Seven Tips for Using Social Media at Conference and Events

by | Jan 29, 2018 | Nonprofits & Technology, Strategy

Many nonprofit organizations host conferences or events in which they want to provide updates over social media. Below are a few tips to help ensure that you’re maximizing the opportunity for social sharing without inundating your followers.

The importance of WiFi

If you are encouraging attendees to post on their social media accounts at your conference or event, you must try to provide access to WiFi. While this is often impossible at special events held outside (walks and runs), it is possible for conferences that at a hotel or sizeable indoor meeting space. If your organization can afford to provide WiFi for attendees be sure to post the password so that they can utilize their social sharing platforms faster.

Don’t overdo it

If you share updates on your social media platforms, you do not need to chronicle every key statement made at your event. If you post too often you’re going to alienate your constituents who are not attending the event. This is especially true on Facebook – if you post too often, you’ll reduce the number of potential views of your posts. For a conference happening over the course of multiple days, we recommend posting every 2-3 hours. For a one-day event, do not exceed one post an hour. Twitter is a different medium, as it’s more acceptable to post at an increased rate but be respectful of your follower’s timelines. Share some good quotes, poignant photos, and funny stories.

Go Live

One way to get around any concerns of “over-posting” is to do some live streaming at the event. Use Facebook or YouTube to go Live at your event – you can show an opening program or chat with attendees. Utilizing live content is a great way to engage with people who cannot attend.

Highlight others

Your updates are important, but conferences provide an excellent opportunity to share what other people are saying about you. Retweet any posts in which your attendees are commenting on their experience. By highlighting the impact that the event is having on others – in their words – you’re able to demonstrate the value your event has.

#UseSmartHashtags instead of #USH2018

If you encourage your participants to utilize a hashtag when sharing information about your conference, don’t be afraid to spell it out. Using a short hashtag isn’t as critical now that Twitter is 280 characters. Instagram users are comfortable using hashtags that are whole words. Losing a few characters is worth the opportunity to highlight your organization to others. If you use whole words in your hashtag, others will have a better understanding of the event that is taking place.

Share what’s happening behind the scenes

People love seeing how the event is being planned and implemented behind the scenes. If you have time, share a photo of volunteers preparing for their work or the event lead drinking their fourth cup of coffee. Your supporters appreciate the hard work that goes into the event.

Respect everyone’s privacy

It is important to ensure that you’re not attributing personal stories or quotes to individuals without their prior consent. Individuals may not want their photo to be taken, and some presenters may not want quotes from their presentation shared in a public setting. If you’re going to share a personal quote, be sure to do so in a manner in which any follower would be unable to attribute it to the person who said it, unless the speaker has given permission. We saw the tweet below and thought it was a unique way for an event to address photos:

Photo by Slim Emcee (UG) the poet Truth_From_Africa_Photography on Unsplash