getting your conference viral

Social media is a natural extension of conference planning, production and marketing.

And, a conference is a natural extension of social media.

Here’s my thinking on how the two work together

Stage 1. Conference planning

Social media can be immensely powerful for finding and inviting great speakers and sponsors.

1. Set up a Twitter account for the event and follow relevant twitterers
2. Set up the event in Linked in
3. Start a blog. You’ll be doing loads of research. Blog about what you find. Tweet each blog post. Blog lots its great for Search Engine Optimisation.
4. Start making connections in Linked In. People you find in your research, last years speakers, sponsors and attendees.
5. If you’re selling sponsorship then find all the speakers in Linked In, look at their connections are they linked to their suppliers? These are potential sponsors. Look for previous sponsors and new sponsors, look at their connections, they may well be connected to their partners and competitors.
6. Search for relevant groups in Linked In, join them and the join in the discussions. Don’t post overt marketing messages, genuinely join the discussions. This will build your cred in that group, later you can introduce your event.
7. If there’s no specific group on this topic in your region, then start one. But be active and drive the group.
8. Search for competing and similar events in Linked In and look at who is attending these. Connect to them.
9. Sign a speaker? Blog it, Tweet it.
10. Sign a sponsors? Blog it Tweet it.
11. During your research you’ll redoubtably come across relevant blogs. Subscribe to them. Post comments on their blogs regularly. They’ll get to know you which will come in helpful later on.

Stage 2. Conference promotion

You’ve got the programme, the speakers and the sponsors. The brochure goes off the press and the usual direct marketing activity kicks off. What’s your social media marketing strategy? If you used social media well in the conference planning section then you just need to build on this.

1. Set up a Facebook page.
2. Set up a hashtag for the event and market it.
3. Link your conference site to your twitter, facebook and linked in group
4. Advertise your twitter handle, hashtag and your facebook page in all offline advertising.
5. Get a promotional video for the conference. Post to site and to You Tube. Encourage sharing.
6. Continue blogging – but with more marketing spin. It’s now time for the conference marketing guys to get blogging seriously. Announce offers, new speakers and sponsors. Talk about who’s registering and talk about and link to conference advertising and PR. Production folk to also continue blogging. Tweet these.
7. Post speaker photos to our website and to Flickr. Tweet these.
8. Email a weekly round up of the bog and include current offers to register.
9. You’ve built come cred in Linked In in stage 1, now build on it. Announce your event in the relevant groups you’re a member of. Get attendees to RSVP to your event listing and invite them to join your group if you have one.
10. Encourage speakers, sponsors and attendees to follow your conference on Twitter. Then encourage them to re-tweet you. If you mention them they’re pretty likely to re-tweet you.
11. Invite the bloggers you have built a relationship with to attend and blog at the event. They may even blog about the event before, but you can’t expect this.

Stage 3. On the day(s)

1. Ensure all attendees know the Twitter hashtag and encourage them to tweet.
2. Have the twitter feed for the hashtag running live on screens around the venue.
3. Listen to Twitter and respond and join in the conversation.
4. Blog the proceedings on the event blog. Tweet.
5. Video the presentations
6. Have a tweetup at the end and meet your followers.

Stage 4. Once it’s all over

1. Post event photo’s to site and to flickr. Blog. Tweet
2. Post event presentations to website and to You Tube (if under 10 mins). Blog each one. Tweet each one.
3. Email attendees and encourage them to link to and share the photos and videos.
4. Post presentations to slideshare. Blog them. Tweet them.
5. Start back at stage 1. Using all this new content as new fuel.

I’m sure I’ve missed a million tricks. Got any more?

Advertisement