Events held at your organization present unique opportunities to tell your story to the world. From going live to capturing terrific images, people learn all about your organization through event social media. As they flip through your images, a rich and endearing story is told.Have you ever gone online and happened to come upon a LIVE event as it was happening? Perhaps this event wasn't scribed into your calendar well in advance. All of a sudden, you come upon something compelling and you begin to watch. From a car chase to the birth of a kangaroo, it is easy to find live events online. While I surely do my best to limit my own digital distractions, I encourage organizations and schools to go 'live' and capture a crowd. It is just one of the ways to use social media during events.

Before

Use social media in advance to share information about your event. Sell tickets online and offer previews with rich imaging.

• Hashtags - Create an event hashtag, display it prominently and ask others to use it.
• Attendees -Gather social profiles of special guests and community members to mention.
• Post - Use Facebook and Linkedin events to post in advance.
• Graphic - Create eye-catching graphics using tools such as Adobe Illustrator or Canva.
• Registrations - Explore tools such as Eventbrite and Wufoo to post tickets and collect registrations.
• Eblasts - Use eblasts via Smore or Mailchimp to send out advance notice.

Larger Connections

Be sure and connect with any national or organizational groups celebrating the same or similar events so that you can connect with their message and resources as well.For example, schools have many opportunities to tell the wonderful stories seen each day in the life of their school. One especially important time for Catholic Schools to do this is during Catholic Schools Week. During this week each year- held during the last week in January - schools hold special events and honor the mission and people that make their schools so special. NCEA offers free downloads to schools. Connecting with others during this time on social media is a way to collaborate with the local community and connect to the larger national Catholic School Community. Hashtags #catholicedchat and #catholicschoolsweek, allow participating schools to easily connect and tell their story too.

Images and Graphics

Free images and graphics are available through NCEA (National Catholic Educational Association). These can be downloaded and shared with your school community.

Visit this link to learn more about how to use social media for school events and connect to downloads for Catholic Schools Week.

During

Give live updates during your event. Use tools such as Facebook live to stream video so that people can view online or watch the archive. Ask people to interact and share your live stream. The video generated will be available for future use and can be remixed too!Youtube, Facebook and Instagram have easy to use streaming capability. If wifi issues cause a problem, you can video portions of your event and upload them at your convenience.

After

While not everyone can attend your event, you may truly have piqued their interest in what it was all about! Event wrap up is essential - the icing on the cake even!Create and share quality images and videos of your event. Share these on your website and on social media both during and after the event. Wrap up your event by sharing special stories from the day. Use tools such as Animoto or Peardeck to create slideshows with memorable highlights.Be sure and collect stories from attendees too.  Attendee highlights via video and quotes can be a delightful means using social media for wrapping up a special event.To learn more about using social media for your school or organization, subscribe to this blog. Available for Winter 2020 is a Social Media Calendar and a 48 page Social Media Guidebook. The page below is a sample page from the Guidebook. The Guidebook is available as part of a package or can be purchased as a stand-alone booklet.