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Twitter 101: How to use Twitter to promote events

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The Internet is riddled with social media platforms that have changed how and why people engage with content. As you prepare for your event, Twitter can be an incredibly useful and affordable tool for event promotion. With purposeful planning, strategy, and commitment, you can build buzz for your outstanding event in no time! Here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Start early
The awesome thing about Twitter is once you Tweet about something, it is instantly captured by whomever is online at that moment. This allows you to talk about your event multiple times without annoying or spamming your followers or potential attendees. Social media management tools like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck allow you to schedule posts in advance. Utilizing these tools will allow you to design a solid Twitter promotion plan a month or more before your event. For a more detailed overview on how to use Hootsuite take a look at this article by Cosmic Doggerel.

Say the same thing, differently 
While Twitter’s structure allows for more repetition, you should always try to write variations of the same Tweet. Here is an example of a Tweet about an event: “#Seattle: Don’t miss out on amazing #music from @GreatArtist1 June 7th, #FREE http://ow.ly/bnWhz.” Compared to this variation: “Support your local #indie #music scene & listen to @GreatArtist1 6/7, #Seattle, free http://ow.ly/bnWhz.” Notice the slight differences in wording and order. Your event is special and unique, so find ways to talk about it differently and draw new attention to it!

Give love to get love 
The secret behind a truly special Twitter campaign is sharing! Virtual word-of-mouth is made easy with “retweets,” “favorites,” and “mentions.” By tagging bands, organizations and venues involved or related with your group, you are opening the line of conversation to all of their fans, friends and customers. Promoting others on Twitter only helps your chance at getting exposed to friends of friends of friends! You inadvertently build a strong network of supporters while helping neighboring colleagues!

Hint: It’s always good to retweet or support the projects of others in your area or industry while promoting yours. If you help them, they’ll be more likely to help you.

Start a trend with hashtags 
Twitter allows you to create any hashtag (# symbol before a word or phrase), to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. If enough people engage with that hashtag you can get your Tweet trending in your area, the country or even the world! Short and intuitive hashtags generally get the job done. For example, #SXSW works great for the South By South West music festival. #SFFilmFestival is also good for any film festival in San Francisco. If you’d like to get your event trending in a particular way add your unique hashtag to all tweets going out about your event. i.e. “Huge comedy extravaganza with free booze & live music! #BoozeCom2012.”

Hint: You can easily host giveaways and contests on Twitter by having people answer a question or tweet you with a specific hashtag. This is a great way to boost sales closer to the event while building buzz.

Don’t forget to link to your event 
You’ve hooked someone in with your awesomely crafted Tweet, now you can turn that interested party into a paying customer! Don’t forget to post a link to your purchasing site to close the deal.

Hint: Social management tools like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck have link shorteners built into their interface. This will give you more room to talk about your event.

Want more detailed information on how to promote your events and manage your presence on Twitter? Check out our free resource guide for quick tips, examples and definitions here. Looking for additional help with your event promotion plan? Feel free to email us at:Promo@BrownPaperTickets.com or call (800) 838-3006 (Option 5). We’re here to help!

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