Often, one of the keys to a successful business event is using Facebook event pages. However, many businesses struggle with getting your event invitation RSVP’d to. In the old days, you could simply put up fliers or place an event invitation in the mail, but a 21st-century alternative comes in the form of Facebook Events.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about using Facebook for your upcoming events.
What Is a Facebook Event?
A Facebook Event is a feature included on the Facebook platform for businesses and individuals alike. While individuals can use Facebook Events to plan private gatherings like birthday parties, baby showers, or anniversary parties, businesses can use the social network and social media marketing to promote their new events.
This feature could work for events both virtual and in-person. It also works for both pirate and public events. It allows businesses to invite followers to their event while tracking responses and serving as a discussion platform for questions.
According to Facebook itself, more than 500 million people use Facebook Events each month to promote their events, and 35 million people view a public event on Facebook every day. So how can your business take advantage of this amazing feature to promote your events and, by association, your brand?
How to Create a Facebook Event for Your Business?
Facebook has made it straightforward to create a Facebook Event for your business. However, not everyone is tech-savvy enough to figure out the process on their own. By following these six simple steps, you’ll quickly learn the ropes and be well on your way to promoting different types of Facebook events.
1. Create the Event
The first step is to create the event. To find this option, you’ll need to go to the menu, click on the “events” tab, and click on “create” at the top of the page. From there, it will ask you to choose between an online event and an in-person event. Choosing an online event will give you access to video chat capabilities through Facebook Messenger Rooms or Facebook Live if you so choose.
After that, you should set the privacy of your event. Facebook gives you four choices:
- Private or “invite only”
- Public for anyone on or off Facebook
- Friends only
- Group members only
2. Add the Facebook Event Name
Once you have completed all of these steps, you then need to add the event title. This title should be short, sweet, and to the point. It should also be interesting and exciting enough to encourage people to click on it to learn more.
3. Add the Event Date, Time, and Location
From there, you need to use the calendar to schedule the event date, starting time, and frequency. You can also add an end time to be more detailed. The next page will ask you to add the location if you’re hosting a physical event. You can either use a regular address or an existing venue through the search function.
4. Fill in the Event Description
The next step is adding the event description. This is where you can add in more information that you couldn’t fit in the title alone. You can talk more about the event, the dress code, how to get tickets, RSVP deadlines, etc. Essentially, anything that you find relevant and that people would want to know about your event.
5. Add the Event Photo or Video
Once you have completed all the necessary fields, you’re taken to the “review” page that shows the event’s basic details. This is also where you’re able to add a photo or video for the event. Doing so is highly recommended to catch the eye of your audience and make it seem like a more legitimate event.
6. Promote Your Nearby Event
After that, your event is complete! Now it’s time for the fun part — promotion. While Facebook will automatically create a post for your event on your page, you should take additional action to promote it further.
For instance, you can “pin” it to the top of your page so that it’s the first thing that people see. You can also pay to “boost” the post’s visibility by setting a budget, timeline, and targeted audience.
5 Other Facebook Features Your Business Should Be Using
While Facebook Events is a great feature for any business, it’s not all that the Facebook platform has to offer. After all, this is the largest social media platform in the world for a reason.
There’s a wide range of different features that you should be using to grow your brand and achieve all your business goals, including Facebook Business profiles, Facebook Groups, Facebook Live, Facebook Messenger, and Facebook Advertising.
1. Facebook Business Profile
Hopefully, you already have a Facebook Business profile. If not, this is something that you need to do as soon as possible. This is a free feature that allows you to grow your brand presence online. You can add relevant details about your business then begin to grow your following through regularly scheduled posts.
2. Facebook Groups
Another Facebook feature that you should be using for your business is Facebook Groups. Establishing a group for your business allows you to create an online community. It gives the members of a group the feeling of exclusivity and gives you the ability to interact with specific people on a more personal level.
3. Facebook Live
Facebook Live is a feature that allows you to live stream video to an audience. Live videos are particularly popular as they often receive higher levels of engagement. This is because Live videos are seen as less scripted and more authentic.
Authenticity can be hard to find on social media, so be sure to give your followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business. You could also host events like a live question and answer session based on questions asked by viewers in the comments.
4. Facebook Messenger
Customer service is essential for any successful business, and using Facebook Messenger is just another way that you can offer top-notch customer service. Facebook Messenger for business allows people to message your business directly with any questions, concerns, or inquiries. It allows you to chat one-on-one to establish a personal connection.
5. Facebook Advertising
Finally, there’s Facebook Advertising. This is a well-known feature that allows businesses to pay and place advertisements throughout the platform in various formats. One of the biggest benefits of advertising on Facebook relates to its targeting capabilities.
Facebook gathers tons of data on its users through its various platforms, including Instagram, that you can then use to target the right people with the right content. You can choose from all sorts of demographic information, interests, even past behaviors to achieve incredible conversion rates and returns on investment.
Wrap Up on Facebook Events
As you can see, Facebook Events can be a valuable asset to any business that hosts events like talks, parties, concerts, conferences, etc. This applies to both online and in-person events.
However, using Facebook Events successfully goes beyond simply creating the event and waiting for people to come to you. Instead, you need to actively market and promote the event to get the best turnout.
For help with this, you may want to consider working with a marketing expert like Greg Gillman. Greg Gillman can help ensure your event’s success thanks to incredibly effective marketing tactics.
Sources:
How to Create a Facebook Business Page in 7 Steps | Entrepreneur
Using Facebook Messenger in Your Marketing Plan | Business.com
Your Guide to Running Facebook Ad Campaigns Like a Pro in 2020 | Forbes
