Is Social Media Right For Your Conference or Event?

How often do we hear…

“You need to have a Facebook fan page for your event!”
“You need to have a Twitter hashtag for your conference!”
“If you’re not engaging your attendees with social media, you’re missing out!”

How often is that really the truth?

**Note: If you are having a corporate or non-public event, open social media channels may not be appropriate.  You could be in breach of non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements.  We’ll discuss closed social networks in another post.

In my experience, it all comes down to how your audience accesses information online. Most of the time, this is a generational trait. If your audience is 15-25 years old, chances are they receive most of their information through social networks such as Facebook. If that is your target audience, you may want to have a Facebook fan page (hint, hint).

If your audience is over 40, are they using LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter? Do they have profiles setup on the social networks, but don’t access them for professional use? Are they the small (but growing percentage) of users that makes full use of their online experience?

For audiences between 25-40, you could have a combination of both types of attendees. I have a friend who is graphic designer in his 30’s, and is not connected to social media in any way. When asked how he wants his information delivered… He said, “Mail it to me. I enjoy reading when it’s not on my computer.”

The simple solution is to find out how your attendees want their information delivered, and how they want to interact with you before, during, and after the event.

On Twitter hashtags…
If you (the conference organizer) is publishing a hashtag for your meeting, your attendees will expect to be able to communicate with you through it. They will also want to be reassured that your staff will be monitoring the hashtag for questions, comments, and complaints. If you won’t have anyone monitoring the feed… Don’t publish a hashtag.

The Bottom Line
Are you really missing out if your not engaging your attendees on the social media level? The easy answer is to find out. With online registration it is easier than ever to get information on how your attendees operate in their social networks.

These are just some of the questions you will want to ask before fully engaging on the social media bandwagon.

In my opinion, you should always have a presence on the major social networks (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube). The amount of marketing effort you will put into them is solely determined by your audience.  Not every event is right for social media integration, so do your homework on your audience.

Social networks… They’re free, they’re easy to use, and your attendees are looking for you there.

What are you doing (or not doing) to engage your attendees in the social media realm?

Glenn Thayer is a professional master of ceremonies that specializes in strategic content delivery, hybrid meetings, and conference moderation.  He is a professional member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI).  He can be contacted at glennthayer.com or @glennthayer on Twitter.

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