The trend for using social media to maximise events is growing, but corporates must have a strategy and adequate resources, Hewlett-Packard advised at C&IT's Corporate Forum.
Hewlett-Packard events manager Jane Culcheth Beard, speaking at a session entitled ‘Social media and technology – how to integrate into your events’, told delegates: "In December my team got together to discuss mobile apps. The year before, it was all about ‘where is social media going in events’. In a year, adoption and usage had skyrocketed. Everyone in the team is using it for their events."
The company used a mobile app for an event for the first time last year and saw 1,000 posts within the first day, she added, saying: "It was a revelation to me – people really want this."
Feedback
As well as building excitement beforehand, social media can also be a useful way to gather informal feedback during and after events, delegates heard.
"Post-event, a Linkedin group is great – you know who is on it, and they have really good discussions. You have got the opportunity of a week or two to keep in people’s minds what they heard at the event," said Culcheth Beard.
Structure and resources
She advised delegates to put a structure in place for using social media, and "treat it like any other marketing tool".
However, effective use may require extra resources, delegates heard. HP Discover, which took place in Vienna last year for 7,100 delegates, had "a really big social media programme, for which we had resources, " she said.
"Pre and during the event you need resources – to do a good job you need someone just doing social media. It is not something you can do as an event manager as you won’t have time."
For apps, event planners were advised: "Shop around. App providers need customers, it is a new area and there is no pricing scale at the moment."
Culcheth Beard’s key advice for using social media to maximise events:
- Think about what the event aims to achieve and who the target audience is
- Plan how you can social media create "a buzz" before the event, and dialogue during and after the event
- Be authentic – "Don’t get the marketing department to do a product development blog – it has to be genuine"
- Plan ahead: "Give yourself enough time. We’d start planning 30 days out for a small event, for a big event it starts 12 months before with posting news, kicking off discussion forums etc."
- Don’t forget to follow up post-event: "It is the easiest to forget and the most important, because the reason for doing the event in the first place is to get a dialogue going."
- You can’t control social media – "I’ve got used to people having a moan – they are going to do it anyway, and you won’t know about it. This way, you’ve got a chance to respond."
http://SocialBusinessToday.net - The Best in Social Business
4 comments:
Feedback from customers drive a business' goals. This is why social media is one effective way to reach out.
The trend is social media is really expanding nowadays especially now when almost all the people use social networking sites regularly. Thanks.
Social media is the key to research and marketing. A lot of people are using social media to cater their needs. However, it is essential for every individual to use the social media properly to prevent negative feedback.
try this !~ buy real followers on instagram
Post a Comment