Let’s face it: One of the most valuable parts of any industry event is networking. And it’s hard to network if nobody knows you’re there! By taking a proactive approach to social media, you can raise your profile at any industry event while making important contributions to the professional conversation. Live tweeting is an effective way to accomplish this.
Tweeting gives you the power to share your thoughts in real time not only with other attendees, but also with colleagues who didn’t have the opportunity to come along. Of course, there’s some social etiquette to be aware of – a right way and a wrong way to be a digital participant – and a best way to make the most of the experience.
Here are some tips:
1 Announce Your Attendance
A month, a week, and two days before the event, be sure you announce that you’ll be in attendance. Others will be out there building up a portfolio of attendees and tuning in to what you have to say, so make it easy for them. Start following other attendees well in advance.
2 Use the Event Hashtag
Virtually every professional event these days will have its own hashtag – used by organizers, presenters, and attendees to make it easier for others to find relevant content. If you’re going to be commenting on any aspect of the event, make sure you consistently use the hashtag.
3 Tweet Directly to Presenters
In many cases, the event program will list the Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn handles of the main presenters. Refrain from tweeting them questions or comments during a talk – it makes it seem like you weren’t listening – but feel free to re-engage speakers afterwards or the next day.
4 Provide Smart Summaries
Why are people eager to get the scoop directly from attendees? Because you have a unique chance to capture the essence of a talk. You might consider taking notes during a session so you can distill these down into effective tweets as soon as things wrap up.
5 Quote Speakers Correctly
If you’re going to quote, be sure you do it right! Presenters love to be quoted, but the message gets muddled when ten different versions are floating out there. Recording a whole session is usually a no-go, but most presenters are okay with grabbing a few seconds for accuracy’s sake.
6 Get Attendees and Others Onto Your Platform
To make the biggest impact, wind down each day with a blog post that summarizes what you learned. Writing a quick post at night will keep things fresh in your mind. Plus, your tweets can direct people to your blog and website, a great way to build lasting relationships.