About all those social media icons ...

If you're going to have social media icons on your page, keep them confined to the footer of your website. That is unless you can show, with hard data, that social media icons deserve larger and more prominent placement.

How can I make the above statement?

Because of the millions of dollars in client ticket sales, less than 4% of event ticket revenue could be directly attributed to social media. This is not my opinion, but what the data shows.

Ironically enough, when I bring the 4% or less stat up to event organizers, most get pissed off. How dare I say something so preposterous?! Here's my simple response, "please show me the data to back up your position." At that point, all the protestors all go silent.

Not a single event organizer to date has been able to provide a shred of evidence to back up their anger and angst. Yet they claim social media to be the end all be all event marketing tool.

Are there events generating more than 4% of their event ticket revenue because of their social media efforts? I have no doubt! If you're one of them, please let me know.

As usual, go get your data in order! And let the size of social media icons (on your event website) be proportionate to the ticket revenue generated. Else, stick them at the bottom of your website.

The Cold-Hard Truth . . .
Here's the cold-hard truth: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram have built their business empires on the backs of their users. Most people are never paid for the content they post, and social media sites re-purpose that content and make billions of dollars a year. This is lopsided. So, how do you get the better side of this deal?

You Must Play the Game Differently
If you want to take advantage of social media, you have to play the game differently. What follows are the most common social media marketing mistakes to avoid and simple corrections you can use. The suggestions apply to any social media platform. Click below and dive on in to the 5-Part Social Media Series:

1. Putting Your Social Media Mindset Ahead of Theirs
   
   
2. Focusing Too Much on Likes & Followers
   
   
3. Trying to Engage on Too Many Social Media Platforms
   
   
4. Avoiding Paid Social Media Advertising
   
   
5. Not Measuring the Results of Your Hard Work

Here are some additional social media resources you can use to market your event:

• Do You Make These Social Media Mistakes with Your Event?
• Measuring Your Social Media Event Promotion Efforts
• How to Leverage Facebook and Your Event Marketing
• Beware of the "Social Media" Event SMACKDOWN!
• Social Media, Your Event Marketing, and "Insider Info" . . .
• Social Media Comments and Your Event
• The Downside of Promoting Your Event with Social Media