How to make the most of social media for the IoF National Convention
Howard Lake | 3 July 2011 | Blogs
Increasingly social media becomes crucial element of event coverage. So how do we make the most of the events we are attending? Howard Lake will be presenting on the topic during Voice Social Media Clinic at the Convention, but before the event kicks off, we would like to encourage you to take part in social media coverage of the event – both from the venue, as well as remotely.
As an attendee first of all we need to get used to Twitter. Twitter’s real time nature is really effective for reporting. The tool has currently numerous applications to manage the noise and valuable content, as well as relationships. Many of those allow translation, url shortening, even scheduling of teets (something we do not encourage, but in some instances might come handy too). Set up Twitter client on your phone, laptop, tablet or any other device you are taking to the event. Find out the event hashtag (#iofnc) or – if there isn’t any – suggest one and register it on Tagal.us yourself. Add it as a column to your Twitter client to follow it easily and it’s all done! Then all you need to do is…talk!:)
Do not forget about blogs! Use the event hashtag to post your longer texts on a blog – if you do not have one, it takes a second to set up a Posterous or Tumblr one!
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Take pictures! Prepare a Flickr account and connect with event attendees, speakers, even the organisers. Ask them if they have a Flickr group to collect photos related to the event. Use event hashtag when you upload your photos – not only because it’s the way we all do it, but because this way your photos and your personal brand will be promoted together with all the discussions from the event. So really it is in your interest to join the contribute;) But do not forget that you can take photos and share them on Twitter directly – which might save you time. Check out Hipstamatic and Instagram for instance. And if you want to impress your fellow attendees, download free editing apps to your mobile too.
There is also the most powerful content ever: video. You can record videos with many digital cameras for example. This way you do not need to carry more than two devices. You can use plenty video making and editing applications on your phone. Try using regular video making software or free version of Animoto, which will then allow you to upload your creative content on-line from your phone. It really takes a few clicks, but do check with other attendees if they are happy to be featured on-line.
Livestreaming is a really attractive way to document your event experiences, specially for the sake of your friends who sometimes cannot join you but would benefit from the content. Try out Qik or Bambuser for iPhone – they are really nicely integrated with other social media channels like Twitter and Facebook. You can even embed ready widgets into your blog or website to feature your recordings.
All this is possible with audio applications like Audioboo and iPadio, so if you want to have a chat with speakers and they agree to be recorded live, it’s your best chance for great notes and once again sharable content.
As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities you can make the most of your own event attendance. On the top of that we are sure that your event organisers will gradually move into social media platforms to aggregate your content and provide you with many opportunities to share and network around your notes and experiences. Talk to them on-line and see how they can make the event even better experience for you and your networks!
And if you are not attending but wish to take active part in the National Convention do follow the event hashtag #iofnc and contribute to the discussions, reactions and feedback. We hope to see you there or on Twitter with us!
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.