Leveraging social media
Person
# 1. Building an Audience (Using Ping.fm and the Following Tools) www.ping.fm www.facebook.com www.twitter.com www.upcoming.com www.ning.com
Twitter and Facebook should be your primary promotional tools – they are built for spreading a message. On Facebook, be sure to set up a Facebook Page – they are better than groups because you can appear in News Feeds every time you update the Page’s status. Creating a Facebook Event is also key, as well as having guests and members update their own status with links to the shindig. Twitter’s key is retweeting and hashtags: be sure to have an event hashtag and promote it, and ask for retweets of the most important information.
Ning: Some organizers create their own social networks to build up hype and to keep connections even after the event has occurred.
Upcoming and Gary’s Guide: Add yourself to major event websites. If it’s a nightlife event, Going may be a good choice. For technology, Gary’s Guide is a smart place to be listed. Upcoming by Yahoo is a good listing of events all across the spectrum.
#2.Optimize the event for social media sharing
www.ustream.tv www.qik.com www.polleverywhere.com
When the day comes and everyone is arriving, be sure that you keep people happy and that you’ve optimized your event to create additional buzz. You didn’t do all of this work just to have people complain over Twitter, did you?
Have high-speed wireless available – this allows people to tweet and converse more easily. Promote following the event’s Twitter account for event updates. Don’t forget to have a unique hashtag for the event. Have a web page or even a giant whiteboard where people can share their social media contact information too.
For people who cannot attend the event, consider setting up a live stream. Live video services like Ustreamand Mogulus make it possible to stream out key portions of events. You don’t have to stream everything – just the good stuff. If you can’t stream, upload videos to YouTube afterwards.
Finally, and most importantly, listen to your audience – do they complain about a specific speaker, the food, a lack of responsiveness? Address their needs by tracking the Twitter conversation for a large event. For small events, simply ask them for their feedback or have an online survey guests can fill out.
#3. Post-event social media communication www.youtube.com www.flickr.com www.facebook.com
Contrary to popular belief, the event is not done when everyone leaves. There’s still more to do to make sure the event leaves a lasting impression, especially if you intend to have future events or even an annual one.
First, be sure to continue communication with all the attendees. The web page where users can add their social media contact information is vital towards this end, as are the emails you probably have access to. Send them thank yous, updates, and information. Be sure to promote friending or following your social media accounts.
Next, do not forget to share all the media generated by the event. Upload photos to the Flickr account and post videos on YouTube (Vimeo and Viddler are also good alternatives). Post recordings of your live video streams as well (you did have a live video stream or two, right?).