The Power of Engagement on Social Media: A Case Study of TEDx Warrington

How we reached 55,000 people on Twitter (X), 23,000 people on Facebook, attracted over 900 expressions of interest for a 100 seat event with no followers, no advertising budget in only a few months. Leading to an event sellout within 39 minutes of the TEDx Warrington tickets going live.

TEDx is an independently organised event licensed by TED, featuring local speakers sharing ideas worth spreading in the spirit of TED’s mission.

In 2022 I was invited onto the organising team for TEDx, we planned to bring the first-ever TEDx event to Warrington. My responsibility was to raise awareness across Social Media to ensure the local community knew about it, sponsored it, bought tickets and applied to be speakers.

The Implementation & Planning of TEDx Warringtons Social Media

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media marketing, engagement is critical for growing followers and building an active community on social media.

But the first step is to make sure you have pages worth following, that look professional, add value, and rank high in the searches. Therefore the set up phase is crucial to success. The next step is a robust content plan. For TEDx Warrington I focused on a teaser campaign aimed at generating anticipation and engagement.

Speaker announcements served as pivotal touchpoints, leveraging tagging and hashtags to amplify reach and spark conversations. Each post was meticulously crafted to invite interaction, building momentum towards the main event.

The Results

The impact was impressive despite starting from zero followers, TEDx Warrington quickly garnered attention, with high engagements on every post.

By June 2022, the event launch, we had a modest following of 652 on Facebook and 342 on Twitter. Yet that month the event managed to captivate the attention of over 55,000 Twitter (X) users and 23,000 people on Facebook – no advertising required.

More importantly when ticket sales went live, they sold out within a mere 39 minutes, a testament to the power of effective social media engagement.

The Key Tactics

The success of TEDx Warrington can be attributed to a series of key tactics:

• Humanising the content by showcasing behind-the-scenes preparations and engaging with all stakeholders, including sponsors, speakers, and support teams.
• Leveraging various content formats, including videos, to increase reach and build a connection with followers.
• Encouraging audience participation and feedback, both online and offline, fostering a sense of belonging, intrigue and involvement.
• Having a strong presence in the search results by optimizing pages and posts for anyone searching for TEDx

TEDx Warrington highlights the true power of engagement on social media. By prioritising community-building and fostering genuine interactions, even new social media platforms with modest followings can achieve remarkable results. TEDx Warrington serves as a testament to the power of engagement, reminding marketers of the essence of the ‘social’ in social media.