Social media

Creating a Facebook page is a great way to promote your event. Why? Not only is the social network the largest in the world, but it’s a conversation-focused, community-driven platform. And, as you know, TEDx is all about conversation and community.

Here are some ways to engage the online community on Facebook:

Invite your friends and TEDx event guests to "like" your Facebook page. When they “like” your page, all of their friends will get notification of your page on their feed.

Once you book a speaker, let your Facebook fans know! Give them teasers on your speakers’ talk, and make sure to “tag” any speakers who may have their own Facebook page.

Facebook users love visuals. Make sure to post pictures of the venue, speakers, and other photos relevant to your event or theme. After your event, post your photos on the page for everyone to see and share.

Giving kudos to other TEDx events is a great way to engage others in the TEDx community, and encourage other TEDx events spread the word about your event. There’s a reason why they call it social “networking”! You can find more about what happened at other TEDx events around the world on our TEDx Facebook page.

Engage your community with questions. Ask fans to share their favorite TED Talks, or what “big idea” they’ve thought of that week. Be creative!

If you have a blog (which we’ll talk about next), post all of your blog posts on your Facebook page. Spark conversation by asking a question related to the post.

Also don’t forget to promote your Facebook page outside of Facebook – add a Facebook “like” box or another sharing widget to your website, and include your Facebook page URL in all of your email updates.

Twitter has become one of the internet's most powerful social media platforms. You can keep your attendees in the loop – and find new followers – with short, timely updates.

Here are some great ways you can engage on Twitter:

Brand your Twitter handle by making your TEDx logo your official Twitter photo; that way, every time your tweet shows up in someone’s feed, the logo will be front and center.

Use your Twitter account to post about event changes, speaker announcements, logistics, and other exciting updates about the event.

Start conversations with other people on Twitter. This especially applies to your guests and other TEDsters and TEDx’ers. Make lists of local influencers and your event’s speakers.

Hashtags are a terrific way to bring attention to your Twitter handle. Create a hashtag for your event, and use already existing hashtags to your tweets (e.g., #TEDx).

A great way to give the online community a taste of your event is to live tweet it in real time. This especially applies to TEDx events with a livestream, so that viewers can also live tweet as they’re watching. Remember to use your event's hashtag so others can follow the conversation.

Also don’t forget to promote your Twitter account outside of Twitter – add a Twitter widget to your website, and include your Twitter handle in all of your email updates.

Facebook and Twitter are just two great social media sites you can use for your event; there are a wide range of tools to tap into. Here are a few others to check out:

Use your TEDx event name as your handle (e.g., @TEDx[name]) and post live updates leading up to the event.

Create a Tumblr blog that features stunning quotes from live speakers and your TED Talks videos, or cross-post updates from your blog so that the larger online community can learn more. (We’ve even created a special theme just for TEDx’ers!)