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12 Kick-Ass Ways to Use Social Media at Events

The day of your event has arrived, but your work as an event organiser is far from done. In addition to hosting and facilitating, you should know about the many ways to use social media at events.

Social media can be beneficial for all types of events but is downright crucial for large-scale events like music festivals, business conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows.

The more people that attend your event, the easier it is for everyone to feel disconnected. Social media is your way of connecting everyone and creating a community.

In this article, we’ll cover 12 kick-ass ways to use social media at events so you can expand your reach and continue the conversation online where everyone can participate.

1. Use event hashtags

An event hashtag lets people on social media stay up to date with your event. It also allows them to share their own content to the same stream as your marketing content.

The social media platforms where hashtags are most relevant are:

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

You should do your best to promote your event hashtag before, during, and after the event.

Ways to Use Social Media at Events: Create an event hashtag.
Create an event hashtag

Make sure that you include your event hashtag in the following places:

  • Event website
  • Social media accounts
  • Marketing collateral
  • Event tickets
  • Venue signage

Tip: Read this guide on how to create an event hashtag to help you pick the right one.

2. Set up social media groups

In addition to hashtags, you should use social media groups to keep the conversations around your event in one place. Encourage group members to use the event hashtag.

Here are some examples of social media groups you can set up for your event:

Similar to the event hashtag, social media groups create a space for your attendees to discuss the event highlights and give you valuable insight into their experience and expectations.

3. Create a selfie wall

All major events will have a “selfie wall”: This is typically a wall branded with the event title, logo, and hashtag. Attendees can take selfies in front of it and share these to their social media profile.

Some alternatives to the classic selfie wall include:

Make sure that whatever selfie opportunity you create is well-advertised. You can, for example, put up signs pointing in its direction.

4. Set up a photo booth

A good alternative to the selfie wall (or similar selfie spot) is a dedicated photo booth. Attendees can use it to take pictures of themselves and their friends.

Photo booths come with a lot of bells and whistles, including the option to apply filters and hashtags, just like on social media. You can also find magic mirrors and table selfie booths.

5. Simplify social sharing

The best practice for selling tickets to your event is to have as few steps as possible between people discovering your event and buying a ticket. The same goes for social media sharing.

Use the following tools to make it as easy as possible for people to share your event:

6. Incentivise social sharing

You can increase the number of social shares you get during your event by providing attendees with an incentive to share images and footage along with your event hashtag.

Ways to Use Social Media at Events: Incentivise social sharing.
Incentivise social sharing

The best way to do that is to set up a competition. For instance, you could give out an award or a gift voucher to the best selfie or funniest video from the event.

Tip: Check out this guide on how to set up a contest to encourage social sharing during events.

7. Share speaker or performer content

Many events host speakers or performers. This is a great opportunity to leverage their following on social media platforms.

You can tweet (or create image memes) with the best quotes from your speaker. Likewise, you can share images and footage of the performers. Just remember the hashtag.

Tip: Use online tools like Canva or Pablo to quickly and easily create branded images.

8. Share behind-the-scenes content

Show people how the sausage is made. It won’t necessarily be glamorous, but it will add a personal and a human touch to the work you do.  And guess what: People love that.

Here are just a few ideas:

  • Take them backstage before a speaker or performer goes on
  • Show them how the food is prepared in the kitchen
  • Do a time-lapse of your team decorating the venue

We’re all curious creatures, so use your social media channels to give attendees a peek behind the scenes.

9. Use social media polls

Polls and questions on social media are also great ways to interact with your attendees during the event. Twitter polls are particularly good for real-time polling.

Here are some things you can ask them to start the conversation:

  • Which speaker/entertainer did you like the most?
  • What has been the highlight of the event so far?
  • What is your favourite part of the venue?

It’s important that you have a member of your team ready to answer all the comments from the attendees and facilitate the discussion.

10. Live stream (parts of) the event

If you have access to great WiFi at the event, you should definitely consider live streaming key parts of the event. These could be speeches, performances, or audience reactions.

Bear in mind that many social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, limit live streams to around 60-120 minutes at a time. Make sure you cover the most important moments.

Live streams also enable attendees (and those who couldn’t make it) to comment and ask questions. Make sure there’s someone from your team ready to reply to all of them.

Tip: We’ve covered live streaming events at length in our ultimate guide.

11. Activate your team

Your event team should play an integral part of your social media campaign during the event. The team includes staff, volunteers, sponsors, and anyone else involved with the event.

You should have team members dedicated to the following:

  • Managing your live stream
  • Replying to comments on social media
  • Helping people using the photo booth
  • Record behind-the-scenes footage
  • Encourage people to use the selfie wall

Make sure that they are all briefed on the points mentioned in this article and take an active role in promoting the event and responding to attendee engagements.

12. Have all the right tools

Finally, it’s important that you have all the right tools at hand. Test the venue’s WiFi connection prior to the event. It will most likely be pushed to the very limit during the festivities.

You should also invest in a social media monitoring tool so you can keep track of all the conversations happening across the different social media platforms. Some good tools include:

Let’s get social

Boom. That was everything you needed to know about using social media at events. You can get as creative with any of these ideas as you want—just make sure you use them!

Did we miss anything that you’ve seen used at events? Share it with us in the comments section below, and we’ll add it to the list!

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20 Awesome Team Building Activities for Your Next Event

Team building activities. Did you just get a shiver down your spine? Come on, tell the truth. Team building activities get a bad rap.

The worst activities try too hard. They create artificial friendships between bored, uncomfortable people. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

We’ve built this list of team building activities for your next event. Events large and small almost always gain something from natural teamwork. We’re a social species and we get good vibes from cooperation.

But remember that it’s important to know your audience. Don’t build teams of bingo-daubing grannies for your white water rafting adventure.

Well, not if you want them to have fun. Let’s look at some great team building activities for your next event.

Corporate team building activities for a professional event

These activities are perfect for the corporate setting. Seminars, meetings, and other professional gatherings can get stuck in the rut of being stiff or overly formal. But as relations improve, so does productivity. Loosen up your next company event with some of these ideas.

1. Team lunches

Pretty basic, but also natural and simple. Take your team out to lunch! A digital poll can help lend some choice to the matter.

2. Board game sessions

Take an hour out of your corporate event to get your game on. Competitive and cooperative games alike can foster authentic relationships between coworkers.

3. Mystery restaurant

Randomly divide employees from different sections into groups. Then each group leader hosts a dinner at a unique local restaurant. Meet some of your unfamiliar coworkers in a new place!

4. Professional development workshop

There’s always room to improve. Choose a skill set you’d like to emphasise and host a workshop centred on refining it. One idea is to have employees from “Section A” try to solve a “Section B” problem.

Then the real team from Section B can give them some pointers. Switch and repeat!

professional development workshops like this are usually indoor team building activities
Funny business or business-oriented team building? Ideally, both!

Unusual team building activities for a novel event

These activities are not mainstream team builders. For events that thrive on open minds and new experiences, these can help strangers get into the groove of feeling pleasantly surprised. Unusual activities work really well as common ground for the unacquainted.

1. Adult show and tell

No, not that kind of “adult.” The regular kind. Show and tell for grownups can be just as cool as you remember. Bring something interesting and talk a little about it.

2. Escape rooms

Escape rooms are a hot new trend. Special themed puzzle rooms are built for teams to investigate. You have a time limit and you have to figure out how to escape.

Escape rooms like this are an unusual, but exciting team builder.
With a little teamwork, this guy could escape the room in no time.

3. Karaoke night

Don’t be surprised if all your guests are extroverts. Get up on stage, pick a song, and let your inner musician free. Or whatever you have in there.

4. Kitchen creations

Create teams, supply ingredients, and go! There are a lot of options here so it can be as competitive and creative as you like.

5-minute team building activities for an efficient event

Who has time to go on a two-hour scavenger hunt? You need cooperation and fellowship, and you need them now! Enforce the short time limit for best results. In a friendly way, of course. For events with heavy schedules, like workshops, these activities get the job done with an eye toward the clock.

1. Murder, she winked

Everyone stands in a circle. A detective is chosen, and he or she leaves the room for thirty seconds. The other players decide on a murderer. The detective returns. His or her only clue is that when the murderer winks at someone, they drop “dead.”

2. Sort it out

Teams are divided at random. They have to sort themselves by age, height, name, or whatever you want to use. Prizes for the fastest team and the most accurate. Finish up with a quick debrief on the winning team’s processes.

3. Paper tower

Hand out some amount of paper to participants. Then each team of participants has five minutes to build the tallest paper tower they can. That is, without it toppling over.

4. Common threads

In this game, groups have five minutes to discover things they all have in common. Whoever finds the most common threads wins. “We all breathe oxygen” doesn’t count.

Team building activities for students

Maybe your target students are fresh off the bus. Maybe they drive themselves to campus. In any case, these team building activities are designed for the student event. Occasions like career fairs, field trips, or new-student college campus tours can benefit from a bit of teamwork.

1. In theory

One approach to team building is simply talking. Pose a fun or challenging question and get some insight into the students’ thinking processes. The more interesting the question, the more engaged the students will be.

2. Can I get a volunteer?

Volunteering is like an event in itself. Okay, so community service is not everyone’s idea of a good time. But it can be a great way for students to brainstorm ethical and inventive new ideas.

If you are hosting a class field trip, for example, you might hold a little side competition. Student groups can compete for the best volunteer ideas. The winning group’s plan then becomes a reality, with credit going to the student creators.

3. Once upon a time

Create cooperation with a fun story! One student begins a story, another continues it, and so on. You can issue plot points to cover so that the students must work together to build the right narrative.

4. Catchphrase

This game actually has its own electronic version. You can easily play without it, though. One student is given a word in secret. Then he or she has to help others guess it without saying the actual word.

Students after a good team building exercise
Good team building can make or break a student’s classroom experience.

Outdoor team building activities for a lively event

Ah, the great outdoors. Get your group out and into the sun for a little time with nature. These activities double as polite ways to eject visitors (not that you would use them that way).

1. Scavenging

Not merely for hardy survivors of the apocalypse! A classic outdoor scavenger hunt can be fun for all ages. There is a ton of room for creativity. Organise the teams, give ‘em a list, and get searching.

2. Kayaking

This famously corporate activity works quite well for any group. The UK is rife with kayaking hotspots if you know how to find them.

3. Minesweeper

This real-life version beats the heck out of the old computer game. A blindfolded player is led around “explosive objects.” Teammates must advise them using speech only.

4. Fly like paper

Can you hold a paper aeroplane competition indoors? Yes. Is it better than setting your plane on the wind outside? Not even close. There are helpful resources for plane building if you’re not into aeronautics.

Teeming with workable activities

One of the coolest things about these activities? Most of them are just a tiny bit silly. Letting loose and having a laugh is one of the best ways to encourage teamwork and cooperation. Especially when someone’s paper aeroplane hits a stranger in the head.

Did we skip your favourite team building activity? Tell us how your activity works in the comments below!

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12 Points for a Win: How to Host a Sports Event

Hosting an event can be stressful, but few events will feature as much action as a sports event.

So we’ve put together a guide on how to host a sports event, so you don’t get caught out on the day.

Read on to discover…

  • What do double check on the day
  • How to brief your team
  • What to prepare for the attendees and athletes
  • How to promote the event with images
  • What to do once it’s all over

1. Check the weather forecast

If your sports event is being held outside, it’s essential that you check the weather forecast on the day of the event.

You may have checked it in advance, but—as we all know—the weather can change at the drop of a dime.

This is particularly true if you live in a city like London, where you can experience all four seasons in a single day.

Tip: You can use the Met Office website to check the weather forecast for the UK, but cross-reference with other sources such as BBC Weather and Accuweather.

2. Brief your sports event team

It’s crucial that you brief your events team before the attendees and the athletes arrive.

You can print out a schedule for the event and hand it out to all the team members and volunteers, so everyone is on the same page—literally.

Make sure that the first aid volunteer has everything they need in case of an accident or player injury.

Your volunteers should have all the tools required to do their job. They should also know who the contact person is in case of any issues during the event.

The point of the team briefing is to ensure that you minimise the amount of micromanaging you have to do once everything kicks off.

Tip: Read our guide on how to evaluate an event team’s performance so you know which specifics to cover during the briefing.

3. Do a health and safety round

When you’re hosting a sports event, it’s a good idea to do a health and safety check on the day of the game itself.

As a good event planner, you will have done all the health and safety planning beforehand. But it’s always a good idea to double check in case anything has changed.

How to Host a Sports Event: Perform a health and safety check.
Perform a health and safety check.

Tip: Check out our guide to health and safety for events to learn everything you need to know.

4. Check any technical equipment

If you’re hosting a larger sports event, then you might need microphones, sound systems, and even a stage to communicate with the attendees.

Make sure that all the technical equipment is working as it should. That way, you know there won’t be any technical hiccups when you need to make announcements.

You also want to avoid problems with the sound if you need to alert anyone in case any athletes get injured during the game.

Tip: Read this guide on how to conduct a stress-free sound check so you’re prepared.

5. Prepare the sports equipment

Are you supplying the equipment for the athletes? Then make sure that it’s all ready and prepared for when they arrive. If the athletes are bringing their own equipment, then you should also provide a space for them to be able to store it in.

Tip: You can find good deals on sports equipment online, or find decent second-hand sports equipment on eBay.

6. Get out the refreshments

No matter what kind of sports event you put on, it’s important for the athletes (and the attendees) to stay hydrated.

If the tickets for your sports event include refreshments, make sure that you line up welcome drinks for when the guests arrive.

You should also stock up on plenty of bottled water for the athletes. They will likely appreciate some snacks as well, like fruit and protein bars.

Tip: Use this guide to summery drinks for sporting events for inspiration.

7. Line up the prizes

If the athletes are competing for prizes, prepare them to make sure the trophies are polished and neatly lined up for everyone to see.

How to Host a Sports Event: Line up the trophies.
Line up the trophies.

If you are giving away any particularly valuable prizes, make sure that you have adequate security in order.

Tip: Still haven’t ordered the trophies? Check out this award and medal supplier.

8. Register and brief the attendees

In case of a big sports event, it’s vital that you prepare the registration table so you can keep tabs on everyone that arrives. It’ll also make it easier to follow up with no-shows.

It’s also a good idea to have some event programmes at hand that you can use to brief the attendees. Include a map if there’s more than one game on at a time.

Tip: You can use a website like Canva to quickly and easily design an event programme.

9. Take photos and record video

It’s incredibly important to prepare video cameras and have a dedicated photographer onsite to document the sports event.

Sports fans love to relive events after they happened. The images and video footage will also be invaluable for your event follow-up and social media promotion.

Tip: Read our guide on how to find and qualify an events photographer.

10. Encourage social media sharing

You’re not the only one who might be interested in sharing what’s going on during the sports event.

You should encourage attendees, athletes, and volunteers to share event updates on social media.

Create an event hashtag for social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. That way, it will be easy for everyone on social media to follow what’s happening.

Tip: Read this guide to learn the why’s and how’s of creating an event hashtag.

11. Award the prizes

Once the athletes have pulled off a spectacular performance, it’s time to hand out the prizes.

The award ceremony is your chance to shine as the event host. If you are not comfortable with public speaking, arrange for a member of your team to do it.

12. Pack up and say goodbye

When it’s all said and done, it’s time to say goodbye to all the attendees. Thank the athletes for their excellent performance and pack up all the gear.

If you’ve hosted the event outside, you want to take great care to ensure that no litter is left behind. Not only will it be harmful to the environment, but it might also incur fines.

Exhausted yet?

Don’t be.

Wipe your forehead, stock up on electrolytes, and prepare yourself for the final round: the follow-up.

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24 Tips for How to Host a Food and Drinks Event

You’ve gone through the planning and promotion stages of your food and drinks event. You’ve sold the tickets. Now the day is here, and you need to host it.

The life of a host or hostess is not an easy one.

You have to make sure everything runs smoothly and on time. But more importantly, you need to make sure everyone is having a good time.

We’ve put together 24 great tips for how to host a food and drinks event people will remember. Follow them to create the right atmosphere and make the conversations flow.

1. Set the tables

The table is your canvas when you curate culinary art. Make sure that the tables are set in a manner that complements what you’re serving. Set them early in the day so it’s out of the way.

2. Arrange the seating

It’s optional to assign seats, but it can sometimes help make the conversations flow. Play matchmaker and try to pair up people who have something in common.

3. Organise seats and tables alphabetically

If you do table plans and assign seats, try to avoid name cards. It can be difficult to skim through at a large event. Make it easy for your guests by arranging it in alphabetical order.

How to host a food and drinks event: Arrange the table plan alphabetically.
Arrange the table plan alphabetically.

4. Cue up the music

Music is not only good for creating the right atmosphere. It can also help guests avoid awkward silences during the meal. Use Spotify to find a playlist that matches the theme of the dinner.

5. Prepare transport and accommodation

If the venue is in a far-off or difficult-to-access place, do your guests a solid by researching transportation and accommodation. Have numbers for local taxis and hotels at hand for later.

6. Food safety

Make sure you adhere to food safety standards. As a rule of thumb, keep cold food in the fridge until it’s time to serve it. Replenish snacks in small quantities so they don’t spoil.

7. Make everyone feel special

All your guests are VIPs at your event, and you should treat them as such. Greet everyone personally at the start of the evening, and make sure shy guests are introduced to others.

8. Start it off right

Once the guests have arrived, it’s time to kick off the festivities. You should have a nice welcome drink and some nibbles for the guests so they can whet their appetite.

9. Hors d’oeuvres

The hors d’oeuvres you serve when guests arrive should be small but delicious. Cheese and crudité platters are always a good choice. Make sure you spread them out evenly across the room.

10. Announce the menu

Now is also a good time to announce what the guests will be treated to. You can kill two birds with one stone here. First, you build hype around the food. Second, you preempt any dietary requirements some guests might have.

11. Maintain wine temperature

It’s important to make sure the wine has the right temperature. As a rule of thumb, red wine should be 12–18 degrees, and white wine should be 8–12 degrees. Remember to decant red wine 30–60 minutes before serving.

12. Pair the wines with the right food

Have a think about what food will go well with the wines you’re serving. Even if your event is a wine tasting, you should have some cheeses and grapes to match the drinks.

How to host a food and drinks event: Maintain the right wine temperature and pair it with the right food.
Maintain the right wine temperature and pair it with the right food.

13. Break the ice

Unless everyone already knows each other, you should try to break the ice early on. Introduce guests to each other or prepare a fun game that does it for you.

14. Let the guests help out

Don’t be afraid to let the guests help you if they offer to do so. It might intuitively seem unprofessional, but it can also be awkward if you insist on doing everything yourself.

15. Make no apologies

Unless something goes terribly wrong, you shouldn’t make any apologies for the food. The guests will not appreciate every dish being introduced with a disclaimer.

16. Serve the dinner quickly

You have to make sure everyone gets served within a short time-frame. That way, no one has to sit and wait for their dinner while others are eating…or waiting as their food gets cold.

17. Change seats

It’s optional to change seats halfway through the evening. But it can be a useful way to encourage people to mingle with a different crowd, rather than sitting with the same one all night.

18. Keep the conversation clean

As a host, it’s your responsibility to make sure everyone has a good time. If a heated topic is brought up (Brexit, anyone?), try to change the subject if it makes anyone uncomfortable.

19. Pay attention to body language

A more subtle way you can facilitate a good time is to pay attention to the body language of your guests. If the guests are starting to look bored, it’s time to move the event on to the dessert.

20. Finish off with dessert

It’s a nice touch to finish off with a bit of dessert. It doesn’t have to be super fancy, but something sweet hits the spot. Serve it with coffee or tea, but try to keep the coffee decaf.

How to host a food and drinks event: Finish off with a nice dessert.
Finish off with a nice dessert.

21. Remember to relax

Although your responsibilities as a host are many, it’s important you relax as well. Not only will you have a better time, but it’s not nice to see the host constantly stressed out and on edge.

22. Thank the guests for coming

As the evening draws to a close, it’s important to thank everyone for coming along. It will make them feel appreciated, and increase the likelihood of them attending the next event you put on.

23. Ask for feedback

Although you should always follow up the day after the event, it’s not inappropriate to poll a few guests on the night. Ask them for a bit of feedback, and see if you could improve anything for future events.

24. Walk people to the door

Remember those taxi and hotel numbers you collected earlier? They might come in handy now. In any case, you should follow people to the door and send them off home properly.

That’s it!

You now know how to host a food and drinks event.

Hopefully, you’ve managed to pull off a great event and avoid uncomfortable topics and awkward situations.

If you’ve picked up any tips that we didn’t cover here, feel free to share them in the comments section below.