Why posting event flyers and posters on social media is a really bad idea…

So the date for the event is set, someone has put posters around the village and now you want to get the message out there on social media.

Surely the thing to do is post the flyer on Facebook and Instagram, right?

No!

Posters advertising events on social media never do well, and there are two good reasons why.

First, you need to make your event discoverable and searchable in as many ways as possible. But when you simply upload a flyer to Facebook, what actually happens is that effectively it disappears... all Facebook sees is a photograph of your poster.

That means it doesn't know what your poster is all about and so it doesn't know whom to show it to!

That in turn means that people cannot search and find it and your event won’t show up in local searches looking for events.

So it’s highly unlikely anyone will come across it – unless they are a follower of your page (and it is already well known that Facebook doesn’t show your posts to ALL your followers).

Too hard to read

The other reason is that, in this digital age, event flyers don’t belong on Instagram or Facebook.

With so much information now being uploaded to the internet, people don’t really stop to read blocks of text.

Social media is made up of platforms that are, in the main, visual and what you need is something that ‘stops the scroll’ and lets people see that your post is worth pausing for.

A flyer packed with text isn’t going to do that.

And imagine how small all that text looks on a mobile phone screen! Remember, most people who use Facebook and Instagram view them on mobiles.

So what should we do?

Use Facebook Events!

Yes, there’s a special feature in Facebook that is designed for promoting events! (It’s free, by the way.)

It’s a little bit more effort than simply uploading a poster, but Facebook Events have the potential to be seen by many more people and, importantly, they are searchable.

They are also included in local lists of events. See some examples here.

Another nice feature of Facebook Events is that people can click to say they are interested or even that they are going. This can encourage others.

On Facebook Events, you could use the artwork from a poster to illustrate your summer fair or concert, for example, but you’d be better to use a striking image from last year’s event together with an engaging caption about the forthcoming event.

>> See Facebook's guide to creating an event

When wording the information (and this applies to all platforms) remember to start with the information people NEED to know. What is important to THEM (not to YOU).

Don’t try to fit in every detail.

What’s the headline?

Is it catchy enough to stop the scroll?

The rest of the details can follow but you MUST grab people’s attention first.

Take a look at the image at the top of this page - that was enough to get your attention and draw you in... there's no detail, just a headline. Keep it simple!

If you know how to use Instagram Stories, try using those. Stories are perfect for promoting events because you can talk about the event multiple times without it living on your feed forever.

Plan ahead - Reach Out!

The earlier you can get your event on Facebook Events the better.

Not only will it give you more time to promote, but your followers will be able to look at what you have coming up and plan accordingly.

Also, don't confine your event promotion just to Facebook. 

Spread the word about your event across all your social media channels and your website. Your Facebook Event can serve as the information hub where people can learn more and get specifics.

Time to stop using those flyers on social!