Events present a great opportunity for people across any industry to practice their social skills—both in real life and online. Whether you have 10 or 10,000 followers on Twitter, sharing your takeaways and experiences at conferences gets you involved in conversations and boosts your social media presence. You don’t have to be an influencer or represent a brand account to be heard on Twitter—but there are a few things that can take your live Tweets to the next level.
Here are some tips for live-Tweeting at your next event:
Use the official event hashtag: Most conferences have official hashtags so attendees (and even folks at stuck in the office) can stay in the know. Adding the conference’s hashtag in all of your Tweets from the event automatically includes you in the greater surrounding conversations. Check out the conference’s website or Twitter page for the official event hashtag.
Tell the Twitterverse you’re attending: Tell your followers you’ll be attending in the days leading up to the event (and don’t forget to include the event hashtag!). This can help you connect with others ahead of time and start a conversation around the conference. It also gives your followers a nice heads up that you’ll be tweeting more than usual during the event dates.
Take lots of photos/videos: There’s so much to see at conferences, from an eye-catching stage production to a really motivating, quotable speakers. Include quality photos and videos of some of your favorite event experiences so your followers see what stood out to you. Plus, Tweets with images get 150 percent more retweets and posts with video attract 10 times as much engagement. Don’t forget to turn your flash off before snapping a photo of video during a speaking session so you don’t distract the speaker and the audience.
Proofread before posting: Typos and mistakes can happen when you’re jotting away your thoughts in 280 characters or less on your phone. Unfortunately, Twitter doesn’t allow users to edit posts and you don’t want to delete awesome content after it has already received engagement. As with any type of content, you definitely want a second set of eyes on your Tweets to check for mistakes. If you’re riding solo at an event, you can text the content to a colleague or trusted copy editor buddy.
Engage with other attendees: Now that you’ve Tweeted from some insightful speaking sessions, it’s time to keep the conversation going. Check out the event hashtag and see what other attendees are posting about. Reply to other people’s Tweets to share insights and experiences from the event, like your favorite speaker moments, the coolest experiential booth, where you found the best latte at the conference, among others. Don’t forget to check your notifications, as other attendees likely interacted with your posts.
Bonus tip: Don’t forget to pack a portable charger. Live-Tweeting drains your battery really quickly, and you don’t want to miss anything important while charging your phone in the corner of an expo hall.
Interested in seeing how we live-Tweet during conferences? Follow cred on Twitter, where we often post from conferences and events!
