The season of festivals is now upon us. Fans flock to outdoor concerts to hear their favorite artists, enjoy food stands, and maybe see an art or movie exhibit. The time is ripe for festivals, fairs, and other seasonal events to bring in the largest and most excited crowd possible. If this is one of your goals (and it should be), it’s time to think about how you can use social media to market your summer event.

When it comes to marketing to a mostly-millennial crowd, social media is at the top of the list for generating engagement and attendance. After all, this generation heavily relies on the internet to do their research. Millennials almost solely rely social media posts to decide where to travel and what to attend. This is an important concept to take into consideration as you pick a strategy for promoting your summer event.

A study of over 25 million event-related social media posts revealed that there is typically just as much conversation happening before an event as during the event itself. This makes the time before your fair or festival a great opportunity to interact with possible attendees. Need a kickstart?

Here’s seven ways to get the social ball rolling:

• Reveal special guests or lineups in a creative way. Posting “teaser” videos are images are a great way to generate excitement. You’ll have a lot of eyes when you finally reveal all the details. Don’t forget to retweet posts from fans who are excited about the guests and lineup.
• Promote giveaways or sweepstakes. A sweepstakes post on your Facebook timeline is an easy way to increase engagement with the page. Up the ante and give away tickets in pairs – this encourages users to share the post with their friends.
• Generate the buzz. Behind-the-scenes photos and countdowns are simple content to post, and get followers hyped. Also be sure that participants in your event, like musical artists, are posting and spreading the word too. That way, you get access to their fan base and followers too. Your ticketing provider and certain event listing sites can also be powerful tools for targeting attendees.
• Utilize influencer content. Research says that 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations. This why social media influencers can be the perfect way to get the public interested in your event. Find influencers who have content that is in line with your brand or event. And of course, when the big event arrives, engagement should be amped up even more to make sure those who missed out want to be there next year.
• Share quotes and content. Your social media accounts should be active throughout the entirety of the event. Fill your followers’ timelines with quotes from speakers and photos. Encourage attendees to post their own content using a designated hashtag. Or consider a Snapchat geofilter or photo background.
• Take followers behind-the-scenes. One very compelling aspect of social media is its ability to take us where we can’t physically go. Take event-goers and those at home behind the scenes of your event. For example, a film a backstage tour or an interview before the gates open for the day.
• Live stream the action. Digitell reported that 30 percent of fans who watch live video of an event attend that event in person the following year. So if you are hoping to boost your attendance next time, let people follow along with a live stream.

And once the fun ends for the year, there is still more that you can do. Social outlets are an ideal platform for getting attendee feedback about their experience. This will hopefully help you to make the next summer’s event even better than the last one. With a well-timed strategy, you can use social media to market your summer event all year long.