Social Media Rules the GRAMMY Awards

February 2, 2014

This past Sunday the GRAMMYs aired on CBS and if you were on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest or Instagram at the time you were bound to see discussions and images covering the performances, outfits, and winners. 

GRAMMY.com recently announced, “Music’s biggest night is TV’s biggest social event of the 2013-2014 season with a record-breaking 34 million social media interactions.” This is an event manager’s dream! 

You, too, can achieve spectacular success on social media for your event! The GRAMMYs started promoting their social media channels long before the night of the awards ceremony. Leveraging commercials, videos, and user engagement on their social media pages, the GRAMMYs team promoted the hashtag #GRAMMYs weeks before the start of the event.

They didn’t just mention the hashtag and social media pages just once. You, too, will want to repeat and repeat and repeat your hashtags to your audiences so that these stick with them.

You don’t want them to have to go searching or worse, use the wrong tags. The viral effect works best if everyone is tuning into one stream-lined conversation thread. 

The work doesn’t stop once your event starts. This can be the most crucial time for you to be active on your social media sites. You will want to interact with your audiences’ tweets, posts, and images - Reply, Repost, and Repeat. Grammy,com made it easy for fans to follow the social activity with multiple social media feeds on their website.

Make it fun! Social media is naturally a more relaxed marketing medium than others.  Even the most buttoned-up events can have a little fun. Use contests, special access to inside information, and recognition with onsite tweet and photo walls to engage your audience.

If you watched the GRAMMYs, you may have seen the social media photo booth backstage. The performers were having a great time snapping their photos with each other and broadcasting them on social media.

This concept is very much like a2z’s ChirpE Photo Booth that allows for attendees to snap their photo with an iPad, type a testimonial, and then it’s instantly posted to the event’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

A smart solution like this takes all of the work out of posting for the user (this can increase social media activity especially if your audience is less technically savvy). Attendees can quickly share, comment, like and retweet their photo to their fans, friends, and colleagues.

The extra time and work you devote to social media marketing can reap huge benefits for your event, its sponsors, exhibitors and attendees as proven by the GRAMMYs.

Add new comment

Partner Voices
Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact