I remember when I started blogging and posting on social, my biggest conundrum of the day was to figure out what to post. I didn't want it to be too commercial, yet it couldn't be too simple either.
Now multiply my dilemma by 100 or 1,000 meeting participants just dying to share their thoughts on social. Or not. They may be faced with the same bubble over their head, "What is appropriate to post?"
Why don't you give them some guidelines? We know not all social channels are alike, because if they were, you would only have one. So let's take a look at three of these channels and figure out what type of posts work best on them.
As the largest social network, it yields a lot of power. With recent changes in its fanpage algorithm, it is now a "pay-to-play" platform for businesses. However, with a minimum investment of $5/day and/or the capability to boost certain posts, it is a reasonable investment for any corporation or association.
Here are four of the type of posts that resonate with Facebook Fans:
- Company or Association History or Trivia.
I am a Rotarian, so a good question might be: "What year was Rotary founded?" Your organization probably has many of these trivia tips and Facebook is the perfect place to put them.
- Quotes.
Here is a great one from the PCMA archives: “Whatever got you to where you are, is not going to get you to where you want to go.”
- Fill-in-the-blank or caption this.
Because Facebook is so photo rich, you can post a photo and statements like:
A fun time at this event includes _____________________________ (tell us) #inquiringminds
Give us a caption for this photo! We need your input!You can post the all of this on your event video wall and watch attendees gather around to talk about it.
YOUTUBE
As the second largest channel and a highly active one with Millennials, consider using it to promote and engage attendees at your event. Since YouTube is owned by Google, there is a lot of indexing and tagging available when you upload and promote your videos.
- Speaker Videos.
These are probably already in the can, but you can certainly promote those videos on other social networks so attendees can see the vernacular style of the presenter.
- Behind-the-scene takes.
Most individuals love to see the inner workings of an event and if you can go into the kitchen, meet in the green room with your keynote speaker and follow an attendee around for an hour, these short clips are usually informative and entertaining.
- Question of the Day.
Ask attendees, exhibitors and speakers the question of the day and record their answers. You can integrate this into the next morning's PowerPoint presentations or display on the video wall – either way, attendees love it!
GOOGLE+
Look out for this social channel, which has been a real sleeper until now. Google is putting a lot of effort and money into making this channel work and with over 300 million users, it should not be ignored. Make sure to create a company page where your event details live.
- Guest Blogging.
If you can ask attendees and other meeting participants to blog on your platform, Google Authorship will allow the blogger and your platform to receive a strong social signal, which will help with SEO results.
- Visual conference call.
If you have a virtual component to your event, you can have mini-meetings of up to 10 individuals through Google+ Hangout. Great to incorporate remote attendees into the conversation, especially if you are holding a relatively small meeting.
- Event photos – highlighting the destination, venue and meeting.
When anyone does a search about your organization, a box on the right will appear which is a high-level overview of your G+ page. Your last post will appear there along with any photos taken.
SmartSource Rentals can provide your next meeting or conference with state-of-the-art interactive technology tools including iPads, Audience Response rentals, video walls and touch screen kiosks. Give them a call today at 800.888.8686 to get the process started!
