For event organizers in 2025, social media is one of the greatest tools for promotion. And not surprisingly, tons of conferences are now turning to digital platforms to drive registrations and build buzz. At first glance, it may appear that posting updates and hoping for the best is enough, but conference promotion now demands much more than that.
Besides creating content and scheduling posts, to make sure that your event reaches the right set of people, you will have to pay attention to marketing via social media. With the event management space growing much more tech-savvy with each year, professionals exploring social media ought to manage everything from pre-event buzz to post-conference community building. Picking the right promotional strategies amongst a hundred different tactics and narrowing down on a few effective ones is a grueling task as it is. In addition to this, there is another storm for event planners to weather: social media algorithms.
Before you begin, see that you’re making the right choices. And if you are confused about what these choices are, here are 10 proven social media tactics to begin with:
1. Build a Branded Event Hashtag
Your conference needs a digital identity that attendees can rally around and a quirky hashtag can help you achieve just that. Your event hashtag must be short, uncommon as well as fairly easy to remember.
Make sure to refrain from using hashtags already in existence or more generic terms that might be in use by other events. Check Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn thoroughly before finalizing your choice to confirm it’s available and not associated with anything negative or unrelated to your industry.
2. Launch a Countdown Campaign
A countdown campaign, as the name suggests, counts the days left until the day of your event. In doing so, it almost immediately established a sense of urgency in viewers, both actively researching or passively browsing.
As the weeks pass by, the countdown posts must begin to offer some more value beyond just the number of days remaining. Concentrate on different aspects of the conference, like the venue or even local attractions.
3. Spotlight Speakers with Video Content
The speaker spotlight is a moderately time-intensive tactic with a duration of about 30 to 90 seconds per video. There are numerous opportunities to create these videos using just smartphones in most settings.
The production cost for speaker spotlights is minimal (essentially free with existing equipment) and these videos are accepted by audiences on platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
4. Run a Social Media Contest
The social media contest hosted by your conference account is an entirely engaging and relatively easier tactic to implement. Participants can access entry within seconds of seeing the posts.
One effective format is asking followers to tag colleagues who would benefit from attending the conference. Complicated contests with multiple steps see lower participation rates. A simple ‘like this post, follow our account and tag two people in the comments’ formula works well across most platforms.
5. Partner with Social Media Influencers in Your Industry
Influencer partnerships help take the word of your event beyond your existing pool of audiences. Before partnering, be on the lookout for thought leaders, bloggers, podcasters of social media personalities whose audience interests may overlap with that of yours.
The influencers you partner up with do not have to be celebrities with millions of followers. Even micro-influencers with 5,000 to 50,000 engaged followers will give you good results.
6. Share BTS Content For Your Social Media Followers
Audiences associate with the humans at the other side of the event stage or perhaps a Zoom meeting room. Hence, when you share light-hearted BTS content, you establish the fact that real people work hard to make the day possible for them.
Take advantage of Instagram stories or LinkedIn posts for this type of content. Show the challenges and solutions that arise during planning. This narrative arc makes your audience feel invested in the event’s success.
7. Create Platform-Specific Content
What works on LinkedIn may fall flat on Instagram.
LinkedIn is ideal for professional thought leadership content. Therefore, share articles about industry trends related to your conference topics, post longer-form updates about what makes your event stand out and engage in relevant group discussions. This platform reaches decision-makers who have the budget authority to attend conferences.
Instagram demands more multimedia content and works on the visual appeal. Herein, utilize high-quality photos of previous events, create branded graphics with compelling statistics or quotes from speakers and post Stories for time-sensitive updates. Instagram reaches a younger professional audience that values visual storytelling.
X (Formerly Twitter) excels at community conversation and industry news. Share quick updates, engage with relevant trending topics and participate in X chats related to your conference themes. The platform’s fast-paced nature makes it perfect for building buzz in the weeks immediately before your event.
8. Implement a Referral Program On Social Media
Turn registered attendees into promoters by rewarding them for bringing colleagues. Offer incentives like discounted future event passes, exclusive conference perks, or entries into prize drawings for each person they refer who registers.
Make sharing easy by providing attendees with pre-written social media posts they can customize. Include shareable graphics with their unique referral code already embedded. The less friction in the sharing process, the more people will participate.
9. Host Live Q&A Sessions
Live video builds authenticity and allows potential attendees to get their questions answered in real time. Schedule regular Q&A sessions on Instagram Live, Facebook Live or LinkedIn Live where your team addresses common questions about the conference.
The interactive nature of live video creates a sense of connection that pre-recorded content can’t match. Viewers feel like they’re getting special access and personal attention from the conference organizers.
10. Retarget Engaged Social Media Users with Paid Ads
Not everyone who shows interest in your conference will register immediately. Retargeting ads keep your event visible to people who’ve visited your website or engaged with your social content but haven’t yet committed.
Install tracking pixels on your conference website to build audiences of site visitors. Create specific ad campaigns targeting these warm leads with messages addressing common objections or featuring special offers.
Social Media To Bring It All Together
We at Dryfta know that implementing all these social media tactics is not easy. We also know that for you, it depends on several things, even things like your budget and team capacity.
Despite individual limitations, we know that with the right guidance and consistent effort, any conference can succeed in filling seats and creating genuine buzz. To learn more about the online event promotion services we offer, visit our website today.