#SOCIOMEDIATIPS

SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FOR CONSIDERATION AT ANY CONFERENCE

By Jayne Corso

Here are a few tips for staying social during an event, especially through Twitter! Why Twitter? Twitter makes your posts visible to people who aren’t already in your networking, therefore, increasing your reach.

Hot Tip: Use the Correct Hashtag

Almost all events have a hashtag, and Evaluation 2017 is no exception. Use #Eval17 when sharing posts related to the conference. Nothing is more frustrating than tweeting at an event then later realizing you used the wrong hashtag and have missed out on conversations. Through #Eval17, you can connect with others at the event and share your thoughts and comments on sessions, content, and presenters.

Hot Tip: Find the Right Balance

Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out how often you should be tweeting at a conference. Your posts should be informative and valuable, so you want to find the happy medium in content. My suggestion is 2-3 tweets per session. This gives you the opportunity to still have a social media presence without missing valuable education and networking time.

Hot Tip: Share Valuable Information

As mentioned above, you want your posts to be valuable to other attendees or even evaluators who couldn’t attend the conference. So, how can you do this?

1) Try asking questions – this can often spark a conversation. 2) Be helpful – share session suggestions, speakers you have enjoyed, topics that were interesting, and even restaurant tips. 3) Share photos and videos – visual content often receives more engagement than simple text postings, so this is a great way to share your experience with others.

Hot Tip: Have Fun

Have fun using social media! Your posts do not need to be series or educational. We enjoy seeing your personality poke through and how you are interacting with all aspects of the conference.

And one for LinkedIn…

Hot Tip: Make Connections on LinkedIn instead of Twitter

If you want to connect with a speaker or attendee, try LinkedIn instead of Twitter. LinkedIn is a more professional social media platform and an introduction on LinkedIn is often more personal and noticeable.

 Jayne Corso is the Community Manager for American Evaluation Association (AEA).