Driving ticket sales to your next event can be difficult. You have run out of unique and interesting ideas, so you turn to what you know best.
But this may not be best for your event marketing strategy.
Why?
Using the same social media marketing techniques time and time again ceases to grasp opportunity, which ultimately stagnates your hotel and event growth.
But it’s not all gloomy.
Instagram is a popular B2C and B2B social media sharing platform that is extremely successful in driving conversions. Currently, there are 800 million monthly users, a platform full of opportunity!
What does this mean for you?
Your event marketing taken up a notch using a variety of Instagram marketing strategies.
In this blog post, we take you through how to employ a variety of Instagram techniques that can be used as a part of your event marketing strategy and why this is important for your hotel and next event.
Let’s dive in;
How To Leverage Instagram For Your Next Event
The key to leveraging Instagram for your next event lies in the optimisation of your Instagram account.
- Updating Your Link-In-Bio
Your link-in-bio simply means that the URL that you mention in your latest Instagram post caption is directly available in your profile’s bio. This is a great conversion opportunity, so be sure its a relevant URL, like your hotels booking page or upcoming events calendar.
- Location Is Important
An increase in Instagram post engagement is definitely something that many brands, including hotels, strive for, we are sure you agree?
Well, what if I told you that by adding a geolocation tag to your post, you can receive up to 79% more engagement? I am sure you won’t be forgetting to add your location to your next post any time soon.
Not too sure how? Not to worry, check out this step-by-step guide by social media examiner.
So, take those few extra seconds when crafting your Instagram post to add a location to your image. This makes sure that when people are viewing your post about your event, they will also know exactly where it will be hosted. This is pretty cool!
- Do Use a Custom Hashtag
In line with adding your location, it is recommended to experiment with the use of custom hashtags. A custom hashtag is specific to your event or brand. For example, Umthunzi hosted a Valentines weekend where custom hashtags were used;
Do you want to know what’s even cooler?
Custom hashtags make tracking them easy; check out this post from a recent guest;
She used both the Geolocation tagging, so that any friends, family or Instagram users who may be interested in the image will know exactly where they can go book their next honeymoon or romantic getaway.
They also used the custom hashtag #UmthunziHotel which is great for continued profile growth and reach.
**TopTip – Make sure your hashtags are not too long either as they become difficult to decipher, you want to make sure that your Instagram posts and stories are easy to read and even easier to engage with.
- Tag Sponsors and Influencers In Your Instagram Posts
Tagging a variety of sponsors and brands in both your Instagram posts and Instagram Stories (I touch on this in a bit – hold tight) can increase your Instagram reach.
Why?
This harnesses the idea of cross-promotion. Tagging event sponsors, speakers, caterers and influencers will ensure a greater reach for your event as you begin to engage the audience of other Instagram profiles.
Why Should You Use Instagram Stories in Event Marketing?
While I have made mention of them in this post already, let’s define what they are so that you may define the best story strategy for your next event.
Instagram Stories is a feature that lets users to post images or videos that disappear after 24 hours. You can also save the story in case you want to post it on other platforms.
Instagram Stories currently boasts 300 million active daily users!
That stat alone should define the necessity for using stories for your next event.
How can this feature be used to increase event engagement?
Instagram Stories can be used to showcase behind the scenes content, such as event set-up, hair and make-up and even food and drink preparation.
The Instagram Stories feature can also be used to showcase live content, such as a short live piece from a keynote speaker.
You can also save Instagram stories which will then appear on top of your profile. This is often used by brands to showcase a product or service without the user even having to leave your Instagram profile.
So there you have it, you have the know how, now it’s time to begin posting for your next event. Give us a follow while you’re at it @UmthunziHotel. I promise we will follow you back 🙂
