01/09/2019

Daily Buzz: Are You Maximizing Social Media at Events?

When it comes to platforms, Facebook reigns supreme

As a meeting planner, you know the potential that social media holds for events. With about almost 3.2 billion users—about 42 percent of the world’s population—social can engage attendees, market to new audiences, and more. Are planners effectively using the technology to reap the benefits? A new survey says yes—but also that there’s room for improvement.

According to the “Social Media Trends for Events” survey, conducted by Aventri and Little Bird Told Media, marketing ranks as the No. 1 use for social media in the meetings industry, with 96 percent of event professionals saying they use the technology for outreach. More than 75 percent also say they use social media for customer engagement, news, and community building.

When it comes to platforms, Facebook reigns supreme: About 90 percent use it, compared to only 15 percent using Snapchat. But younger users prefer Snapchat and Instagram, according to Pew Research. “This indicates that event professionals might need to widen their participation in other apps to capture the next generation,” says Hannah Kinnersley in a post on MeetingsNet.

Another area where planners could improve how they use social: crisis communications. Only 38 percent use social media for emergency communications, yet “9 out of 10 social media users access accounts on mobile devices and are therefore easier to reach by this method than any other,” Kinnersley says. “Other worrying findings from the report indicate that social media efforts are often delegated to one person rather than the team, creating a weak link in coverage, and organizations are relying on ‘vanity’ metrics rather than analyzing engagement.”

Please select this link to read the original article from Associations Now.