Twitter at Events
Using Twitter at events is a great way to interact with attendees and non attendees. When you use Twitter for an event it enables you to broadcast the experience of the event to those who are not present at the event and it also allows you to discuss the event with those present without disturbing the actual event. Using Twitter during events also allows you to see different people’s perspectives of the event, it makes events fun and also makes the event last on after the event is over.
Show Me the Hashtag
Sometimes I go to events and wonder why am I the only one tweeting? Usually it is because no one has told people they should be tweeting. I know us social media junkies know to tweet but many people don’t unless they are instructed to do so. Moral of the story is that if you are having an event tell people to tweet!
What is the hashtag for this event? Does anyone in this place know the hashtag for the event? Where are my anxiety meds? (I don’t take anxiety meds but I am probably a good candidate if I believed in taking medications).
I can’t see it anywhere and no one has mentioned it, I ask a few people and some people have no idea just like me. The other extreme is I get 3 different hashtags.
WordCamp Miami 2013 Case Study
At the WordCamp Miami 2013 event I can say they did a good job with keeping the attendees informed about the hashtag and they also made it clearly visible thanks to the WordCamp Miami T-shirts they gave to each attendee.
Wordcamp Miami 2013 organizers had very nice quality T-shirts that read “Code is Poetry” and in an event full of WordPress aficionados it worked well, many people were wearing the T-shirts.
Some Suggestions for Displaying a Hashtag at an Event
- Put the hashtag up on the projector during presenter switches or have the presenters include the hashtag in their presentations. I think this makes it easier on attendees and doesn’t make them go around guessing what the hashtag is.
- Another good idea is putting up signs in the room that include the hashtag or include the hashtag in the event program if there is a program.
- Include the hashtag in the event takeaways (example the T-shirts used by WordCamp Miami).
Interactive Card Game at WordCamp Miami 2013 with Use of Twitter Handle
A fun card game was created for the WordCamp Miami event, there were playing cards strategically placed around the presentation rooms. These playing cards had the picture of each presenter and sponsor along with a bio and their Twitter handle for the win. This made it easy for people to tweet their thoughts and questions to the presenters and to thank sponsors for the goodies on Twitter.
Twitter Handle in Presentation Slides
At the presentations I was at all presenters had their Twitter handle on their first and last slide. Some presenters went the extra mile and tweeted out their presentation url using the event hashtag which made it easy for attendees to retweet and get access to the information at a later time. Events are busy and people might not remember all the information they are being presented. At events things can be missed especially when there are room changes and you are networking with lots of people and discussing different topics. Those presenters that tweeted out the url to their presentation using the event hashtag were helping people to easily find the information at a later time when things are not so busy.
Do you use Twitter at events and have more tips? Leave us a comment with your tip.
~Karla Campos