Social Media Strategies for Events in 2021 (Marketer's Advice)
Podcast speakers: Savannah McIntosh (Purplepass Marketing Director) and Jordan Crump (Owner at The Space Social LLC). Jump to links and video notes below.
The EventBuzz podcast: The Space Social
presented by Purplepass
Podcast Transcript: Purplepass + The Space Social
Savannah (Purplepass):
Welcome back to another episode of the EventBuzz podcast presented by Purplepass. I'm your host Savannah McIntosh and today we will be talking about one of the hottest topics in the marketing space...social media. Go to the coffee shop, a park, any social gathering, and what do you often see? People looking at their phones.
You don't have to be in the business of marketing to know that social media is one of the fastest ways to reach an audience. You can argue age matters, but my mom is online just as much as my sister...sometimes even more. And remember, there are so many different social platforms out there for every age group.
Today, we have a specialist joining us to talk all about this social space. In fact, she is the owner of The Space Social. Jordan Crump, owner of a Social Media Marketing Agency specializes in social media coaching and management. With five years of industry experience under her belt, she has worked with companies ranging from Miss Universe to local creatives.
On this episode, we will be discussing best social media practices for boosting brand awareness, the type of content you should be posting and tips for promoters trying to get the word out about their event using social media.
Hey, Jordan, thanks for coming on to the podcast. How are you doing today?
Jordan (The Space Social):
Good. Thanks for having me Savannah. I'm really honored to be invited onto your podcast.
Savannah:
Yeah, we're really excited to have you because we actually haven't talked to anyone that specializes in social media. And I know that's a hot topic right now, especially for events because everyone's kind of like, what do I put out there? And we'll get into that later on. So let's start with just a brief introduction of who you are so our listeners know who is talking and what you do.
Jordan:
Yeah, sure. So my name is Jordan Crump. I am the owner of The Space Social. It's a marketing agency. I personally am based in Las Vegas. I also host a podcast name, The Space Social podcast, I have been in social media and digital marketing for five years. I've worked with companies ranging from Miss Universe, which was obviously the most incredible event ever, to I work with really small businesses in my community. So yeah, that's what I do.
Savannah:
Nice. That's exciting. Okay, so like I said, episodes, all things social media. And so you specialize it in it. So let's just dive right in. So I think, like, the first question that we should probably kick it off with is, and what we get a lot is how do you increase your followers on social media? And I know, this is a broad, broad, broad question. I'm just wondering if you could give us a rundown of maybe some quick tips that you've seen brands online do that kind of has helped boost their social presence.
Especially now and 2021, because they know what we thought of like social media and marketing and everything before COVID has altered and we've kind of changed how we do things and how we reach our audience.
Jordan:
Yeah, so I think the best advice I give my clients is I say, so for certain whatever social network you're on whatever social media site you're on, their whole goal is to keep people on this site as long as possible. So I always like to make sure I'm creating relatable content content that can be shared very easily. I know right now, on Instagram, for example, reels are really big, as well as Instagram stories.
So those are a really easy ways to organically grow your following. So I just say, be on it as, I don't want to say as much as you can, but be using everything that the app has to offer, because you're going to be boosted in the algorithm if you're keeping people on the app longer.
Savannah:
Yeah. And I mean, obviously, it depends on the app you're using, because you have Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and it's crazy, because you try your own, they each have their own algorithm. And I feel like the algorithm changes all the time.
Could you explain too while we are on it, I don't know, because I had to learn this. But some people don't even know what we're talking about when we say algorithm like for social media.
Jordan:
Yeah, so the algorithm is, basically it's just the science that keeps keeps the social media networks going. So if you're boosting algorithm, it means that people are going to see you more if you have engagement.
If people are interacting with your content, people are going to see your content more. So it's honestly no one really knows what the algorithm is, if someone says this is what the algorithm is, they're kind of lying. Like I said, I think they're I just think of what Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, even TikTok's goal is just keep people on the site as long as possible. So they're making as much money as possible. So that's what my goal is. But honestly, there isn't really a science to it, besides just people engaging with you is going to boost you./
Savannah:
Yeah. It's hard because you see, at least I do, like when you kind of look more into social media, social media marketing, you do see a lot of posts that are like, okay, here's the algorithm for this year. Let's okay, five likes, 200 comments, follow this and like no. Honestly, at least what I've seen what the trends now, I think people are just becoming, they want something that's more raw, more real, less spam.
Jordan:
Yes. Especially after 2020. I feel like something that brands need to work on and has this has come from 2020 is I feel like people want to know where you stand in certain issues, where I feel like that wasn't the way even maybe even a year ago, people were afraid to kind of say what they stood for.
So I think that's something people want to see these days.
Savannah:
Yeah. And that's why I think to following the news and following trends, and just staying up to date, if you were a social media marketer. I mean, I'm obviously you're the expert. I'm just now I'm just putting in my thoughts. But I would think if you'd have to follow the trends and what people are looking for, which is right now being real and open, and you know, truth in your situation, not trying to put on a front of absolutely what's happening.
Jordan:
And then I think, especially after 2020, you know, everyone had a hard year, right. And everyone knows that everyone's struggled in some way. I don't think anyone hasn't struggled from COVID, in one way or another. And I think that we kind of got tired of the fakeness that can sometimes be on social media.
But additionally, when you create content, if you go out there, and you're like, hey, like, I kind of had a bad day, I'm working on it, people are going to engage with that more, because they relate to that more, because you're being honest.
And I think that's what helps people on social media, and it helps their engagement. And I know we will probably touch on this a little bit later, but in social media, what really matters is your engagement, not your follower count. So if you have 100 followers, but let's say 80 people are liking each of your posts, That's way better than having 1000 followers and having 80 people like each of your posts. So that's also something I want to say that's so important with social media.
Savannah:
That's a that's a good point. Because Yeah, we do see a lot of people that just go off of, Oh, I have, you know, 10k followers or X amount of followers, her followers, but if no one's commenting, or no one's you know, engaging your account really doesn't have value. If you think about it.
Jordan:
Right. 100%. And I I actually completely I started this business a few months ago, but I completely replaced my income with under 500 followers. So I feel like people sometimes feel like they're followers, or they get validation from the amount of followers, but the amount of followers you have is not paying your bills.
It's way better to have people who who are engaging with you, who potentially will be paying your bills, than followers who might not be interacting.
Savannah:
Well, that's awesome. Good for you.
Jordan:
Thank you. I just like to say that to people, because I feel like we I feel like no matter what business you're in, I feel like we get caught up in this numbers game. And those are the numbers that don't really matter. Right. So yeah, it's a good, I just like to remind everybody that.
Savannah:
That's a good point. So focus on engagement as a big question that I always actually have when I do social media, because it can get really confusing, because you see posts out there. Like we said, algorithm posts follow this follow this blah, blah. A lot of, there's a big like, there's arguments to go back and forth about how often you need to post. So let's say Instagram, obviously is a big one.
Do you post constantly because that can get annoying. Or do you post like once a week, like it's hard to say how do people kind of figure out that rhythm of how often they should be posting? Or does it? Does it really matter?
Jordan:
I think I think in a sense, it does matter. But I I'm gonna give I'm gonna give my opinion on what you just said and then how to combat this if you're struggling posting. So I personally, I have my clients make goals and what they feel comfortable with. So I don't want to tell anyone to post more than they feel comfortable with because the quality, the quantity doesn't matter as much as the quality, right?
But if you're sitting here and you're like, Oh, I just like have no idea what to post or how often I would, say make a goal for yourself to post on your Instagram story or Facebook story or on TikTok. I don't know about TikTok so much. But those two i would i would suggest posting on your story once a day, I would suggest posting on your feed maybe like three, four times a week.
And honestly right now video content is becoming so relevant in businesses. So making a goal to at least at least once a week putting out some sort of video content is so important right now. And then the way I want to, I would love to tell your followers how to combat combat this. Because I feel like a lot of times business owners don't have a lot of time. You know, entrepreneurs a lot of the time. I don't know if a lot of your followers or our listeners are entrepreneurs, are they?
Savannah:
Yeah, a lot of them are their own businesses. So yeah, they don't have a lot of time.
Jordan:
Right? So right, like what business owner has a ton of time to create content. So what I like to tell people to do is what's called batching. So I like to set aside an hour to a once a week or so and I like to create all the content for the week, so I can just post it and not have to worry about it anymore.
Savannah:
Yes, that's a good idea. Now, do you, would you recommend using like a scheduling platform or actually doing it yourself? Like taking the time throughout the week?
Jordan:
You know, yeah, yeah, you could totally do either. Um, what I would suggest doing is I know, Instagram, for example, has analytics that say when your followers are the most active on certain days, so if you do want to schedule, it, just I would go into your analytics, see what time they're the most active and posts schedule the post during that time.
Savannah:
That would make it so much easier. Because Yeah, social media is such like, if you really were doing is a full time job. It's crazy.
Jordan:
Yes. Yeah it is. The apps I like are called that I know people in my industry use are called PLANOLY and Later. Those are really good apps to to get to schedule out content if you need to do that.
Savannah:
Oh, okay. I actually haven't heard of any of those. So that's good. I will link that in this below in the show notes or something so people can look it up.
Jordan:
Yeah, it's I'm not trying to gatekeep, but I hate when people gatekeep. So those are that's what people in my industry use if you want to use that for yourself.
Savannah:
Okay. Yeah, no worries. Yeah, that's a good point. And so with like, okay, posting, it's really hard, obviously, for a lot of industries right now, but especially for events. Events, and brands that focus on their events, that's how they make money. And they use their accounts for, you know, branding their events. So right now, we what are we what are they supposed to post everything's on pause, unless they're doing virtual events.
It's kind of hard, but you don't want your social media to, you know, go silent. So I'm wondering,
like, picking your brain, what kind of content should they be sharing right now, even though they might not be having events? Should they kind of try to pull from old ones?
Jordan:
Yeah. So when I create content, I like to create my content. I have certain brand pillars. So I know, for events, you know, your that might be your brand pillars events. But I like to, when I'm creating content, I like to think of I want to inspire people, educate people or entertain people. And I think that it would be really easy, maybe I mean, it's just me that this is my profession, right.
But I think that with events, it would be so fun to see how event planners would create content around those things, you know, maybe they can post about, 'here's a tip, I have to have a really good event.' And that's something maybe the average person wouldn't know. But that really sets you up as an expert, if you are posting an educational tip. Right.
So those would be my three, three things when you're creating content. But I also think it would be I mean, I'm not in your industry, you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like virtual events would almost be better in the sense, you could get more people there.
I mean, you have to tell me that.
Savannah:
Yeah, we've been seeing a lot of a lot of virtual events, like people are doing that they're turning to virtual events, which is great. That's I mean, it's working for them. But yeah, if they wanted to kind of post about it, you know, I guess they could either do links, or we honestly, we've gotten so creative, you have to get really creative with this stuff now, because it's online.
I don't know you don't want to be do a boring post, you know, do a screenshot of your online event. So you really have to kind of get creative and think about what you want to put out there.
Jordan:
Yeah, so a couple things. The first thing I want to say, and this is some great advice I was given during this pandemic, right, because it hit all of us. Is that every single person listening to this podcast, they've had to pivot at some point in their life, and it's, it's been successful.
So I think we just have to keep pivoting and remind ourselves we've done this before. We're capable of doing this again, right. But I think, I think really easy content to create right now with virtual events is you could post a little tease about what it's going to be about. So you could either do a live or you know, a real those are newer to Instagram, you can do lives on Facebook, TikTok or Instagram and you could talk about something you're going to talk about and do a little tease and get people really excited for that.
You could post you could repurpose that you could post a quote from that, that live as well. Just getting people really excited. I use an app called Canva.
Savannah:
Oh, yeah.
Jordan:
Yes. Really good templates for like quotes or speakers that has just really good, really good, um, templates. It looks really professional. So yeah, that's what I'm having my clients do right now just trying to repurpose current things. So I know it's rough, but we can do it.
Savannah:
Yeah. And you mentioned, so you mentioned I know, Instagram Live, but actually, what's the reel?
Jordan:
Yeah, so I don't know if your followers will remember this. But do you remember Vine back in like, 2013 and 2014?
Savannah:
Yeah, that was like, I remember being in school.
Jordan:
Yes, I loved Vine too. So Vine is sorry, Reels is kind of like Instagrams version of Vine. Or also it's pretty similar to TikTok. So during the, during the pandemic, we were all home, right? Everyone downloaded TikTok, who said they weren't going to they thought it was a child's app and now we're all like, kind of addicted to it.
So it's basically just a short form video on on Instagram. So it can be up to 30 seconds, which is a little different, because TikTok can be up to 60 seconds. So it's just grabbing people's attention really quickly, like similar to Vine. You know, Vines were six seconds. And do you remember when we would watch vines? You would scroll so fast? Like, if someone didn't grab your attention in a second, you were like done. So I think, I think to kind of to the public's detriment, we're all kind of like that we have the shortest attention span.
But it's also nice, because we just need to focus on getting people's attention faster.
Savannah:
Yes, exactly. I've actually, I was reading this book, and it talks about the use of cell phones, and how our brains have completely changed because we use cell phones and all the social media and how we're exposed to things so quickly.
So our attention span has just gotten smaller and smaller, which, honestly, I don't know if that's a good thing. It kind of freaks me out. But for people out there that are marketing, just know, like, any content, you put out video, it needs to be something that grabs them very fast, and tells him what's happening
very fast.
Jordan:
Yes, it does. And it's it's kind of sad that we can't give each other that grace that we kind of want when people are watching our content. But it's just, you know, it is what it is. I when I try and find inspiration for short form video. I, when I scroll, I like to think I'm trying to scroll with a purpose.
So I'll scroll and be like, okay, I really liked, I have a lot of photographers who are my clients. So I'll I'll see something and I really like how they did that. How can I spin this content into my industry? So it's really, I feel like it's pretty easy to do if you kind of look at it that way when you're starting to make content.
So that's my best tip. But short form video is so important these days.
Savannah:
And I think, I was just thinking about this, because I've caught myself doing this so much when I try to do content or, or create anything that I'm creating, I find that I will look at other people for ideas. And I think that's a good thing and a bad thing because I look at people for ideas, but then I'm like, how do I be like them?
And I think it's really important, especially right now, people want authenticity, and they want you to be unique, they want something different. So I would say too like, don't be afraid to be different if people aren't doing it or that doesn't look, you know how other people look. I think that's a good thing.
Jordan:
Yeah, I totally, I totally agree with you. I feel like it's totally fine to take risks. As long as you're not being offensive, right? It's totally fine to try and take risks in video form. I mean, what if so what if it does tank? It's really not the end of the world and you learn something?
Savannah:
Yeah, yeah, exactly. But I find myself and I have to stop and be like, okay, don't compare. Be your own person. You can do it. It's just so hard, because there's just so much. It's just crazy, because everything's online right now. So it's really hard to compete. But I think we just have to remember, we're all creative. We come from different backgrounds, we have different options. So give it a shot.
Jordan:
I think it I think it's hard to kind of we all get in that scarcity mindset, right? We're like so many people do exactly this, but you know, people pay for your services or my services because they like who we are. So I think we need to always remember that because it I think we all fall into that trap sometimes.
Savannah:
Mm hmm. And I know when I was looking at your website, so you do social media, but you also did email, correct email marketing.
Jordan:
I do. I love doing email marketing.
Savannah:
That's another thing that people can do, email is also a great way to capture an audience if you do it right that people can forget about.
Jordan:
Yeah, the thing I love about email marketing is there is no algorithm to it at all. So I send an email, I know it's gonna go into their inbox within the next minute. I'm not trying, I'm not competing with anything except for time, right?
And I use, I use personally, I use MailChimp. And it says, it always gives me a time estimate for when the best time is to send out to my audience when they're opening emails. So there really is no competition, which is, that's why it's probably one of my favorite ways to market.
Savannah:
Mm hmm. Yeah, we have an integration with MailChimp, I believe and Constant Contact, and they're both really good and super easy to use and do mass scheduling and stuff like that. I think, I wanted to ask you if you have any tips, because I, a lot of people and even me, I struggle with the subject line, because you know, you want to get people's attention. You don't want it to be too long, too short.
Do you have any tips when you create your subject line?
Jordan:
Yeah, so that's probably my favorite part of emails is like challenging myself to think of a subject line, actually. So a couple of tips, I would say, use emojis in your subject line people really like emoji.
Savannah:
Really? Okay.
Jordan:
Yeah, I think it doesn't seem. Yeah, it just doesn't seem as formal. You know, sometimes I don't open emails, and like, it looks so formal.
Savannah:
Or when they use all caps! So scary.
Jordan:
Right? Ya totally and you don't want to open it, because you're like, what is this going to be like, what is not so important that it needs to be all caps right now? Like, right, like, this isn't coming from my doctor's office? Or I don't know, totally. So I like to use emojis, because I think they aren't as intimidating. And then something I like to try and do as well. I'm assuming people who are in events are kind of on the pulse for what trends are.
So I like to think I like to try and incorporate maybe like a pop culture, or something of pop culture reference to something that makes people know, like, this is gonna be like, a fun email, this is going to be worth your time. So.
And I always try and make it kind of short, because I feel like if it's too long, people just aren't going to read it. Right. Yeah, the whole thing. So I try and make it just a few words. Always incorporate an emoji. And I feel like my, my open rate is so good. So, you know, it just takes practice. But those are a couple of my tips for that.
Savannah:
That's a good one. I didn't think of emojis. I mean, I could totally add them. Because I've seen that before, but I've never really thought like, hmm, but you're right. I think the world, we are definitely moving to a more casual state of things, which I love. You know, we're allowed to be less formal. I
don't know everyone takes up but I enjoy it. Because I don't know.
Sometimes when you're too formal, it's just too fake. And we're all humans, and we're all here. You know, trying to live life.
Jordan:
Right. Totally. I completely agree.
Savannah:
Yeah. So I think we're, that's the way of the future and I love it and that we're getting more casual and open and you know, authentic. Okay, I want to leave just if you want it to leave any quick tips for brands, I would say just in 2020 or 2021, in general, because, you know, we're all online now.
We're all, our competition has grown tremendously because everyone's forced to be online, so I don't any random tip you have.
Jordan:
Yeah, I would just say when you're when you're online, for I'm gonna, I'm gonna gear this towards event planners right now. When you're online, just be your most authentic self. I try, my biggest tip when I'm talking to my audience is I try and act like I'm talking to my partner to my best friend. You know, people want to feel special, that's why they're gonna hire us because they you make them feel special.
So my other big advice, I would really suggest working on short form video. I think that is the biggest trend. I think that started last year. I think it's definitely catapulted into this year as well. So I would suggest trying that and yeah, those are probably the two biggest tips I have.
Savannah:
Awesome. Thank
you so much. I hope this I think it will because it's already helped me and I, I use social media all the time, but from your just quick tips. I'm like, oh, okay, I'm gonna try that. So this helps people and everyone listening if anyone needs social media advice or email marketing advice and help, I will link your website business link below so people can easily find you.
Jordan:
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Video notes and links
The Space Social:
Marketing resources:
