So you’re at a conference, gaining wisdom from the pros in your industry. Or maybe you’re one of those pros yourself, sharing your years of experience, or your new and innovative ideas, in speeches and discussions. Either way, customers will be impressed to learn of your dedication to your industry, your commitment to continued learning, and, in the case of presenters, your status as an expert in your field. What’s the best way to spread the word about your presence there, and keep all your fans in the loop about what’s going on?
Social media, of course!
Posting live updates from the floor can bring some of the excitement and enthusiasm of the event to your followers, letting them feel almost like they’re there, taking part in the conference themselves. And anything that boosts your customers’ excitement about your industry can only be a good thing when it comes to increased business!
With that in mind, here are some tips for rocking social media when you’re attending one of these events.
1. Get everyone to pitch in. Don’t try to do it all yourself. Whether you’re speaking, running a booth, or just trying to glean as much knowledge as possible from the speakers, you’ll already have your hands full. Divvy up the social media tasks among the other attendees from your company, as well. Give them access to your various social media accounts, and have them spread out across the venue, so each gets a different perspective.
2. Try post automation to help manage updates across several social networks. Even with others helping you out, it can still be a real feat to manage posts to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, and whichever other social media channels your company uses, live from an event. While you’re manually posting the same message to your fourth social network, you may be missing out on a great photo opp or important insights from the speaker. Try using a service or app that will broadcast your updates across all your networks at once, instead.
3. Use hashtags to give your posts visibility. Your own company’s followers may know you’re at the conference, but if you don’t use hashtags, no one else will. Make it easy for others looking for information about the conference to find your live updates by including a hashtag unique to the event. You may even gain them as new followers!
4. At the bare minimum, use Facebook and Twitter for your updates. Don’t restrict your posts to one social media channel only. If your business uses more than just these two, then by all means, update all of them! But if you’re social media-shy, these are the two to focus on. Why? They’re the most popular, and they allow for pictures and hashtags, which are important factors in your event coverage.
5. A picture is worth a thousand words…or 140 characters. It’s great to post quotes and updates from an event…but if they’re not interspersed with (or even surrounded by!) photos, they won’t pack the same punch. Be sure to take plenty of pictures, whether they’re documenting what’s going on behind-the-scenes, or sharing the electric atmosphere of the crowd. Photos will up your followers’ engagement exponentially.
So how did you keep your fans updated, the last time you attended a conference? Any more tips? We’d love to hear them in the comments section below!
