Filipinos love get-togethers and reconnecting with friends and loved ones through great food, story exchanges, fun activities, and even a bit (or a lot) of karaoke. While we’ve seen many of these play out on Facebook through pictures and videos shared by family and friends, it’s also Facebook that has made connecting with loved ones and organizing these gatherings easier.
Whether it’s a small and intimate gathering, or a large scale event, Facebook can help spark creative and effective communication with the people you want to reach. Just ask Noel Canivel, 63, an avid Facebook user, who successfully organized his batch’s high school reunion back in 2009 with the help of the platform. Itching to plan that next get-together? Here are a couple of tips straight from Noel’s experience.
Make your Facebook Event name memorable
Every great event starts with an invite or a save-the-date that encourages attendees to block off their schedules. But it also helps if you personalize the event name by making it catchy and relatable to the people you wish to invite.
Have a group-defining memory you want immortalized in the event name? Or perhaps use a term that only you and the invited guests know? The possibilities of branding your event are limitless so take this opportunity to be creative. Remember that the name sets the tone of the event, and you definitely want to entice people to come over and join the fun.
Content is still king of engagement
For Noel, organizing a reunion for people who haven’t been together for decades was tough especially when connections seemed to have faded due to distance and time. To address this, he peppered his event page with memorable photos from his batch’s yesteryears to build a sense of yearning.
Remember, as a rule of thumb, you need to get people excited. Pictures, videos, and or even GIFs (think Boomerang) help pique the curiosity and excitement of your intended audience. Instead of posting an event reminder full of text, why not complement it with an image that resonates well with your invitees? The resulting comments and FB reactions definitely go a long way in building anticipation for your much-awaited get-together.
Go beyond the Facebook Event page
While Event pages are good avenues to promote your get-togethers, crafting dedicated Facebook groups and group chats also help in getting your message across. Creating Facebook groups allow you to have more room to share engaging content, and reach out to your intended audience even after the event.
Noel started a Facebook group for his batch that enabled him to also get more leads about previously uncontacted batch mates. This proved to be effective in ensuring at least 200 people attend succeeding batch reunions.
Group chats are also viable options for tight knit groups or even groups looking to reconnect with one another. This is great for building rapport among the group and facilitating real-time conversations. But before you opt for this, gauge the level of closeness and familiarity among your invitees.
“Our events have become big and successful due to information dissemination. Facebook made it easier to reunite everyone. And the feedback and comments from everybody, especially from people we have not heard for 20, 30, 40 years? That is priceless,” shares Noel.
Even as the world becomes more immersed in social media, platforms like Facebook also pave the way for more offline interactions that are meaningful and worthwhile. Like Noel, harnessing Facebook’s multiple tools can help you build just the right amount of buzz for your event. The next time you plan something simple or grand, take a step back and look at these tips to know what works best for you.
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