What’s new with Facebook events and how you can make it work for you!

Facebook events have just been updated. But what does that mean for you? How can you change the way you use your event pages to get the most out of them?
In this post, I will give you an overview of what has been updated, and discuss some new strategies you can employ to get more people going to your event.

Updates:

1. Less fields are required to create the event. You only need to enter a name, date and the privacy settings. All other fields are optional
2. You can now put a time zone on your event! – No longer does your international event have to state the time zone in the description!
3. People who have joined the event can update the location at a later date
4. The wall shows when someone joins the event - 
5. Wall posts are ordered by activity, therefore any discussions will stay at the top if they are important
6. The wall will only allow comments from people who are attending, or might do so
7. You can easily turn off notifications for events by clicking the cog in the top right
8. The admin will get notified if someone who you invited has joined the event
9. Multiple friends can invite you to the same event
10. Guest suggestions are also shown on the right when you invite people
11. If someone declines an event, only the people who invited them will get notified
12. If they state why they can’t attend, the message will be filtered out of the wall and into the ‘view declines’ area

How can you use these features for better attendance at your event?

Engage your fans

When you maintain a Facebook page, you create posts that should spark engagement. This should also be taken through to your events page. As the wall now arranges any posts by their activity, you want to keep people engaged in the most important conversations. This keeps them at the top, where you want it to be. Unlike Facebook pages, the posts won’t just drift to the bottom of the timeline, never to be seen again, as long as you keep them alive.
As people that are attending, or might attend can post on the wall, keep an eye out for any support questions people might have.You might have the most complete event description around, with links in all the appropriate places but people will still ask questions, so make sure you are ready to answer them in a timely manor like you would your page.

Invite your friends

Make use of the ability to invite your profiles friends, you still can’t do this as a page, however join the event as your profile and start inviting! People aren’t going to find your event unless you put it in front of them.
While creating engaging content on the wall, remind people that they can bring a friend.
With the new suggestions feature, they will hopefully invite more than they used too as they will be reminded of others.

Thank your attendees

When a new person joins your event, they are now shown on the wall. Make sure you use this as an opportunity to thank them for attending. It takes two seconds of your time, and makes that person feel a little bit happier that they are coming to your event, especially if they had to pay money to attend!

Facebook adverts

This isn’t so much to do with the update, but a means to getting your event in front of your target audience. Facebook ads have always been a very successful way of getting more people to your pages and events, so don’t forget to make use of it.
QUICK TIP:
I have heard people have a lot of success when they put a short time period on their advert, with the same budget as if it was spread over a long period of time. The advert is more likely to be displayed regularly. This is due to Facebook wanting to spend the full budget before the time is up. So if your event is only one or two days away, Facebook ads are still a viable option to increase the people attending your Facebook event.
If you decide to go down this route, make sure you remember to split test your Facebook ads.

How have you found the change to the Facebook Events? What techniques do you find works for you? Let me know in the comments below!