Social Sharing During an Event

Beginning a couple of years ago, I began seeing conference attendees using their laptops and smart phones during sessions. I figured they were just checking e-mail, but many of these folks were out on social sites like Twitter and Facebook posting real-time comments about the session itself. The first time I saw this happen, my initial thought was that it was really rude. But then I began to think about the implications. How can a speaker, moderator or host utilize this information?

This practice of sharing during an event has become commonplace. Many conferences and virtual events now provide instructions on how attendees can provide feedback or ask questions during a session. A common example is asking attendees to submit questions for the speaker using Twitter and a pre-defined hashtag. This does require that the speaker have a moderator who can monitor the real time feed and ask the questions. The moderator can also monitor the feed for comments and help direct the speaker if necessary. For example, if someone posts, “audio stinks-can’t hear this guy,” the moderator can intervene and address the problem right then.

We’d love to know what you think! Post your comments and let us know!

Who really Tweets on Twitter?

Twitter Bits:

1. The percentage of Twitter users who are African American is 25% - double the percentage of African Americans in the current population. Take-away: If your prospective clients or existing clients include African Americans, start tweeting!
2. Tweeting isn't just for Tweens and Teens. 1 in 3 monthly Twitter users are 25-34 (31% are 35-54)
3. Twitter users are more educated
4. Twitter users have higher household income
5. Twitter users are Early Adopters. Take-away: have a new product or service....Tweet about it!
   

Want to learn how to use Twitter to help promote your business or law firm? E-mail jeanne@vitalinkweb.com for a free consultation.

Let us know other Twitter Bits you've found and your take-away to use the information!

Source:
Twitter Usage In America: 2010
The Edison Research/Arbitron Internet and Multimedia Study

My top 5 reasons to use social media

There are so many reasons to be using social media as part of your marketing. Here are my top 5:

1. Engage vs Push. Marketing used to simply 'push' messages at the consumer and you'd hope to make a connection if they liked what you had to offer. Times have changed and so has marketing. People want to feel more connected with products or companies they choose to do business with. Social media helps to 'engage' people.

2. Transparency. When done correctly, your prospective clients get to know you better. They see if you have some of the same beliefs as they do, allowing them to form connections with you. Don't just advertise sales to them. Give them a taste of who you are beyond the sale. What is your commitment to the community? Do you contribute to your industry as an expert? Why do you do what you do?

3. Handle the Haters. Within social media, you actually want a small percentage of your followers to raise issues. If it is all a love fest, it is boring, self serving and you'll actually lose credibility. People like a little controversy (think Rush Limbaugh). You may even find other fans coming to your defense when someone raises an issue, which is wonderful marketing. You should develop a response plan to handle the haters, because how you handle the issue will say something about who you are.

4. Google Footprint. The search engines give high value to social media channels. When you have a robust presence in the big 5 (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Flikr), you will see a better Google Footprint and this will also help your websites search engine optimization (SEO) with backlinks from all your social media channels.

Be sure and define which channels will work best for your target audience and then spend your time accordingly to build the best channels for your needs. Social media can become a black hole where you spend far too many hours and valuable resources. Set limits on your time or hire someone to help you keep your content current.

5. Need another reason? Your prospective clients are on social media right now!


CAUTION: Many businesses and law firms are jumping on the bandwagon to the exclusion of other marketing channels. Social media SHOULD be part of your marketing, but it should not be the only thing you do. Consult a professional to help you with your planning and budgeting so you have the right marketing mix.

New Twitter Text Notification

Interesting new feature. Twitter just rolled out “push” notifications. You can sign up to be notified via SMS whenever someone mentions your name @NAME in their post. Only available right now for iPhone and Blackberry. Cool.