As far as marathons go, London is the marathon on most runners’ (and a fair few thousand non-runners) bucket lists. Nearly 250,000 people entered the ballot to run last Sunday, with ‘only’ 40,000 getting a place.

As a runner for the past four years and unlucky (not bitter, I promise) ballot entrant for three of those, it’s the crème de la crème of running experiences that I absolutely MUST fulfil, one day.

Hype, hype, baby.

That’s in no small part down to the huge amount of coverage and hype that the event receives in the media, online and in the general consciousness of the country’s running population (2.3million runners in England alone, according to Sport England’s latest Active People Survey – although I have a feeling this is much larger).

Regardless of the mass media hype on TV and in print, London’s true success comes from social media, and the army of organisers, runners and wannabe runners, charities, partners and media outlets keeping the conversation alive across multiple platforms.

The art of conversation.

I’m one of 110,000 followers of the official London Marathon Twitter account but I didn’t see a single tweet in my timeline in the lead up to, during or after the race, and I didn’t necessarily need to. That’s because I was too busy enveloped in my own conversations within the hugely active and fast-growing online running community #UKRunChat.

Social media is more important than ever for events right now. A ‘free’ platform that is so much more than a broadcasting channel; it’s a place for brand building and conversation, creating active communities of brand advocates who will do the hard work for you.

It’s up to brands to harness the power of those communities via a mix of carefully planned, timely and highly targeted content across a range of channels.

London’s got 36 years and an army of support on its side – but there’s no reason that smaller events can’t have a slice of the action.

Here’s how:

1. Proper Planning Prevents P*ss Poor Performance.

True story. A thoroughly planned, multi-channel content strategy that takes in relevant dates, events and content angles surrounding your brand will help you reach and engage your audience. Speak directly to your target audience with content so relevant that they can’t help but interact.

2. The clue’s in the name…

Don’t use social media as a purely broadcast channel. Get social. Interact with your followers – ask questions, respond to comments, share posts on your page from other channels. Hold a conversation. Show your audience the human behind your brand.

3. Spend a penny, make a pound.

We all know how hard it is to beat the Facebook algorithm and get organic content seen on your page. It’s more than a little disheartening to put all that effort into great content to see 10 views and no engagement. Use the advertising tools at your fingertips to effectively reach your audience via interest and demographic targeting. Both Facebook and Twitter’s ads platform offers a wealth of opportunity for growth at little cost if you know how.

4. Join the dots.

Your content strategy should span across all relevant channels to your brand – including social, email and web. Don’t just focus on Facebook if your competitors and target audience is predominantly on Twitter. It’s about putting yourself in front of your consumers where they hang out online the most.

5. Speak, read, repeat.

With everything you do, monitor, track and record. How do you know what’s working if you’re not listening to the results? Facebook and Twitter have fantastic free analytics which show you audience demographics, post engagement and reach. Track other platforms via paid third-party apps, and utilise Google Analytics to track what happens after that all-important click through to your website from your social post. Gain insight, and use it to inform your strategy moving forward.

The next big thing for London is of course the Great Newham London Run, taking place at the former Olympic Stadium on Sunday July 17th.  See you there!