Using Social Media As A Tool To Promote Your Event Management Career

When breaking news in nigeria hits the internet, the first place it usually goes is blogs and forums even before the online newspapers. Why? Because it moves faster than any other form of communication out there, online forums like nairaland are all about sharing content, and sharing it quickly. Online forums are the homes to over 95% of nigerian users as of. December, 2012 (Source: INTEL boss), and there are over 1000 Posts per hour posted to these platforms There are several forums like yarnme,reviewlicious,naijapals etc but let's focus on nairaland for the moment, nairaland is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables users to create topics which vary from news opinion polls to short stories etc, it also enables users to send and read , which are text messages of unlimited characters. Registered Users can read and send posts, but unregistered users can only read them.” So what does this all mean to an event planner looking to promote their next event?or like a nairalander would say, [b]how that one take concern me?[/b] well It means that your potential attendees are probably using nairaland or other forums already, and you just need to find them and connect. Here’s how you can use this fast-paced, content-sharing, high-volume social media platform to promote your events. � Use social media as a way to drive clients to your sites: Since it is often used to help drive followers to other places such as company websites, facebook pages, and blogs, it’s the perfect way to send people to your event website or registration page. However, remember the 80/20 rule so that you don’t get the [b]if I open this link make thunder fire me[/b] post which most beginner bloggers get from followers, clients and potential attendees. 80% of your Posts should be helpful or entertaining. 20% of your tweets should be self-promoting, meaning that they relate to your business or event. If your website, or registration page is lengthy, consider using linkshorteners online like tinyurl or bitdo to shorten the link, and make it more user-friendly. � Use hash tags: By now you’ve probably seen hash tags everywhere. Use them to promote your event, they’re great to use because you can track who used it. Find out if the event you’re attending already has a hash tag created. If you’re coming up with your own, get creative by including your company name with the name of the convention. But, be sure to keep it short. Last but not least, check the web to see if this hash tag already exists. � Find conversations: Go to busy topics and sections to find people to talk about your event, certain topics, and lots of other things with. This may be a great way for you to promote your event. If you’re brand new to the internet (;D which I doubt), here are some other general tips to keep in mind after you’ve set up your account: � Keep your posts to a maximum of 3-5 per day. Again, you don’t want to overwhelm your followers. Consider setting up a schedule of what you’ll post, and when. � Find out who your followers are, this way you can know what to post about. � Don’t link your forum account to your twitter or Facebook accounts. They are different platforms, and have different languages. They are each set up differently, so you should use them differently. Take the time to use the same content on both.