Organized play is becoming a more popular topic among many of the large game manufacturers. The world is beginning to open up again and many retailers have also begun thinking about bringing back in-store events. When done right, in-store events can be a great way to attract customers to one's store but owners must effectively market the event in order to see a positive result. Facebook can be a very effective tool to use for marketing in-store events and we have put together a list of four ways that store owners can use Facebook to effectively market their in-store events. 

Set Event Calendar as the Cover Photo

One super easy and effective way to market in-store events on Facebook is by updating the cover photo on your company page to an image of your event calendar. Create an image of a calendar and input information about each event on the corresponding day of the week. Once this is updated as the cover photo, it will be the first thing that anyone sees when they visit your company Facebook page. It is important to note that this event calendar should be updated weekly with the current events for that week. 

Create a Facebook Event

For each in-store event retailers host, they should also create a Facebook event. Facebook events should be created at least a week prior to the in-store event. Once the Facebook event is created, store owners should invite their followers to attend the event. Any person that selects “going” or “interested” will receive a notification every time something is posted on the event page. Retailers should post a few days before the event and the day of the event on the Facebook event page to remind attendees. 

Post About the Event 

Another easy way to advertise in-store events on Facebook is by sharing posts that advertise the event. Best practices for posting to advertise an event are, share a post the week before and the day of the event. Retailers should also share a post the day after the event recapping the event. Posts marketing the event need to include a graphic to catch the eye of people and make them want to attend. Facebook posts advertising in-store events also need to include all necessary information about the event. Be sure to include, date, time and prizes you may be giving away.

Paid Promotions

For stores that don’t have the largest Facebook following, traditional advertising methods using Facebook may not be as effective as owners may want them to be. Facebook ads can be a great way to supplement a larger audience. When using paid ads, store owners have the option to promote their actual Facebook page or to promote the event itself. Promoting events can work great to see a higher turnout at each event. Promoting a post on your Facebook page about the event will bring followers to your company Facebook page. When setting up ads, first decide if you want a higher turnout for your events only or if you want to grow your Facebook audience. No matter which type of promoting you choose to do, we suggest budgeting around 100$ per month if you want to see positive results.