Social media has completely changed the face of marketing. They have created new paradigms and helped marketers engage with the audience in a more intimate manner. In the current realm of events, Twitter has especially become relevant. With events now being captured and shared as they happen, marketers have recognized the importance of using Twitter to leverage business opportunities.
There is no better way to get your event to gain some valuable momentum online than getting customers involved in the process. Twitter has stood out as one of the most intelligent ways to get prospects and customers to engage with your brand and create a meaningful exchange of thoughts and ideas in a short, brief, and effective format. In this blog, we look at 5 tips to step up your social media engagement strategy with Twitter.
The Hashtag
An effective way to get your event on the social media map is to associate it with a catchy and relevant hashtag. This is something that attendees will use over and over again before, during and after your event. So make sure you put in a considerable amount of thought into coming up with one.
There are two important aspects to focus on while coming up with a relevant hashtag. The first one is to create an actionable hashtag. Give users something to do. Irrespective of what your end goal is, get them to help you spread the word about your event.
Secondly, use your hashtag right from the very start of your online marketing. The earlier you start promoting your hashtag, the more activity you will notice. Start scheduling tweets well in advance and build momentum and intrigue as you go. This is also a great way to update your attendees about what to expect at your event.
Create Twitter lists
Twitter lists are enormously helpful tools that Twitter has to offer. This feature helps you follow and engage with those you add to your list. While planning an event, you can create a Twitter list of influencers, speakers, and attendees. This way, you can engage with them and create a context prior to an event. Attendees subscribing to the list can also engage with each other and follow event updates in real-time. Those who do not make it to the event can also follow live updates and build relationships with others in the list.
Live Tweet
Get your audience involved during an event is to engage them through an active Twitter feed. Attendees are always looking for ways to engage with and share their event experience. If there is a particular session that you want to draw attention to or provide updates on the program, you can tweet using your event’s hashtag so that your attendees can keep a tab on them. You can also tweet quotes, snippets, and takeaways from speaker sessions. Feel free to retweet, like and comment on tweets that you find relevant.
Follow Your Twitter Feed
Many social media managers often overlook the importance of monitoring Twitter feed at the event. There are so many action items that you can derive from observing your event’s Twitter feed. First timers are bound to Tweet about going to your event. This serves as an excellent opportunity to touch base with them.
There are limitations on predicting what can happen during the course of the event, but you can proactively capitalize on spikes in engagement as they happen. Assign the task of monitoring feed and taking action to a set of individuals. This way you get in the heart of the conversation and reach attendees without much time lag.
Collecting Feedback
Twitter is a great way to collect feedback. Unlike other social media like Facebook, Twitter gives you the opportunity to reach people you may not necessarily know. Twitter is a goldmine for feedback. Utilizing the unbound reach can help determine what worked and what clearly did not. You can also use the feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of your social media campaign. You can analyze your overall social media position by keeping track of those tweets that worked and those that deterred from it. Make a note of the most successful tweets in term of retweets, likes, and comments. This will tell you what resonated with your audience the most. You can use this information while curating content at your next event.
Twitter gives users access to a stockpile of information. But if organized well, it can be an excellent tool to initiate and nurture relationships with influencers, prospects, attendees, and speakers at events. The purpose here is to connect with your audience and create meaningful conversations before, during and after the event. This way, attendees have a more interactive, authentic experience with industry peers and take back a valuable event experience.
For more insights on B2B event marketing and sales advancement, visit the Jifflenow blog.
