*This blog was originally published in August 2017. It has been reposted in November 2021 with updates.
Shareability in the world of events is the potential for messages to be shared or promoted by another party, often done over social media such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Why does shareability in events matter?
Success for any event relies heavily on marketing to retain old attendees and to attract new ones. Without it, how do people…
- Know it exists?
- Gain enough interest to take the time and to invest money to attend your event?
Developments and usership of technology have drastically changed the way we engage with our audience. Social media now plays a major role in this shift with the shareability of content becoming an extremely important factor.
What can you do about it?
1. If more people share your content and/or messages, it will increase your reach and the likelihood of others engaging with your content.
Image Credit: @laurenepbath
2. Google is very observant. Include a link to your event website and share it on social media. If it is shared by individuals/companies it will assign more importance to your website. It’s all about the algorithms…
3. A share, like or comment is a form of engagement. An opportunity for you to reach out! If managed properly it can attract new attendees and make the old/current attendees brand evangelists.
Three factors when sharing content for events
When sharing content, think about the psychology. Dr Brent Coker from the University of Melbourne has identified three important factors to consider:
1. Self enhancement –we all have the need to protect our self esteem. To put it simply, the way we communicate with others is done in a way to make ourselves feel better. We tend to share information to self enhance. Successful brands such as Lush Cosmetics find out what their customers really care about and integrate it into their marketing campaigns. An effective way to make content go viral.
Image Credit: @lush_ausnz
2. Physiological arousal (PA) – when people get PA, they take the time to share that piece of information. It can be created through strong emotions whether it be negative or positive. To spark this, figure out what your potential delegates are interested in and talking about.
3. Surprise – content that is likely to surprise your target audience will have a much higher chance of being shared. We all like a surprise here and there, don’t we?
How to apply this to your event?
- Understand your target audience and create content that will evoke strong emotional responses
- Opt for short, concise and easy to digest advertising content
- Create content that will surprise this audience
- Create content that is useful, entertaining and/or inspirational
- Include relevant and interesting media whether it be photographs, videos or audio
- Be consistent
Last but certainly not least, have fun with it! If you don’t believe in the content, your audience won’t either.
If you would like further information or to partner with us, let’s connect! Contact the team at Nectar Creative Communications today. We are your event partner based in Brisbane.
