Creating your Facebook event page is an important step in planning your upcoming event – and one of the most fun ones as well! If you want to make the most out of your event’s presence on Facebook, you have to make sure you’re not forgetting anything. When mistakes are made on your event’s page, all your efforts might go unnoticed. Worry not: here is an outline of ten mistakes you must absolutely avoid when creating your Facebook event page. The good news is that they’re easily avoided!
1. You Give Long-Winded, Snooze-Worthy Status Updates
It’s common knowledge that people’s attention span is decreasing with every passing year. Long status updates have no place on your Facebook event page. They’re a surefire way to make your audience lose interest.
Instead, use your website and blog for longer posts. On social media, keep information provocative, concise, and to the point.
2. You’re Posting Way Too Often
Don’t feel the need to post repeatedly throughout the day. Do some experimenting to figure out when your target audience is most active, and once you determine this, schedule posts for that time. According to Sprout Social, the best times to publish your content on Facebook is on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Friday in the morning. Facebook sees the most traffic between 9 AM. and 1 PM.
3. You Neglected to Add Buttons for Social Sharing
Facebook might have been among the first social media platforms, but it’s no longer the only one. To make your event more visible, you need to incorporate social media networks beyond Facebook as often as you can. The number of retweets you get on Twitter, shares you get on LinkedIn, and likes you get on Facebook all have a direct impact on the perceived popularity of your event page.
4. You Failed to Use a Powerful Image
As the success of Pinterest has confirmed, we live in a world that is all about images. So, if you want your event page to be effective, you have to use effective images. Think promotional posters and fliers!. If you don’t have a lot of graphic design resources at your disposal, you should at least incorporate the logo of your company into the image.
5. You Held Off on Hashtags
If you aren’t using hashtags on your Facebook event page, you’re making a big mistake. Hashtags allow information about your event to be easily accessed by the people you are trying to reach. Get the most out of the hashtag you’ve chosen by using it any time you’re promoting the event. Also, while your event is happening, you should ask those who are in attendance to use your hashtag to post interesting quotes and takeaways from the event. That way, you can use your Facebook event page and social media to create a truly immersive event experience.
6. You Didn’t Create the Event’s Facebook Page in Advance
As soon as you’ve got the event on your calendar, you should create a Facebook event page. The sooner you create the page, the higher your odds of exposing people to it, and the greater your attendance will be. To avoid confusion, give the event’s page the same name as the event. If your event is smaller in scale, Facebook also gives you the option of creating a private group.
7. You Forgot to Add Important Links
Unless you’re putting the right things on your event page, there is almost no point in creating one. On the Facebook event page, you should post a link to the event’s website, the registration/sign-up page, and relevant press releases. Basically, you should think of your event’s Facebook page as if it was a contact form, and you should also be sure to include a call to action. Put yourself in your attendees’ shoes: what would they want to know about your event?
8. You Didn’t Attempt to Engage on Your Page
Interacting and engaging with your audience is crucial to the success of your event’s Facebook page. ‘Like’ the posts people in attendance create and comment on them. You can also initiate discussions on topics related to the event such as things to bring/pack, interesting vendors, purpose for attendance, exciting giveaways for those in attendance, the event’s menu, etc. Depending on the nature of your event, you can even livestream it and share it on your event’s page.
9. You Put More Than One Event on One Facebook Page
If your company hosts more than one event, that doesn’t mean you should use one page to post all of these events. Rather, it’s much more effective to have a separate Facebook event page for each event you host.
10. You Didn’t Follow Up With Pictures and Posts After the Event
Your event might be over, but your Facebook event page is still very much alive, so make use of it! As soon as the event ends, you should post pictures on your Facebook event page, share thoughts about how the event went, and encourage your attendees to voice their opinions as well. Take the opportunity to share information about any upcoming events as well! This is great publicity and it will make those who missed out definitely want to be there next time.
You’re Now The Master Of Facebook Event Pages!
If you’ve been making any of these ten fundamental mistakes on your event’s Facebook page, the good news is it’s not too late nor too hard to fix them. Your event page is the perfect place to engage with your audience before and after the event, share useful information, and promote your future endeavors.
Now that you have mastered the art of Facebook event pages, you can take your knowledge to the next level. You can choose to promote your event on other social media platforms as well! Listen to #EventIcons and learn more about the right way to do social media for events and learn more about marketing events on Snapchat and Instagram.
Adrienne Erin is a social media marketer and marketing writer. She loves studying social campaigns to see what makes people tick.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally posted in February 2014 and updated by Anja Grcar on May 25th, 2021 for clarity purposes.
