The beauty of live events is just that – they’re live.
But embracing the 'in-person' context shouldn't mean ditching digital. After all, events should always be part of a wider marketing mix, and using the other tools in your kit can actually enhance the 'live' aspect.
We're zooming in specifically on social media, sharing practical tips on how to integrate it into your event marketing and why it benefits real-life connection (Clue: it is called social media...)
The benefits of bringing social media into your event plan
Reach more people in your target audience (not just those at the event)
Boost brand salience
Engage with customers in real-time
Generate a buzz of excitement around the event - and your brand
Generate insights into audience behaviour
Create content that can be repurposed for months to come
Before the event: build a buzz
Use social media to build momentum and get eyeballs on your brand before the event.
At the most basic level, tell people you’re exhibiting.
It might sound obvious, but make sure your customers are aware you’re there and know where to find you. If you’re hosting lots of meetings at the event, encouraging clients to pre-book a time will make them more likely to visit you.
Build excitement and stay top-of-mind
If the first step is to tell customers you’re exhibiting, the second is to remind them. You could use countdown posts to build excitement, or let customers know what you'll be up to on the day (whether it’s a new product launch, giveaway, competition, exclusive discount, or something new to learn.) If you’re running a competition on the stand, you might engage with attendees beforehand to let them know what’s up for grabs and how to take part.
You could share sneak peeks of your stand to aid brand recognition at the event. (We can provide a set of digital renders and a video of your exhibition stand in advance, which will look exactly the same as the real space!)
Be part of the conversation
Use the event’s official hashtag and be part of the wider conversation. Stay present with what event organisers, contractors, speakers, and industry influencers are saying - you can engage with their content, piggyback onto their reach and tap into their audiences.
During the event: share the energy
Content, content... and more content
The event itself is a golden opportunity to reach customers digitally. So take lots of photos and video across the show, and post them! It will help you stay top-of-mind and may encourage more visitors to your stand. For example, Years used their strong social presence to post lots of fun and engaging content at Crufts 2025, which no doubt contributed to their busy stand and long queues to get involved!
Live stream and share the action
It won't work for every brand or every event, but you might consider live-streaming an aspect of the experience. It will help followers outside the event feel part of the action, as well as enticing attendees to visit your stand.
Driving UGC
Events are a goldmine for valuable user-generated content. A unique interaction or game, or photo opportunity will create Instagrammable moments on the stand and prompt organic content. (That's where we come in, designing spaces that wow and brand engagements that visitors want to shout about!)
If there’s nothing customers are drawn to taking a snap of, incentivise them! For example, posting a photo on the stand, with the brand tagged, grants you an entry into a prize draw, or entitles you to a free product. Featuring user-generated posts in real time will encourage more people to take part and draw more attention to your brand digitally.
Influencer Partnerships
If influencer marketing is in your marketing mix, collaborating with influencers at your event can give you a big boost of reach – to a much wider and engaged audience. You could get them to host a takeover of your brand’s social channels, or create content with your product/service or stand as a talking point.
After the event: keep the momentum going
Using social media (as well as your other channels) you can extend the life of your event marketing long after the doors close.
Recap posts
Hopefully you've taken lots of content at the show, so keep sharing it! You could share key moments and testimonials in a recap post, and continue to repurpose the content for a long time to come.
Reshare visitor posts
Highlighting your customer's content not only builds community, but provides authentic social proof for other prospective customers.
Following up on social media
Following up after your event is super important, whether it be via email, a phone call, or a LinkedIn message. On top of this, you can use social media to nurture leads, encourage attendees to follow you or join your online community.
3 practical tips for effective social media management at events
Plan Ahead. Develop a solid social media plan prior to the event, detailing your posting schedule, content required, platform and media types, and team responsibilities. That doesn't mean you can't post spontaneously as well, it just means you'll be organised before the show.
Stick to the channels you’re already using. If you’re not on TikTok, don’t start exclusively for the event. Posting from the channels you have an existing presence on will be much more effective.
Measure your social content - reach, engagement, performance of certain media types, etc. etc... These metrics certainly aren't everything, so do take them with a pinch of salt. But having an idea of what performs best will help you improve next time.
When social comes first…
Our examples above are based on having an event plan first, with social media planned in afterwards. But in some cases, an idea or campaign on social might be the thing that inspires your event.
Photos taken from QETTLE Instagram
Take boiling tap manufacturer QETTLE, for example. A video went viral across the installer community after a QETTLE installer connected a tap up to a beer keg. The QETTLE team decided to recreate this as an interaction at the Installer Show 2024, and it proved a great talking point amongst visitors on the stand. Not to mention, the promise of ‘beer on tap’ drew plenty of people over to the stand!
Our no. 1 takeaway for exhibitors?
Don’t forget that events – like any marketing channel – are part of a wider marketing mix. Instead of thinking about them in isolation, plan how you can connect up your entire channel mix for more effective events and experiential marketing.
Planning your next event? We'd love to help - so drop us a message and let's chat about your next big project.
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