Trumblog

I wrote previously about the preproduction work that has to be done by the event social agent before the event or conference in order to be set the stage and be prepared for the big day or few days when they’ll be actively engaged with attendees.

Arm For Bear

The event social agent needs the right tools to do her job.  A laptop with wireless access is crucial.  She also needs a camera, a good one for shots of the presenters and audience.  Be ready to shoot video and edit it on the fly.  This is where practice before the event pays off so that the event social agent can spend more time creating media than getting it online.

Promote Your Hashtag

You should already have your hashtag on your website and print materials.  When the event is taking place let people know the event’s hashtag right at the beginning by projecting it before the event begins, then show it in between speakers and finally anytime you don’t know what else to say.  Get your attendees all talking on the same channel.

Take Advantage of the Rock Stars

Presenters are the rock stars at your conference and the audience wants more.  Make sure that presenters know the hashtag and that they understand they are expected to support the social media component of the event.  Talk about your expectations and ideas, but remember that authenticity is key so don’t force anything or be too pushy.  On the other hand if you have a paid spokesperson attending then you do have room to be direct about your expectations for frequency, content and brand mentions in status updates.  Your presenters don’t Twitter?  No worries, get quotes from them and post those to the event account.

Tweet it

Doesn’t have to be 50 tweets in 2 hours, but tweets that promote the event, build a little attention, give updates on the schedule and generally facilitate and support the conversation that the attendees and presenters are happening.  If there are questions tweeted about the event (“@Mumbler is a low talker.  The back of the room can’t hear half of what his talk on The Purpose of Widgets #hashtag”) respond and help to resolve the situation (“@CantHear Volume has been raised and seems better. Let me know if it’s still too low”).  This shows that you are listening and that you care that the attendees have a good experience.  Think of the role as host and master of ceremonies.  Before each speaker tweet their Twitter handle so that everyone knows it and includes it in their tweets about the presentation.  After the presentation tweet where the slides are posted.

Make Media

Take pictures of the event, the presentations, the attendees, the experiences, the conversations, the signs, the food, the giveaways, everything and anything.  Shoot some video and edit it together on the fly.  Post it all online and build your social media footprint so that when someone searches for the event the scope of your presence pushes you to the top of the results.  The pictures and video don’t have to be perfect, good is sufficient.  Consider the blogger who wants images to support their post about the amazing opening performance, unbelievable turnout, rapt attention, buzzworthy stunt, etc. ensure that there are picture of those moments for them to include.  Be sure to make the images creative commons licensed.  You want to encourage usage, but protect the images from misuse and get attribution.

Mingle

Remember that this is a physical event that you want to expand through social media and social networks.  Therefore this requires that you be social at the event itself.  Meet the attendees (the presenters should already know you).  Walk around the event and say hello.  See a Twitterer that you recognize? Let them know that you do.  Take their picture and let them know where it will be posted.  Hand out cards with your Twitter handle for the event, the event’s hashtag, and all of the events social network and media accounts. Solicit sharing and encourage attendees to interact with the media online.  Remember: if you post a picture on Facebook and no one tags it does it exist?

Post that Media

Get those pictures that are taken at the event posted to Flickr and Facebook live at the event and then Twitter that they are there.  If there is a picture of a blogger or twittered send them a direct message about it.  The same goes for video.  Post it to YouTube right away.  It’s best to get media online immediately so that whenever someone searches for info he or she finds something. If that stuff is online after the consumer searches that opportunity is lost. However don’t let technical issues stop media production.  This should be all checked in advance., but when disaster strikes don’t spend all of your time troubleshooting the issue.  Accept the situation, go back to twittering and taking pictures and let people know that photos will be online later.  Be honest about when the media will be posted and then hit that deadline.

Monitor

As I said earlier, the role of the event social agent is the master of ceremonies.  Listen to your guests and guide them into the conversation.  Monitor Twitter and if someone is twittering about the event, but with a misspelled brand name or location, maybe with the wrong hash tag you need to be listening well enough to find them and interact with them too so that they are part of the conversation as well.  Retweet good comments that aren’t being picked up or to get the conversation rolling.  Favorite the best and most complimentary tweets. Know when pictures or video are posted online by attendees and request that they be added to the group pool.  Twitter their location so that the whole community knows about them.  Keep in mind that you are facilitating the community’s involvement, not overly publicizing the event or conference and use that tone of voice with your communication.

I’ve mentioned Twitter, Flickr and YouTube a lot in this post, but you can substitute Facebook, Picasa, Vimeo, etc.  The key is to be active in the networks where your audience is.  Keep in mind though that you probably don’t want to put all of your eggs in one basket, especially if it’s a walled garden like Facebook.  Distributing your media widely and making it easily accessible without requiring registration or friending will spread your message further.

Next up – Event Social Agent: Extending The Experience

Previously – Event Social Agent: Live At The Conference