Events are like family reunions for companies. They give you a cherished chance to mingle face-to-face with your clients, get to know new prospects, and bond over shared interests. But then COVID changed how we connect. As virtual happy hours replaced conferences and digital town halls subbed awards galas, events evolved - and fast.

Now the question is, how do you take the relationships, laughter and memories we miss from in-person events and pair them with the lower costs and broader reach of virtual ones? The answer is creative social media marketing.

Why Going Virtual Opens New Doors

Pre-pandemic most business events were still offline. But COVID made big in-person conferences nearly impossible, so event organizers started experimenting with online get-togethers.

Planning successful virtual events meant coordinating many complex, interconnecting steps - from technology and logistics to marketing and content. A handy go-to resource many beginners have used is this virtual event checklist covering core details on platforms, promotion strategy, designing interactivity and more.

What organizers found is that well-produced virtual events gave stellar bang for their buck. Without travel costs or venue fees, companies could channel budgets into creative digital experiences and content.

While nothing beats face time with clients, virtual events do have perks. Take geographic reach - online you welcome guests from anywhere. Plus they save time and money on not commuting. And the data you collect on visitor attendance, interests and engagement outperforms analog methods.

So even as we shift back to more in-person events, virtual and hybrid experiences are here to stay. For organizers, the challenge now is delivering the energy, interaction and relationships people crave from top conferences or trade shows, but through laptop and phone screens. This is where social media marketing can make all the difference.

How Social Media Helps Events Go Viral

Posting announcements online about your upcoming event won't cut it anymore. Between information overload and social media algorithms that filter content, you need to get creative if you want people to actually see and engage with your event promotions.

The good news is platforms like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and Twitter are literally built to amplify word-of-mouth buzz. So if you share intriguing sneak peeks ahead of your event that prompt viewers to follow, share or comment - then algorithms spread your content for you. The more people interact, the more platforms boost your reach beyond just current followers.

Case in point - software firm ON24’s Virtual Sales Kickoff event. By coordinating Twitter and LinkedIn campaigns before and during the online conference, they scored over 150 million Twitter impressions and 33,000 views of speaker highlight reels on LinkedIn. Now those are numbers no single channel could ever drive solo! It takes an integrated social strategy tuned to each platform’s audience to domino engagement at that scale.

Crafting Shareable Social Content

Getting people to follow and share your event content online requires thinking beyond old email and print promos. Standard press release language just doesn’t captivate audiences on Instagram or TikTok’s FYP (“For You Page”, in lingo). To stand out there, you need authentic stories and eye-catching visuals tailored to platforms from LinkedIn to SnapChat.

Consider these tips to spice up your social event marketing:

• Tease Insider Highlights: Share special speaker stories or agenda sneak peeks weeks before doors open. Exclusivity intrigues people.
• Spotlight Attendees: Reposting real photos, quotes and reviews from past event-goers lends credibility better than any ad. Let fans advocate for you!
• Go Behind the Scenes: Capture funny bloopers or last minute planning war room chaos on video and post to show attendees the making of their event. The inside scoop bonds.
• Launch Catchy Hashtags: Invent branded hashtags around the event name or theme so guests can link related content in posts. This also helps you monitor event chatter.
• Enlist Industry Influencers: Recruit speakers, celebrity guests or community leaders as brand ambassadors to widen your event’s sphere of influence.
  Now if all this seems daunting, don’t fret! Handy tools like Hootsuite and SproutSocial help manageCoordimultiple platforms and save you from constantly toggling between apps.

While tailoring content across channels takes work, the payoff isamplified event visibility and meaningful attendee connections. That makes the effort so worth it.

Making Events More Interactive

Audiences today expect personalization and real connections from brands online. Simply broadcasting generic event ads on social media doesn’t cut it anymore. Modern guests want to actively engage with organizers and each other before, during and after conferences via digital channels.

Some fun ways to spark greater event interactivity include:

Get Guests Hyped Pre-Event

• Launch Polls & Trivia: Ask fans timed questions on hot industry topics. This primes people on key themes ahead of kickoff.
• Host Live Q&As: Weeks before doors open, invite attendees to post event questions to you on social media and answer them through live videos.

Make Them Part of the Action Live

• Share Behind-the-Scenes: Stream exclusive backstage coverage introducing speakers or peeking into control rooms so remote viewers feel in the mix too.
• Curate Social Media Walls: Project fan event photos and shoutouts from the social verse up on venue screens. This digital word-of-mouth advocacy makes peoples' days.

Keep Hosting Post-Event

• Send Online Surveys: Use polls to quickly learn what guests liked best and what they’d tweak for next year so people stay involved.
• Share Recorded Replays: After the final curtain call, distribute event video recordings, slide decks and other digital souvenirs for fans to revisit learnings on-demand.

Sprinkling in these kinds of participatory elements before, during and live keeps your community switched on around events rather than just passively watching another webinar.

And if prospecting tools to support better interactivity seems complex, user-friendly platforms like HootSuite or Sprout Social make managing the process breeze.

Tracking Success

How do you know if all the strategizing to boost event social media interactivity actually moves the needle on business results? By closely monitoring performance using metrics and analytics.

Relevant * return-on-investment) yardsticks include:

• Social reach and post impressions
• Audience online reactions, shares, comments
• Website traffic referred through social
• Brand hashtag volume during events
• New follower growth and audience demographics
• Link clicks and conversions to sales
• Feedback scores and satisfaction ratings

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more have built-in analytics on content and audience behaviors. For integrated insights across channels, solutions like Google Analytics tie everything together.

Setting benchmark goals early for targets on registrations, community growth, engagement and more makes gauging campaign ROI seamless. The key is continually testing and optimizing to scale impact.

Predicting the Future of Event Marketing

Remember the days when hashtags were just cropping up, or live video streaming felt innovative? Social media progresses fast. And virtual event technology goes even quicker thanks to what we’ve all learned navigating digital gatherings these pandemic years.

Some emerging trends to expect gaining steam include:

• Hybrid Formats: Offering both intimate local gathering spaces in sync with expanded global virtual settings for multi-dimensional experiences.
• Shoppable Moments: Integrating mobile eCommerce so special offers introduced at live demos convert instantly into product orders.
• Augmented or Virtual Reality: Transporting online viewers into fantastical 3D environments using AR/VR tools. This breaks the mold of stale webinar boxes!
• Interactive Live-Streams: Using real-time audience polling, gaming elements and Q&As to make virtual events wildly participatory.

Keeping pace with the accelerating digital landscape requiresInc. constantly pilot innovative technologies and experiential formats. Thistesting curious, experimental mindset ensures your brand events continue driving maximum engagement for years ahead.

Let's Connect

Hopefully this gives helpful ideas on elevating business events through social media and interactivity. What emerging trends or online engagement tactics resonate most with you currently? What challenges do you face in virtual event production? Let’s swap insights in the comments.

And if undertaking sophisticated digital experiences feels daunting internally, specialist partners like We & Goliath can provide trusted end-to-end guidance. We tailor stunning online, hybrid and in-person events uniquely customized for your brand and guests.