That Facebook is not going through its best moment is something that any user or former user of the social network has been noticing for some time. However, it was not until the last quarter of 2021 when the data officially reflected its decline. And it is that, for the first time in his history, Mark Zuckerber’s platform has dropped in number of users. However, although Meta has not been able to attract or keep younger users, there is a function that none of its competitors replaces (yet): the events section.
Those of us who arrived in time to live the golden age of Facebook remember (and miss) how easy the social network made it to virtually summon people to events in real life. Whether they were private (a birthday, a pool party) or public (the presentation of a book, a language exchange…). You just had to create an entry in the platform’s calendar, send the invitation to your “friends” and activate or deactivate the option that they, in turn, could bring third parties.
It was easy for everyone. Organizers could see at a glance how many people had RSVPed, who was hesitating, and who had declined. In addition to being able to notify all the guests at once about any change or necessary indication about the event. On the other hand, if you saw yourself one day without a plan but wanting to leave home, you could explore what exhibitions, parties, etc. were near you to spend.
Although all that, as it existed on Facebook, has been lost (and not because the social network has removed the function but because, probably, the guests will not see the notification in time), we have done field research on the alternatives left to us. And have them hailas.
Create a WhatsApp group
Although WhatsApp groups are as loved as they are hated, they are very useful for organizing private events and, on many occasionshave already replaced paper invitations.
Points in favor: Everyone can communicate with everyone in one go. Guests can see who else is invited (more or less). You can decline the invitation by leaving the group.
Points against: you need to have the phone number of the people you want to invite. Depending on the number of guests and what they like to text, your mobile can spend the day beeping.
Story on your best friends list
Another method some people use for large-scale private events (that is, with many guests) are Instagram stories. To do this, yes, you have to modify the list of your “best friends” with those users who are invited.
Points in favor: you can make a pretty design and have it act like virtual flyer. You can leave the story fixed on your profile and add it to the folder of highlights any additional information that arises.
Points against: The guests must be your followers. The stories they only appear in the feed of your followers for 24 hours. You have no way of knowing the list of confirmed, unless they communicate it to you privately, which would cause a barrage of individual messages. Although, with the new reactions to stories, a response code could be established through hearts. Of course, the guests only have 24 hours to answer and they cannot see who the rest of the attendees are.
google-calendar
It may already be used in your work environment to call meetings, however, it can also be useful for your social life. Especially since the date will be automatically marked on the guests’ calendar and then you just have to click on it to know and remember all the details.
Points in favor: the organizer can easily check the attendance of the guests and they, in turn, can see who else will attend. The details of the event are communicated to all the guests at once. You can add a photo to the invitation.
Points against: You need to have a Google account to invite and be invited using this method. You also have to know the address of the people you want to invite.
avoid
This application has been available for some time in the app stores of the world’s operating systems, but now it could help us fill that void left by Facebook events. It allows you to send virtual invitations to your contacts and it is perfect for birthdays and parties of any kind or organizing holidays, etc..
Points in favor: Creating an event with all the details of time and location is very easy, you just have to fill in the boxes with the information. For this, there are many different themed templates. You can even include a survey or a list of things you need to bring. The contacts to whom you can send the invitation can come from different platforms (email, SMS, Facebook messenger…). You can see in the app the status of the guest list in real time.
Points against: if it doesn’t automatically load your contacts, you’ll have to add them manually. The app is a bit outdated, in general.
Eventbrite
In case you want to organize a public event that we want people we don’t know to attend as well (for example, a book launch, a free tours, a concert…) we can turn to Eventbrite. This website allows users to browse; create and promote local events, both to organize and to discover activities in our area.
Points in favor: the platform is known and used by many users and you don’t have to have an account to keep an eye on the calendar (you do have to sign up for events).
Points against: the service charges event organizers a fee in exchange for online ticketing services, but this does not apply when the event is free. Attendees cannot see who will attend. It is not possible to invite anyone directly from Eventbrite, but you can share the link on social networks.
Instagram post with reminder
If you are a content creator or a brand, Instagram allows you to create posts with a reminder for those who register for an event that you have created. Attendees receive a total of three notifications: one 24 hours before, another 15 minutes before and at the beginning. Just click on the bell icon in the lower left corner to confirm attendance. Of course, it is more useful for online events than face-to-face.
Points in favor: you can turn the post into an ad so that it reaches like-minded users outside of your circle of followers. Attendees see the schedule adapted to their time zone automatically. Allows you to create more than one post with reminders for the same event.
Points against: sadly, the function of creating events is only available for professional accounts. In addition, the user has to make the post banner on their own.
Photos | unsplash