Do you host parties on social media? Are online events your main marketing technique, or do you want them to be?
If you answered yes, this post will be your 101 guide to promoting a virtual party that results in, hopefully, more online sales.
Everyone loves a good party.
Online or real-life, everyone loves a party! When these parties include sales, the excitement just gets higher. Most virtual “parties” last around 24 hours or less, which means the marketing for them also tends to be short-lived and typically differs from your marketing strategies for longer campaigns. Follow these tips to drive your virtual party viewership further and your sales up.
#1: Make a Facebook Event for your Party
When it comes to virtual parties, invitations can be a little difficult to figure out. Keep it simple, organized, and easy to understand by creating a Facebook Event specifically designated for your selling party! Facebook’s algorithm also works in your favor if you create an event, because it will show your event to people who may be interested when the fans you invited reply “maybe” or “going.”
More importantly, people who marked themselves as “going” or “interested” will receive notifications and updates for the event as it gets closer.
#2: Count Down to the Sale with Posts on Facebook and Instagram
Around 5-7 days before the start of your sale, post a daily countdown on Instagram and Facebook to build excitement for the event! Plan your posts a few weeks in advance to make sure you are including all features to drive the most organic engagement. You may want to schedule your posts so you don’t forget a day on your countdown!
In addition to making posts on your feed, Facebook and Instagram Stories are also great options for increasing exposure. While making your countdown posts, share 2-3 photos of the products you’ll be selling on your Stories! This not only builds excitement, but also gets fans eager to see what they might be able to snag a deal on during your party.
#3a: Consider Running Ads to Build Interest – Before Event
Online parties are a great way to introduce new fans to your business. While some fans may be loyal to your products and would buy them anytime, some people are waiting for the perfect discount or sale to come up and might just need that extra push to win them over.
Paid ads are a great feature offered by both Instagram and Facebook, and both are definitely worth looking into if you want a bigger turnout for your sale or party! If you do choose to run an ad campaign, the Reach campaign will help you get you the results you’re looking for.
To start a Reach campaign, simply select it as your campaign objective in Facebook Ad Manager. You can target your ad to either your following or an entirely new audience that may have product interests similar to your business. For example, if you are selling jewelry, making your target audience young women aged 18-30 might be a good place to build engagement.
#3b: Consider Running Ads to Build Interest – Day Of
Once the day of your party is here, we recommended promoting it with a Conversions campaign. For a Conversions campaign, set your budget to “Lifetime Budget” and set up multiple ads to target different audiences including:
- Website visitors from the last 180 days
- Your customer list, if you have one
- Every person that engaged with your Instagram and Facebook pages from the last 30 days
Then select “Accelerated Delivery,” but this can run up your budget so be sure to check it often. For more detailed information please click here.
The key to promoting and hosting a successful virtual party is to give yourself enough time to build organic reach and engagement for your event. Use these three tips to help organize your promotion so by the time your party comes around, you can sit back, relax, and let the sales come rolling in!
What are your experiences with virtual parties? Comment down below and let us know!