Live-tweeting is a very new, but very powerful phenomenon.
Whether people are using it to commentate their lives, react to a new episode of their favourite show, or keep their followers abreast of a sports event, live-tweeting has become the preferred means of coverage for many an internet exhibitionist.
The corporate world has also seen the value of live-tweeting. Live-tweeting events is a way to instantly connect with a huge audience in a very personal way. It creates conversation, and drives a huge amount of engagement. It’s a direct line to potential clients’ pockets – marketing that is delivered in a fun, unobtrusive way.
So you’ve seen the light, and are thinking of utilising live tweets at your next event. How do you best go about it?
Here are a few pre-event, during event and post-event tips to help you squeeze the live-tweet orange for all it’s worth.
Pre-Event
So you’re in the planning process. You’re aware of the benefits, and you’ve decided that Twitter should play a key part at your event. Nice.
Let’s have a look at some things you should consider when planning your live-tweeting.
The #Hashtag
The hashtag is one of the most important pieces of the live-tweeting puzzle. If you make it too complicated, too vague or too disconnected, you’ll find that people simply won’t bother using it.
A perfect hashtag will sum up the event in as few characters as possible. A perfect hashtag will be entirely unique, and have no chance of being mistaken for something other than your event. When a stranger sees a perfect hashtag, they will get an instant inkling of what the event is about.
Use the name of your event as a hashtag baseline. If you find that the event name is a bit too long, trying condensing it (or parts of it) into an acronym. Punchy simplicity is the ideal.
Pre-Event Engagement
Got your hashtag? Excellent. Now it’s time to pitch your event. It may be an idea to see if you can get your chosen hashtag as a Twitter handle to help in marketing your event.
And don’t just keep it to Twitter – use related social media to get the word out about your event. When setting up the event, boldly display both the hashtag and the event’s Twitter handle around the space.
Get Speakers’ Twitter Handles
Do you have important guest speakers at your event? Be sure to get their Twitter handle to utilise in your tweets.
During the Event
The big day has arrived. Time to warm up those tweeting fingers!
Display
A live tweet wall that displays event tweets is the best way to drive engagement. Nothing spurs people on more than seeing their handle flash up on a tweet wall. Live tweet tools such as that offered by Socialwall.me can be the key to live tweeting event success.
Engage
If someone goes to the effort of mentioning your event in a tweet, engage with them! A simple acknowledgement of their tweet will do wonders for your event’s reputation. Being engaging will promote your guests to follow suit.
Quote Speakers (and Do It Correctly)
So you’ve got the Twitter handles of your speakers, and you’re displaying them on your tweet wall while they speak. Now it’s a matter of live-tweeting their actual presentation. If they drop a knowledge bomb, be sure to attribute it to them through proper use of their Twitter handle.
Use Visuals
According to some sources, content with compelling images averages 94% more views than text-based. That being the case, use your camera! Live-tweet interesting pictures of your event for your followers to engage with.
Quality over Quantity
When live tweeting your event, be sure to prioritise quality over quantity. You want to deliver content that people will engage with, not flood followers’ news feeds with anything and everything event related. Doing that will result in people tuning out.
Post Event
The event may be over, but the tweeting isn’t! It’s time to capitalise on all of that good work!
Continue to Use Event Material
To keep your event fresh in people’s minds, continue to use content from the event in the following days, weeks and months. Make this live-tweeted event the gift that keeps on giving!
Tweet a Callout for Feedback
Twitter is a great place to ask for feedback on your event. What worked well and what didn’t? Use Twitter as a tool to help you improve your event management skills by asking your followers.
At the end of the day, the degree to which you use live-tweeting at your next event is entirely up to you. Just know that in Twitter, you have a platform that has a huge amount of potential when it comes to your next event.
And the exploitation of that potential sits in your live tweeting hands.
Try our Social Wall for a successful Live-Tweeting Event!
