Increase Engagement at Your Event with Hashtags

When it comes to producing an event, hashtags can be a free and easy to use marketing tool to increase engagement amongst attendees. Not to mention, the benefits of event hashtags are endless – it increases awareness of the event, boosts attendance, promotes networking among attendees, and gives your attendees a space where they can express praise, comments, questions, or concerns about your event. 

So what is a hashtag anyway? A hashtag is a word or phrase that follows a pound sign (also known as a hash) and is used to identify specific posts on social media. For instance, one click on #WeLoveEaglesTalent would likely produce a bunch of content related to people singing our praises on social media. Simply put, hashtags put content into categories and make it simpler for users to find. They are super tools used on social posts to increase engagement by way of likes and comments. Studies show that Instagram posts with at least one hashtag got 70% more likes and 392% more comments than posts without hashtags. 

That being said, creating a hashtag for your event is a no-brainer and you’ll definitely want to put some time and thought into what hashtag(s) you will use. You want to make sure it is short and clever enough that people will remember it, but also that it is unique and memorable and pertains to the event. Including that hashtag in event promos, commentary, or post-event thank-yous makes it easy for attendees to find posts from the event. 

Similar to any marketing campaign, you will want to promote your hashtag. Your event hashtag should be included in all social media promotions of the event as well as on the invites/registration page for the event. You’ll also want to include it on any signs or banners at your venue. This is to ensure that all attendees as well as potential attendees know about the hashtag and will use it when discussing the event online. This helps to generate buzz, which can be vital to the success of your event. 

Aside from generating buzz and creating awareness for your event, hashtags give you an opportunity to monitor and respond to comments and feedback in real time. Go online and re-post, like, and comment on the posts that use your hashtag. This lets your guests know that you appreciate them and care about what they have to say. If you are a business or corporation, this small act can help you to build lifelong customers.

Hashtags also give you a digital list of everyone who has used the hashtag. You can use this to your advantage as well. In addition to acknowledging the use of the hashtag online, you can send out digital thank-yous to everyone who attended your event and used the hashtag. They did just do some free marketing for you, after all.