Industry conferences are a great way to learn, connect and socialize with people associated with your industry. Instead of letting a conference be a one-time event, use social media to create lasting engagements and connections.
Turn that conference into a virtual gold mine that will continue to pay dividends long after you’ve returned home.
Conference Pro Tip #1: Prepare in Advance
As soon as you register for the conference, you need to start working on your engagement plan. You should already be thinking about how to use the conference as a business-building tool.
- Check your business card. Your business card may be the first link to your company. Make sure that the card reflects your company’s identity and is part of a comprehensive branding structure including colors, logos, themes, etc. that will help to introduce your business to others. In addition, make sure that all of your contact information is correct and current. Include social media identities such as your Facebook address, Twitter name or LinkedIn profile.
- Do your research. Find out if there is a hashtag for the event itself. Develop a list of speaker profiles, workshop titles, what conference keywords may be important or other pieces of information that may be useful to make connections later.
- Get a head start. If possible, be on location at the conference a day or so early. Scout out good places to eat, convenient parking lots, and where cab or public transportation pickup locations are. If you discover ‘insider secrets’ such as the location of a seldom used elevator or bonus features, such as the complimentary breakfast at the conference, share your discoveries. Publicize these pieces of information with the conference tag so other people will begin to see you as a valuable resource.
- Make your conference schedule. Look for interesting break-out sessions in the conference schedule and publicize the ones you’ll be attending. Tag the speaker and use the event hashtag, and ask who else may be attending. Make a note of anyone who indicates they’ll be there – then be sure to look for them at the event so you can meet them in person.
Conference Pro Tip #2: Get Your Accounts Ready
Make sure your social media accounts are ready to receive more traffic. Optimize your accounts to better serve new visitors.
Do your images support your overall branding efforts? Ensure visitors they’ve arrived in the right spot.
Make sure your bio includes a link to your business’s website and any other online real estate you want to promote. Use your social media accounts to drive traffic and increase leads.
Monica Eaton-Cardone is a noted thought leader and highly-sought-after conference speaker. After attending just a few noteworthy industry conferences and making a conscious effort to increase social media activity, she was able to increase social media followers and drive more traffic to her site.
Conference Pro Tip #3: Identify Your Targets
There are three target groups for every conference: those who are attending the conference, those who are not attending the conference and influencers who are at the conference.
To successfully maximize the conference social media connections, make sure that your efforts address all three target groups. Provide relevant information for each group and you can double (or triple) your conference ROI.
Conference Pro Tip #4: Meet and Greet, then Tweet
One of the best features of industry conferences is the large number of potential contacts gathered in one location. As you interact with people at the conference, be sure to exchange business cards. Make notes on the card as needed to help you identify them later.
If you have a booth at the event, take pictures of people who visit your booth and post signs informing attendees where to find your business on social media. (‘Like us on Facebook for conference pictures and updates!’) Take more pictures than you think you will need! You can always delete pictures that are blurry or unnecessary, but you can’t use pictures you don’t have.
For extra fun, set up a selfie station in your booth with props for attendees to use and ask to be tagged in any pictures they may take. Post the pictures you take and tag individuals with a simple, “Thanks for stopping by our booth!” message.
Conference Pro Tip #5: Live the Conference Online
A great way to connect with people who may not be in attendance is to post live updates during the conference.
From the fast and easy (post quotes from general sessions) to the more complex (write a blog post summary of a break-out session), regular updates with real-time information can help keep people connected.
For maximum effect, try to post summaries quickly, within 30 minutes of a session. Followers will rely on you as a trusted resource and appreciate the timely information.
Conference Pro Tip #6: Use Data Effectively
Conferences are usually jammed with facts and figures. Use these tidbits of information to your advantage. Twitter reports that tweets containing a number get an 18% boost over tweets that don’t.
Similarly, postings that contain pictures are 35% more likely to engage with viewers than just text alone. Video can be another effective element to gain social media attention. A 90-second video selfie of “Guess what I just learned?” is a simple and fast way to convey information about the conference.
Try combinations: a picture of the conference hall with a quote or relevant statistic, a video sharing the great hole-in-the-wall restaurant you found…the possibilities are endless.
Conference Pro Tip #7: Wrap Things Up
Summarize the conference with postings about your overall thoughts, things you learned or new ideas you’re excited to try. Ask others to share things they may have picked up during the conference or to highlight special moments.
Be sure to include the appropriate conference tags. If you’re lucky, you might get retweeted, attracting even more attention to your brand. Check out the extra publicity MediaMath got from ad:tech.
Conference Pro Tip #7: Follow Up
Now that you’ve increased your social media connections, continue to stay engaged with your new friends and followers. Use e-newsletters, postings and other updates to keep the door of communication open for the future.
Evaluate your ROI for the conference. Did you…
- Generate new leads?
- Identify potential partners or investors?
- Acquire new followers on social media?
- Receive professional development credits?
- Have media coverage?
All of these areas can ultimately pay for the conference, making the time and effort to attend well worth it.
The next time you get a flyer in the mail about an upcoming conference, start thinking about how you can use that conference as more than a few days away from the office.
By maximizing the reach of social media, one conference can work around the clock to increase business and generate leads.
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1OfZzaX via transformational marketing
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1U0kSC7
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