly with users and engage with attendees in real-time. Host a Q&A session with speakers or brand representatives before, during, or following the event.

Mine the data.

There are many ways to assess the effectiveness of your experiential marketing both at and after the event. For example, you can run polls about users’ favorite aspects as they leave the location or immediately after the event. With social media, however, the data is compiled for you. Use analytics built into your social media channels or management platform (like Hootsuite, Hubspot, or Sprout) to measure the reach and engagement of your campaign. Finally, use this data to fine-tune your next pop-up or activation to build on successes and mitigate weaknesses.

Promobile Marketing is a dynamic experiential marketing agency based in New York City. For over a decade, Promobile Marketing has collaborated with a range of brands—from budding startups to major CPG brands—on immersive marketing campaigns. Get in touch to discuss your next project.