Blog | How to do social media at an event. A 30+ Point Checklist

How to do social media at an event. A 30+ Point Checklist

One area of business that Social Media really has proved itself in has got to be in events. Organic Development have been involved in organising social media for a number of events and I thought it was about time I shared some of our experiences and things we learnt. So here is goes:

Why does social media work so well for an event?

Events are social occasions – they are talked about, they are anticipated, relished, planned, people arrange to meet at events - friendships, deals, relationships are created at events. They have elements of theatre and they inspire the imagination. Above all they are a shared experience.  From a sporting match to a convention they have a narrative that is shared by everyone involved – there is a pre-story, an after story, behind the scenes, personal stories, and what happens at the event itself.

All of this is great content content, and Social Media is driven by great content. In return Social Media provides a wonderful set of tools to augment and enhance your event and so that those attending have a richer experience and by providing a greater reach those that cant be there on the day can take part as well.

Okay – so how do I do it?

There is no prescriptive plan to follow for an event, but there are a number of things you might consider doing – some are more important than others and different events require different mixes of activity. Here is a list f things that I think are valuable to consider undertaking when organising an event with integrated social media.

1. Rent a crowd – get your buzz by renting a crowd of already connected and influential commentators
2. Connectivity – Have WIFI and hard cable connectivity available in all seminar / presentation rooms
3. Use multiple media and rich media – it makes the experience online more immersive
4. Have a working room for Bloggers and video creators
5. Don’t just use professional journalists or PR people – Social Media should have a human / honest voice
6. Have a centralised mashup for all your content BUT
7. Don’t publish all your content to the same place first – cater for different audiences of different platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Linked in, Posterous, and more
8. Ensure you have a publishing tool available for everyone to publish content efficiently
9. Have a hashtag – put it on all your literature so people can follow the conversation and you can track the conversation
10. Put your central hubsite on all your literature so people know where ot go for all the information
11. Give your bloggers the information about the event and content in advance so they can prepare, write content and research
12. Set expectations from your bloggers – What would you like people to produce
13. PLAN ACTIVITY – agree what you want to cover, assign particular jobs to bloggers – double up
14. Don’t define the narrative – BUT make sure the strategy and goals are clear
15. Have a mix of Journalists, commentators, marketers and video people in the team – you will get different types of content
16. Incentivize content production
17. Create buzz in the run up to it – get the hashtag running early and preview bits scheduled to go out
18. Don’t run a live twitter stream without some sort of moderation – if you do run one, be prepared for spam and NEVER run it behind a speaker so they audience can see it and they cannot.
19. Don’t just do the dry content – take different perspectives – a human one, a funny one, top tens…
20. Ensure content is held and produced in follow up to the event
21. Listen to the hashtag and other platforms and engage on a 1-2-1 basis with people there – ask them is they are having a good time
22. Use the medium for questions ECT – allow people outside back into the event
23. Measure: reach, productivity, engagement, traffic, (ROI?)
24. Ensure the bloggers cross promote each others content
25. Provide support and answer questions for genuine engagement – help the event run smoother
26. Offer a live schedule – links to resources
27. Stream what content you can – live content is a great feature
28. Don’t over edit the message – honesty IS integrity
29. Get permission before filming / talking to anyone
30. Arrange access for #SM team to speakers and key people BEFORE the event and schedule it up
31. Give bloggers dedicated seats in rooms – hardwired connections, stand for camera and appropriate seating / space at any key parts of the event
32. Learn from each event
33. Focus on the social side as well as the official side – publish content form the dinners, drinks receptions and behind the scenes

     1.   Use Augmented reality to enhance the experience for visitors

     2.  Make presentations available during the event (or straight away after)

     3.  Make the virtual audience visible to the audience in the room – make them aware they are part of something bigger

I hope you find this list useful. All these elements are things we have seen a need for at previous events. If you are looking for case studies for social media at events, checkout this case study of Orange Business Live and a infographic of the Twitter activity on just one day of the three day LikeMinds Autumn 2011 conference.