Tech Thursday: 15 New Social Media Platforms Event Planners Need to Watch This Year

The latest high impact social media tools have a lot to offer event planners who know how to maximize their event social media strategy. Use these must know tips and tricks to do things like: provide creative VIP experiences, find out exactly which social media posts helped fuel ticket sales, create a comprehensive analysis of your digital branding compared to other similar events, and a whole lot more. 

How to Maximize the Newest Social Media Tools for Event Planning

1. MobileMonkey: Use chatbots to streamline Facebook messages. 

MobileMonkey, if you haven’t heard of it by now, is a tool used for scaling your direct message strategy on Facebook. It’s endorsed by Neil Patel, advertises a 154% increase in audience engagement on average, and is free to use. MobileMonkey is most often used for chat blasts, lead list building, and drip campaigns. 

How event planners should use it:

Over 20 billion messages are sent between businesses and people through Facebook messenger every month, which means that your audience is more than likely open to this communication method. Use it to thank event registrants, share exclusive content, and reach out to potential event attendees with casual relationship building extras like tip videos or even themed memes. 

2. TikTok: Tease early ticket releases. 

TikTok might be the new Vine. The short, music-backed video creator was initially a lip-singing app but it has since transformed into much more than just viral renditions of Top 40 hits. Much like Instagram or Facebook, this social media platform offers public search, follow, and share options and is wildly popular among younger crowds. 

How event planners can use it:

You can use TikTok for your events by making funny or entertaining clips that promote early ticket releases or other exclusive offers for fans. Add your event hashtag to anything you share and consider working with a TikTok influencer to reach even more eyeballs. The usual social media platform engagement rules apply: follow related accounts, show some love in other people’s comments section, and focus on being authentic in your interactions. 

3. Buzzsumo: Strategically choose your event registration page’s domain name. 

Buzzsumo has a lot of uses but its main claim to fame is helping marketers find what’s trending online based on a keyword search. You can scope out how similar brands are advertising their event and what content is performing the best for any particular subject matter. 

How event planners can use it:

In addition to analyzing industry headlines, this research powerhouse can help you narrow your event domain name choices down to the most popular, searched for, and in-demand phrases. The tool focuses on social share numbers and blog titles, but once you type in your event’s theme or main topic, the search results should give you a clear picture of what your audience cares about most. Then just use that information for your event registration website address. 

4. Keyhole: Narrow down your event hashtag options.

If advanced social media analytics and monitoring is your jam, you’ll probably be into Keyhole, the deceptively simple hashtag search tool that helps users dive deep into a number of useful digital marketing tactics. They offer all of the following: campaign monitoring, influencer discovery, brand reaction analysis, real-time event monitoring, and deep market research insights. 

How event planners can use it:

Whether you want to use a hype-building event hashtag trend or maximize your target audience reach, Keyhole will help you identify high performing hashtags and then help you keep an eye on their performance after they’ve been made public. 

5. If This Then That: Automate all of your online profiles.  

Custom build code for every single online interaction you’d like to have for your event. The best part is, most If This Then That users have already created codes you can use to get started. Simply log into your accounts, follow a couple simple steps, and you’ve got automation for the majority of your marketing tasks. 

How event planners can use it:

Besides saving you an incredible amount of time manually completing these exact same action items, the If This Then That is only limited by your own imagination. We recommend using it to share duplicate posts across all social media platforms, automatically retweeting anything that includes your unique event hashtag, and to sync smart voice assisted devices so that they’ll react to the same command you make to your phone’s VUI even when you’re not in the room. 

6. Buffer: Target individual market segments on social.

Buffer is a popular tool for a reason. It helps you manage everything social media related from planning to execution to engagement. You can organize all of your account feeds into a singular, visual hub. 

How event planners can use it:

Because Buffer makes it easy to see and organize your upcoming posts, it allows event planners to create specific campaigns for different audiences, whether that’s different audiences on each individual platform or simply different niche groups on the same site. 

7. Brandwatch Analytics: Show sponsors how popular your event already is. 

Brandwatch Analytics lets you create a brand dashboard and view your event’s social mentions by minute, mention volume, and real-time associated topics (among other great analytics) all in attractive and highly visual ways. 

How event planners can use it:

If sponsors had any doubts as to whether or not their investment will be worthwhile, simply show them these figures and prove that your brands’ identities or audiences truly do align. 

8. SumAll: Monitor all your social, eCommerce, and advertising programs into one platform. 

SumAll is a social media scheduler that combines real time post insights across all your social media channels while simultaneously displaying information from your chosen eCommerce/event ticketing tool. You can even sync up accounts associated with other types of digital marketing. 

How event planners can use it:

Track trends in your event ticket sales against planned social media and advertising campaigns to see which programs have the highest engagement to ROI ratio. 

9. Lasso: Make short and fun event recap videos. 

Lasso is another great video creation tool only this one is all about fun filters, quality in-app editing features, and special effects. Although this platform is similar to Tik Tok, there is one distinct difference: Lasso is being used to make more polished creative skits and stories. Think YouTube but only clips. 

How event planners can use it:

Engaging event recap videos have a clear beginning, middle, and end. They also tend to be short and have a professional yet accessible feel to them, which is exactly the tone Lasso strikes with its users. 

10. Followerwonk: Learn more about your Twitter audience. 

If you’ve ever wondered where your Twitter followers are based, when they like to engage with your event brand account, and other key online habits that could inform your marketing, then Followerwonk should be high on your list. 

How event planners can use it:

Because Followerwonk conducts very specific and deep audience analysis for Twitter, you can optimize your event posts’ timing, content, hashtags and more and maximize your overall social strategy. 

11. WhatsApp: Create an event brand profile.  

WhatsApp is a WiFi messaging app that has since expanded into exciting new territories. Originally used by individuals for personal communication, WhatsApp now offers a Business API that helps brands connect with users all over the world. 

How event planners can use it:

Use their Business API to create a profile for your event. You can add photos, the event address and contact details, and relevant links (like your registration page). From there you can be organically discovered by app users while also build an audience through outreach using their messenger. 

12. Viber: Start pre-event group chats that include international attendees. 

Viber is also a WiFi messaging app which means it has the power to bring a lot of people together into a single thread all at the same time. They also offer instant voice messages, video messages, expressive stickers, and audio/video calling. 

How event planners can use it:

If you have an international event audience you can easily help attendees keep in touch by implementing this platform as your primary event communication tool. That way when attendees arrive they have already started networking and won’t have to worry about getting new phones to communicate with each other while they’re in your country. 

13. Mention: See what people are saying about competing events online.  

Like a couple other tools on this list, Mention offers online monitoring for brands that allows users to gain insight into what people are saying about them and where they are saying it. However, the feature that makes Mention stand out is its competitive analysis tool which lets you choose two more brands to simultaneously keep tabs on. 

How event planners can use it:

Keeping track of a competing (or similar) events’ primary demographics is great. But being able to view AI-generated side-by-side comparisons of your brand tone, voice, and statistics with theirs is even better. 

14. Discord: Reward VIP guests by connecting them directly with speakers. 

Discord is a free voice/texting app that has become popular among major podcast and Twitch channels, mostly because creators now use it reward loyal fans or donators. It’s often used to create a private forum for their audience to have conversations on related topics, get exclusive access to the creators, and give out bonus never-before-shared content all in one place. 

How event planners can use it:

In much the same way these independent artists are using the platform, event planners can set up an invitation-only Discord before or after their event to let VIPers enter into exclusive chats with featured guests, lecturers, and presenters. Host Q&A’s and AMAs, or just give everyone the space to debrief about what they learned at the event. 

15. Medium: Share your event speakers’ niche related tips. 

Writers, journalists, and subject matter experts gather to this ad-free platform to share their personal stories or expertise. They offer partner programs, a hand-selected featured section your work could appear on, and a high standard for what appears on the site. 

How event planners can use it:

Ultimately Medium is a great place to host your event blog and given the parameters set forth for writers, it’s best to share deep analysis or thought based pieces here. Which is exactly why we recommend sharing content from your event speakers to help build up hype and improve your event discoverability. 

Now you’re ready to master your events’ social media! 

But just in case you’re interested in even more social media tips, be sure to check out social media wall tools for events.