Social media has been a popular way to use influencers to promote products and brands through sponsored posts. This usually involves brand mentions and product placements. Influencers are generally paid per post. Brands are realising the value of working with influencers in order to promote events.
It could include anything, from brand events and conferences to concerts and influencer events. Because influencers are able to increase visibility and engagement around the event and brand, this partnership works.
A study by launchmetrics found that 28.1% of marketers prefer to work with influencers for events. 41% prefer to work with influencers in product launches. According to this study, events are second most preferred scenario for marketers to use influencer marketing campaigns.
You can’t simply invite influencers and expect magic to occur. To make your partnership work, you need to plan carefully.
This post will outline the steps that you need to take to promote your events using influencer marketing. Let’s take an overview:
How to Use Influencer Marketing to Promote Your Events:
- #1 – Use Instagram-Worthy Decoration
- #2: Learn from Your Guest List and Your Audience
- #3: Make Pre-Event Buzz
- #4: Share Event Content
- #5 – Share Event Content After It Ends
#1 – Use Instagram-Worthy Decoration
Invite influencers to your event so they can help you promote it by sharing it on social media. You should remember that influencers will not share photos from events if they don’t like them. They need to keep a positive image, so they must share visually appealing photos and videos.
They won’t be able to take good pictures if the lighting is poor or the decor is too shabby. Your influencers may not be enthusiastic about sharing your event with their followers.
It’s important to use Instagram-worthy decor, and provide proper lighting for beautiful photos and videos. You don’t have to tell influencers to take photos. They will share stories, photos and live feeds in order to inform their followers about the “awesome” event they were invited to.
Even though it isn’t the most extravagant event, you need to make sure that influencers have plenty of opportunities to take great pictures. You should ensure that the event has good lighting and other details are well-lit. This includes your place cards, place cards and food.
Boudin SF wanted more foot traffic to the locations in Southern California for their Summer BBQ Campaign. They invited influencers to a Luau-themed “pigout” event. They created custom signage and designed eye-catching decor for the event.
They also made brand swag bags. The influencers were inspired by the delicious food presentation and created plenty of content about it.
They created 50 social media stories and hundreds of high-quality images. All the event content generated by influencer marketing resulted with 1.5 million impressions. Of these, 425k were not paid.
#2: Learn from Your Guest List and Your Audience
Sponsored posts are not something you can get from any influencer. You can’t invite any influencer to attend your event. Invite only influencers that resonate with your audience as well as your event attendees. You should be careful about who you invite and how they interact with your audience on social media.
Take a look at their demographics to determine which influencers are best for your event. Your audience can also be surveyed and asked directly via polls on social media. Ask your audience to pick their favorite celebrities or influencers. You should be able gather information based on their responses about the influencers that they admire.
You might also check social media to find influencers if your guest list includes celebrities and important people. This could help you get a better idea of who to invite and who to avoid.
#3: Make Pre-Event Buzz
You may ask influencers to discuss the event before it even begins. They could post pictures of the invitation and show what they are wearing. They could also share information about the event for their followers. This will generate excitement and buzz, and encourage people to tune in for more information about the event.
If the event involves audience participation, such as concert tickets or product launches, pre-event buzz can be especially crucial. If you want to increase attendance or get people to take action soon after the event, you might need to generate preevent buzz. This could include anything from visiting your shop to purchasing your new product.
Washington celebrates each year the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This festival commemorates Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the U.S. The festival is always kicked off with “The Pink Tie Party”.
They invited local influencers for the 11th annual gathering. Local media personalities include Michelle Marsh of ABC7, Karen Huger of Real Housewives of Potomac and Paul Wharton (a local stylist with over 50k Instagram followers).
Each influencer published at least one post in advance of the event and more during and after it. The influencers were granted complimentary admission and a plus one ticket to the event reception. All this promotion resulted in a total attendance exceeding 750, which was a 25% rise.
#4: Share Event Content
The whole purpose of inviting influencers is to get them talking about your event. It is important to inform the influencers about the event and encourage them share photos and videos with their followers using the hashtag.
You could also share live feeds or share stories to share your experiences. They should not only share the event’s end content, but also the content they shared during it to share with their followers.
Stories and live event content can help you to keep authenticity. The moment will be captured by the influencers and posted without editing or airbrushing. Their audiences will get an authentic experience of being part of the event. This is a great way for audiences to be involved and to feel closer to your brand.
Bai, a brand of edible essential oils, wanted to increase brand awareness in San Diego and Los Angeles. They launched an influencer marketing campaign, and decided to amplify it by hosting an event for influencers.
They created cocktails with essential oils, and put together an edible oils bar. You can also participate in activities such as live murals and mason jar decorating.
#5 – Share Event Content After It Ends
It’s a great way for you to reach new people and expand your reach by having influencers create content about your event. However, this is not enough. After the event ends, you should continue to create and share content. You should highlight the influencers attending the event, which will increase your credibility as well as engage your existing audience.
You can also share professional photos taken by professional photographers at the event on social media or your blog. These photos will be attractive and can help you fear missing out if you add a few sentences about the event.
If your event is open to the public, this might encourage more people to attend. This can convince influencers to sign up for your campaign over the next few months, once they see you’re legitimate.
You can also share photos that were taken during the event by your influencers. These photos can be shared on your social media accounts or in your Stories. This will allow you to engage your existing audience and give influencers some visibility. Before you share their content, make sure to get permission from the influencers.
Conclusion
These are the best ways to leverage influencer marketing to promote events. Make sure to plan your campaign well in advance and invite influencers at least three weeks before the event. You need to ensure they have enough time to attend your event. If they decline your invitation, you’ll have enough time to find other influencers to invite.