Mapping out a conference’s social media strategy starts long before registration opens and continues long after the final presentations have been delivered. [Scroll down to take our poll!]
Sabrina Kidwai and Lauren Precker, both with ASAE, opened their “Tips on How to Use Social Media In and Around Your Meetings” session at Springtime on April 9, 2015, by looking at where social media efforts should be focused.
They encouraged attendees to get to know their audiences and find out when and where they are engaging. It’s also important to identify the goals of your social media strategy, which could be:
- Achieving engagement
- Raising awareness
- Increasing registrations
Some of the tips they offered when planning a social meeting strategy:
Before the conference:
- Look at what social media opportunities are available
- Make sure language is cohesive across all marketing collateral
- Stay organized with an editorial calendar
During the conference:
- Have a monitoring and response plan
- Create organic content that can be scheduled in advance
- Leave room for/plan to add onsite content
After the conference:
- Create a wrap-up for social media analytics
- Reflect on what worked and what didn’t
- Decide when will you change the marketing for next year’s meeting: immediately? When marketing starts? When registration opens?
To build your social media audience, it’s important to:
- Create fresh content
- Post regularly
- Promote social media on email abs marketing brochures – signage at > conference
- Play the accounts off each other
- Engage with users
- Find and follow your industry’s influencers
How do you engage with attendees on social media during your conference? Do you share your show daily content on social media? If not, why not?