During initial marketing assessments, Facebook is usually one of the first topics mentioned by new clients.
A favorite point of event organizer braggadocio is touting one's Facebook followers or page likes. It goes like this: "We have over X number of followers on our Facebook page!" In some cases over 40,000 Facebook followers.
What gets muddled in the details of marketing is who owns what. Specifically, your Facebook followers or people who like your event page.
My question to event organizers is this, "have you ever tried to download a list of people who follow your Facebook page?"
If your ever bored, take a look at Facebook's terms of service. I'm no attorney, but last time I checked, your "followers" don't belong to you. They belong to Facebook.
This information is not being shared to depress you. It's to get you to think.
Specifically, what are you going to do if your Facebook page gets taken down or is no longer available to you? When asked the previous question, most event organizers respond with, "we never thought of that!"
The question above doesn't apply to just Facebook. It includes social media platforms such as Instagram (owned by Facebook), Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, etc. Each of the service providers just listed own the platform and "your" followers, page likes, etc.
Be different and be proactive!
Make sure you're taking steps to build and collect your own permission-based datasets. Especially when it comes to event attendee data. That said, if you're going to collect data, do so ethically and with the highest of privacy standards in place.
Owning your own data set is one of the best ways to ensure the success of your event today and in the future.
Playing the Game Differently
If you want to leverage 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: