Live social media coverage is a little bit different than just posting or sending out scheduled tweets. This is a totally different type of coverage.

So what is it and how does it differ from posting or using photography coverage for your events?

I’ve got Jessica (@connectioncollectiveco), my go-to Instagram queen, here to help me go over this with you.

Live Social Media Coverage for Your Events

“Live event coverage is taking all of those moments that are going to be happening at your event and pulling out the ones you actually want to show people to create this storyline.” says Jessica, “So that the people at home are getting to see the magic of the event that they missed out on.”

You’re basically creating instant FOMO – that’s shorthand for fear of missing out.

Most people aren’t waiting to see the professional footage that you captured at your event, they go to your social pages expecting to see what’s happening right now. “If they don’t see anything it’s unlikely that they’re going to go to your next event,” continued Jessica.

It’s great for virtual events too!

This is your chance to highlight the things that are happening to attract your dream client, and it works really well for virtual events too!

So, if you ever feel like you should be using social media to promote your events, but maybe you’re not exactly sure what the best option is?

Well, we’ve got you!

Check out this video to understand why live social media coverage at your events is important and how it helps you grow sales, memberships and viewership.

What social platforms should I use for my event?

First, you have to know where your most active community actually is. Are they even on social?

You can focus your efforts through Instagram stories and Twitter posts, you could even try to push your Insta stories over to Facebook stories.

You definitely don’t have to be on all the social media platforms.

People are going to want to see your event where they already find your content.

Try not to overwhelm your at-home viewers with too much content coverage. You’ll want to plan out what are the ‘must captures’ at this event. If there’s too much, you’ll lose viewership as people just scroll past.

Be pointed with what you want to showcase.

Look back to past events and see if there’s similar content to what did well with your last event’s coverage.

Don’t forget to make it interactive. Plan the details you want to showcase down to the hashtags.

Mix up your media, try some video shots, maybe some photos with interactive polls, even throw in some boomerangs.

Jessica’s favorite thing to capture at the end of events is video testimonials, “It’s something all event people can do and I think should do, is getting video testimonials before people leave. They’ll have the magic in their eyes still. So that’s for sure video.”

Return on investment

Sometimes you’re looking for sales for the next event or gaining social media growth.

You could see up to a 150% increase in engagement on the stories you post during this event. There’s also the potential for large gains in other vanity metrics like follower count and reach.

The followers you do gain are likely to be high conversion, meaning they’re pretty likely to try and get tickets to your next event.

“They already know what you’re about,” explained Jessica, “And they’re in!”

You are ultimately creating a very compelling, and real, story for the product your event is focused around.

Just remember that ROI is generally more noticeable on larger events, largely because these smaller events may lack the resources.

People actually get excited about seeing themselves in your content. Just make sure you have a clear way for them to opt-out.

You’ll want to set clear objectives early on so that you can determine how you will meet those targets. If you’re looking at sales, for instance, you can track link clicks from your different channels.

Don’t be afraid to sell the next event at the end of the one you just did, too. A simple call to action creates its own opportunities! This could even look like a wait-list so that you can at least capture this information.

It’s a missed opportunity if you don’t at the very least have a landing page for the next event.

Jessica’s hot tips:

“If you have event coverage, make sure at the beginning that the attendees in person know where you want them to share.”

You have to tell them what to do on every platform, you can blanket this throughout your event, from your lanyards to the speakers, even the podium could have a banner. Let your creativity shine.

You’ll basically use the power of their social referral – new age word of mouth marketing – to draw people in.

Make a plan.