Here are 35 tips to help you manage your Twitter event profile and experience.

1. When setting up your Twitter account, use the full name of the conference or event in the name field, not conference’s user name.
This way people can easily find the event profile by searching for the event’s name.

2. Your event Twitter profile bio is your elevator pitch.
You have 160 characters to profile your conference high points. Include the name of the conference organization in the bio. Add information about the event including the city, dates and don’t forget the Twitter hashtag!

3. If the event Twitter profile is a shared account by a team, include their names, photos and abbreviation of each person using the account in the Twitter background.
Hootsuite Help is a great example of a team of three people using the same account. Each tweet that is sent is identified by a symbol and two letter abbreviation of the person sending the tweet. This adds a human element to the microblogging process.

4. Customize your Twitter background with the event brand.
Consider adding pictures of speakers and the conference venue in the Twitter background. Or include some photos from last year’s event.

5. Use the SMS (short message service or text messages) to your mobile device sparingly.
Set your Twitter preferences for SMS for direct messages and check the device update box for key staff and a few important event leaders. Use a Twitter third-party mobile application to monitor Twitter and so you don’t incur additional fees for SMS.

6. Turn the “Protect my Twitter Updates” off.
If your goal is to gain quality followers, build relationships or communicate with customers, checking the “protect my updates box” defeats your purpose. It creates frustration from people trying to follow you and decreases your opportunity to gain new followers. If you feel the need to approve everyone who follows you because you are afraid you might receive spam or have stalkers, Twitter may not be the best tool for you. Twitter’s beauty rests in its open public nature.

7. Use a third party application on your desktop and mobile device.
This may sound like a no-brainer and it really will make your Twitter use experience more effective.
Hootsuite, Seesmic,  Tweetdeck, Twhirl for PC and Tweetie for Mac are four clients that many people use on their desktop to manage Twitter more effectively. These Twitter clients make your Twitter experience more robust than the Twitter web interface. One of the biggest pros is that you don’t have to hit the refresh button continually to see new tweets from others as you do with the web interface and you can see columns for all friends, replies and DMs on one page. For your iPhone, consider Hootsuite, Tweetie, Tweetdeck Twitterrific or EchoFon. For Blackberry, consider OpenBeak, Twitter for Blackberry, or SocialScope.

8. Use a third party application that allows for multiple users if you have an event Twitter profile managed by a team.
Hootsuite, Seesmic and Tweetdeck all allow for multiple users to one account.

9. Manage your time by scheduling tweets early in the morning that will be sent throughout the day.
There’s no need to be on Twitter 24-7. Scheduling important tweets is a great way to maximize your time. Don’t over promote or send too many tweets back-to-back unless you’re in a live chat. Hootsuite scheduling has a great analytics for your sent tweets as well.

10. To maximize the opportunity for a RT, limit your tweet to 120 characters.
If you are tweeting information of value, people may want to retweet (RT) it to their network. Sending a tweet in under 120 characters creates the opportunity that your tweet may go viral. Tweeting with 120 characters allows 20 characters for the retweeter.

11. Identify tweets with links to podcasts, PDFs, slide decks and videos.
People hate seeing a great tweet headline with a link and clicking it to discover that it’s a video that’s being downloaded or a PowerPoint slide deck. Use abbreviations like vid or PPT in your tweet. Also, if your tweet contains a link to questionable material, use the NSFW (Not Save For Work) abbreviation.

12. Use Angela Maiers’ 70-20-10 Twitter Engagement Formula.
Be purposeful and intentional as you enter the Twittersphere. As you “Twive to Twet” (give to get) and move away from self-promotional tweets, consider this tweeting engagement formula.

a. 70% of your tweets should share resources. Consider sharing your speakers and attendee’s voices, opinions, quotes, blog posts, articles, content and resources.

b. 20% of your tweets should engage in conversations with others, responding, connecting, collaborating and connecting with others.

c. 10% of your tweets can be chirping, chitchat as Angela calls it, on trivial details or self-promotion.

13. Provide Twitter “How To” training to your attendees before the event.
Hold a webinar to instruct attendees on how Twitter basics. Record the session and make it available on-demand. Develop a short two to three minute YouTube video on how to use Twitter during the conference. Post it on your conference website and within your conference eCommunity.

14. Integrate Twitter use into your conference planning workflow.
Consider “What has your attention regarding the conference and event planning process?” when microblogging about the event. Let your followers see your daily or weekly conference planning process.

15. Microblog as a regular part of your marketing process.
Distributing an email about the open call for proposals for speakers? Send a link to the call for proposals via Twitter as well. Get in the habit of sending at least one to two tweets a day several weeks before the event. Increase the number of tweets as you get closer to the event and make sure that the tweets are seen as helpful resources to followers and not just self-promotion.

16. Create some special Twitter discounts for registration and share only via Twitter.

17. When contracting conference speakers, make sure they know that you are encouraging the use of Twitter as a backchannel during the event.
Let them know if you will be displaying the Twitter stream during their sessions. If yes, secure a couple participants to act as Twitter moderators and watch for questions from the remote audience not present. Ask speakers before you contract with them if they are comfortable following a Twitter stream during their presentation. You’ll find some astute speakers that have become very adept at presenting and monitoring Twitter in real time.

18. Create customized event-branded short URLs using Google Short Links or bit.ly Pro.
Short URLs create shortcuts to long web URLs and take up less space in the 140 Twitter character limit. You’ll need a Google Apps domain and the ability to change the MX and add CNAME records to the domain if you use Google Short Links. It’s easier than it sounds. Twitter will be rolling out its own URL shortener during the summer of 2010. It announced that those that Twitter URL shortcuts will not be counted in the 140 character limit.

19. Start by following everyone that is talking about your conference and organization.
You’ll want to monitor and listen to the conversations about your conference and organization. Some believe that people will automatically follow you in return for following them. Use EasyTweets, SocialOomph or SocialToo features to search for your conference and  keywords and automatically follow those people.

20. Auto follow everyone that follows you.
Use a third party tool like EasyTweets, SocialOomph or SocialToo. This is one of those cases when it’s good to automatically follow everyone that follow your event. Then they can send you a private DM, especially during the event. Encourage attendees to use the DM during the event for specific questions or to alert you to challenges such as the audio in room x is not working or the south bathroom is out of paper towels.

21. Report Twitter spammers with a direct message to Spam.
Follow @spam, they’ll follow you back. You can report Twitter spam by sending a direct message with the suspicious spammer’s name. Example: “d spam @getmoreTwitterFollowers.” Don’t RT the message to @spam or you might accidentally be suspended along with spam.

22. Place your conference event Twitter username on all print and electronic marketing material.
Put it in your email signature before the event. Highlight some tweets sent to the conference username as well as some you’ve distributed in conference marketing material and eNewsletters.

23. List your conference Twitter hashtag with Tagalus, Twubs and What The Hashtag.
Each of these three third-party applications have different benefits to use. What The Hashtag has a great set of hashtag analytics that you can monitor. Twubs has a specific conference e package that is still free while in beta.

24. Create a Twitter List of your conference speakers for others to follow.

25. List people’s Twitter username’s on their badges.

From UrbranTweetups.com http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3404/3440549490_f391b3c2a2_o.jpg

26. Secure “I Tweet, “”Ask me how to use Twitter” or “Twitterrati” ribbons to distribute with name badges.

27. Ask all speakers or those who introduce speakers to remind the attendees about the conference hashtag.

28. Ask all speakers to secure a Twitter moderator for their session.
Encourage speakers to ask the moderator is there have been any questions or comments in Twitter. This will help remote attendees feel like part of the conference.

29. Consider livestreaming some of your conference session speakers integrated with a live Twitter chat.
LiveStream, TwebEvent and Ustream all allow for an integrated livestreamed video of the session and a Twitter chat. This is a great way to extend the conference content outside of the four walls of the event.

30. During the event, setup a Twitter kiosk staffed with Twitterati to sign up new users and answer attendee questions.

31. Establish a Twitter agreement with speakers and attendee before the event.
Promote it often and early. This will help manage some expectations and alleviate some fears.

32. Create a page on your conference website explaining why your event is using Twitter and include tips for success individual use.

33. Show attendees the good, better, best ways to tweet from a conference.

34: Hold a Tweetup during the event.

35. Display the Twitter stream on big screens or plasmas though out your event venue.

What are some other tips you have for using Twitter for a conference or event? Add your ideas to the list!

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Photo by Anne Helmond, http://www.flickr.com/photos/silvertje/3582297307/sizes/m/in/photostream/

1. Identify a hashtag for your conference.

A hashtag is a key word or abbreviation preceded by the hash or number symbol such as #EC10. Hashtags are adopted by event organizers to encourage conference participants to use in their tweets. Hashtags were created as a way to search and aggregate information on Twitter. More information on hashtags.

2. Search to see if anyone else is using your hashtag using one of the tools listed below.
If not, list it with these same tools. There is not an official hashtag registration system.

Tagalus – a user-defined dictionary of hashtags.
Define your hashtag by tweeting @Tagalus Define (list your hashtag) as: (definition of hashtag)

Example :

• @Tagalus Define #EC10 as EventCamp 2010, an unconference for event professionals.
• Response : @Twitteruser http://tagal.us/tag/EC10

Ask Tagalus if a hashtag is currently defined or being used.

Example :

Twubs – uses a wiki system to disseminate information on a hashtag. It has a special conference solution that creates a conference hub of all things related to your event: content tags, members and contributors, photos, related websites, RSS feeds, Tweetups and event schedules, and videos.

It is currently free while in Beta.

What The Hashtag – a user-editable encyclopedia for hashtags found on Twitter. Sign up for an account and register a hashtag. WTHashtag provides great analytics to track the past seven days’ use of hashtag, top contributors, number of RTs, percentage of tweets from top contributors, etc. Users can also print a transcript of tweets mentioning a hashtag from a specific time period. Great for note taking.

3. Use the same abbreviation and hash symbol for Flickr photos and YouTube videos.
Ask attendees to tag their personal photos and videos and upload them to your Flickr and YouTube conference pages.

4. Promote the Twitter hashtag and Flickr, YouTube tags early and often.
Include it on all marketing material and event communications.

5. Create a YouTube Conference page for videos created by staff and attendees.
Market early and often.

6. Hold pre-conference social media contests and provide free registration, lodging and travel to winners.
Ask potential attendees to write a blog post, tweet a special code and or create a YouTube videos on why they want to attend the event.

7. Create a Facebook Conference Page.
Tips for creating a great conference Facebook page. The difference between Facebook Groups and Facebook Pages for your nonprofit or conference. 12 Steps To Creating A Bootylicious Facebook Page.

8. Create special short videos about conference speaker and location and upload to your conference YouTube page.
Embed these videos on your Facebook Conference Page, your conference Website and distribute via your email and social media marketing pages. Use Animoto to create slick videos using pictures and text.

10. Create a Twitter list of all your conference speakers that attendees can follow.
How to use and create Twitter lists post by Mashable.

11. Provide a website widget of the Twitter hashtag that users can post on blogs, personal pages and websites.
Make a widget using TwitterFall, TwitterFountain, TweetGrid or Widgetbox.

12. Create a conference speaker hub that aggregates RSS feeds of each speaker’s blog posts.
Many conference eCommunitites solutions have this feature built into their program for your conference Twitter feed, Facebook page and blog posts. If you are not using a conference eCommunity, consider iGoogle, Netvibes, Nomee, Pagecasts (a public version of Pageflakes), Twubs, Wakooz or other aggregator.

13. Create a conference hub that aggregates all online information about your conference including a Twitter hashtag, Facebook page, conference and speaker blog posts, Flickr tagged photos, YouTube conference video page and more. Twubs provides a great conference solution for this or use one of the free features like iGoogle, Netvibes, Nomee, Pagecasts (a public version of Pageflakes), Wakooz or other aggregator.

14. Create a LinkedIn Event and invite people to link it to their LinkedIn profile.
How to use LinkedIn Events.

15. Create a Facebook Event to invite your organization page followers

16. Create several conference badges that are hyperlinked to the conference website.
Badges can be placed on personal Facebook profiles and blogs. Badges can say things like I’m attending event x or I’m speaking at event x.

17. Use a conference eCommunity.
Tips on how to choose a conference eCommunity. Several conference eCommunity options to consider.

18. Set Google and Twitter alerts for the conference hashtag and name.
Monitor and listen to what others are saying about your conference. Respond as needed.

19. Secure part of the general session room for a bloggers and Twitter hub.
Tips on how to create a successful Bloggers and Twitter hub.

20. Invite specific industry influential bloggers to attend and provide free registration to them.
Contract with them to provide live blogging and tweeting in exchange for free conference registration.

21. Create a daily electronic conference paper using Twitter hashtag at http://paper.li/.
Promote the paper daily via email, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

22. Create a Conference Slideshare page and post speaker PPTs there.

23. When booking speakers, include a pre-conference Webinar, blog post, eNews article, Blogtalk Radio interview along with the face-to-face presentation in their contract.
This will extend the conference learning experience as well as market content and speakers to potential attendees.

24. Make the conference a hybrid event and live stream general sessions to those who could not attend the face-to-face experience.

25. Use social media press releases.
Tips on creating social media press release.

What are some other ways to use social media for your event that you would you add to the list?

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You grab your time machine manual and follow its instructions. You step into your time machine and set the location for the steps of the Lincoln Monument and the date for August 28, 1963. You put on your seatbelt, push the flux capacitor button thingy and away you go.

As you open the door of your DeLorean, you find yourself in a New York Subway. There standing on the steps is Martin Luther King getting ready to deliver his speech. Just as he starts, a subway car speeds by and its doors open. The voice of others and speeding subway cars drown out King’s speech. You can’t hear him for all the noise and distractions.

You’re think you’re dreaming and then look down at the time machine manual. In fine print you notice a caveat that says, “Using this machine may cause strange time warp malfunctions with locations, date and time. Use at your own risk.” “Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly. Think!?

How are you going to hear MLK’s famous speech if the environment is not appropriate for his presentation?

This silly analogy references just one of the things you as a conference organizer can do to help improve the content: improve the presentation environment. (See number 11).

Here are 13 things you can do now, to improve your conference content for your next meeting.

1. Offer instructor training for industry speakers.
Most industry speakers are chosen for their expertise and knowledge, not their good presentation skills. Typically, their presentation skills are severely lacking. Follow the lead of Lynn Randall of Maritz Travel which is now training all of their speakers in the Neuroscience of Presentations. If you consistently offer instructor training for several years, you are investing in your members and ultimately everyone benefits.

2. Require Learning Objectives (LOs) for all presentations.
You don’t start traveling without a goal in mind of where you want to go. So why do we allow presenters to ramble through presentations without several LOs of what they want their attendees to learn. All public education teachers identify the LOs for every 60 minutes of teaching. So why don’t conference organizers require LO’s for every presentation?

3. Have attendees evaluate whether the presentation matched the marketed description and whether the presenter met the learner objectives.
We’ve all attended a session where we look back at the conference program to make sure we are in the right room because the speaker is presenting something entirely different than what was marketed.

4. When evaluating presentations and presenters, at a minimum use the following criteria:
a. Facilitator’s Knowledge
b. Facilitator’s Delivery Style
c. Pace & Timing
d. Program Content
e. Relevance
f. I will be able to apply what I’ve learned.

5. Set a goal for an overall average favorable score of all your conference speakers.
Let your speakers know that you’ve set a goal of an overall average speaker, such as 80% favorable. Tell them they will be evaluated, ranked and judged upon their score. The following year, move that overall average favorable score up a few points to help improve the presentations of your speakers. You also can use the scores to select industry speakers from past years. For example if an industry expert scores 70% favorable, they need to improve something in order to be considered again in the future.

6. Set performance standards for all professional paid speakers.
It’s amazing that we pay speakers the same fee whether they succeed or fail. When negotiating a speaker’s fee, consider a performance standard clause in their contract. For instance, if their normal fee is $5,000, tell them you’re willing to pay the full fee of $5,000 if they score 90% favorable or higher. If they only get 80%-89% favorable, you’re willing to pay them $4,000, etc.

7. When securing a speaker for multiple gigs, place a performance cancellation clause in their contract.
Set a minimum overall average score you are willing to accept, say 80% favorable, and if the speaker scores less than that on the first presentation, you have the right to cancel any future speaking gigs without additional payments. This puts the pressure on the speaker to meet the attendee’s expectations and needs.

8. Release a public comparison ranking of all your conference speakers based on the evaluations.
Let all speakers know you will be doing this in their conference contracts. Then release the overall average favorable score, the number of attendees and the number of submitted evaluations.

9. Require all paid speakers to customize their presentation for your audience.
Include a clause in their contract that the speaker is to customize their message for your audience and industry. Have them interview at least four members of your organization to understand the audience better.

10. Stop using famous people and marquee names to put butts in chairs.
That doesn’t work. Very few people, if any, attended an event because of your keynote famous presenter. Secure relevant, business related keynote presenters.

11. Improve your presentation environment.
Look carefully at the rooms you are using for your presentation. What’s the lighting like? Are their poles or chandeliers in the way? What room layout are you using? Is there proper AV?

12. Set your keynote sessions in chevron or semi-circle.
Instead of viewing your general sessions as a way to get the most people in a room as possible, consider what would be the best attendee seating experience as possible. If you have a large, rectangle room, putting people in long row is not the best experience. Find ways to bring the audience closer to the speaker and for attendees to see the eyes of other participants.

13. Include a discussion breakout about the keynote presentation immediately following the general session.
If the presenter was good, people want to talk about it. They want to digest it and engage with the content and each other. Encourage it and secure moderators or table facilitators to help lead those discussions.

What content and education tips would you add?

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WIF09 Bloggers Hub

During breaks and after the conference, I asked several of these bloggers a lot of questions about the logistics and physical set-up of the Blogger’s Hub. I was very impressed with the quality of content and the insight of the planners for WIF09. Blogger Boris Pluskowski described the Blogger Hub like this,

“Imagine the scene then – as you walk into a classic theatre type setting – only with two balconies either side marked explicitly for pre-registered bloggers and twitterers…looking not a million miles away from a press box at a sports game.”

1. Identify your goals of a Blogger’s Hub.
   Is your goal to have bloggers and Tweeps interacting with virtual attendees? Is it to provide journalists with a place to take notes and create new blog posts? Is it to get your conference topic or hashtag in Twitter Trends? Is it to provide leading bloggers and Tweeps the ability to share their insights, thoughts and opinions in real time?
2. Decide how you will measure success of your Blogger Hub.
   Will it be on the number of blog posts about your conference? Will it be the number of times your conference hashtag is mentioned in Twitter?
3. Designate a separate sitting place in main general session room for bloggers and Tweeps that is close to the stage yet is not an obstruction for other attendees.

   The World Innovation Forum 2009 provided a second level in the main theatre for their Blogger’s Hub. It was visible to all yet provided some nice amenities for those tweeting and blogging about their conference.

4. Provide plenty of electrical outlets for the bloggers’ laptops.
   With the rise of laptops in conventions and events, wall outlets are not usually enough. If you have ten bloggers, they will each need their own electrical connection.
5. In addition to electrical outlets, offer small cocktail tables, seats and light.
   Often meeting planners dim the lights during general sessions and your bloggers and Tweeps need the extra light to see their keyboards.
6. Ensure that your Blogger’s Hub has ample wifi access.
   You may need to purchase additional wifi access so that your bloggers can access the internet easily. You’ll want to provide as much dedicated wireless signals as possible to ensure adequate bandwidth. Attendees to the Interactive Section of SxSW 2009 complained about a lack of outlets and wifi and ATT was called in to provide additional access.
7. Set-up a Twitter Kiosk in the pre-convene and tradeshow areas.
   Using LCD projectors, laptops connected to the Internet and  twitter, and large screens, project the Twitter stream showing your hashtag for all to see. You can also have staff stationed at the kiosk to teach others how to use Twitter.
8. Provide a remote participation guide.
   Here is an example that WIF09 blogger Stuart Miniman put together for virtual attendees like me.

I was amazed at the content coming from the conference and the willingness of these bloggers to engage in conversation with me during the presentations. I could ask questions, ask for clarification and engage in differences of opinion. My experience at WIF09 was very different from those who were on sight and enriched in a very unique way.

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Are registered attendee lists motivating others to attend?

Conference attendee lists luring others to register

On the blog Interactive Meeting Technology, Samuel J. Smith discusses 20 Reasons People Attend Conferences. He lists typical reasons why people attend conferences. Several others have added to that list too.

As someone who plans events for a living and as a conference attendee, I’ve noticed a couple of trends affecting attendance:

1) People are deciding to attend and register for the conference at the last minute.

2) More people are making their decision to attend, not based on the conference content or speakers, not based on exhibitors, not based on the venue location, not based on the costs, but based on who else is attending.

I’ve recently read blogs, Facebook updates and tweets of colleagues that have waited until one to two weeks before a major event to register. (Interesting these people are posting their conference registration on their social network profiles.) I’ve even made the decision to attend some local events within the last week before that conference’s official start date.

Why? When I ask colleagues and friends why they wait until the last minute to register, I get a variety of answers and one seems to bubble to the top. “I waited because I wanted to see who else was attending.” When I dig further, I get this answer. “I wanted to see if any people from my online social networks were attending.”

I know that exhibitors, sponsors and suppliers base their decisions to attend on whether their target audience is there. Yet, I’m not used to hearing people say they waited to register to see if people from their online social networks were attending. I know that there are a multiple of reasons why people actually attend an event. Yet if a peer’s attendance is a trigger, I want to capitalize on that.

Some technology conference event planners tell me that WOM from trusted friends is their most effective driver of conference registration. It’s not the speakers, content, email, direct marketing, venue location or registration price. It the fact that the attendees want to see people from their online social networks at a face-to-face event. They want to participate in social, informal and peer learning with their social community. (That’s another discussion too.] And, these technology event planners are tracking who the influencers of attendee event are.

Blogger Jason Keath recently wrote Why I Travel To Conferences Last Minute. He discusses that he attends events to invest in people and relationships, not because of the great speakers or content.

Keath says, “I invest in people. If you know me, you know I love to travel and I don’t go to conferences for the content. I go purely to see the people. Occasionally I wander into a session or keynote when I have to, but it is reluctantly.”

The social aspects of a conference, both registered attendees from his social networks and the ability to participate in social onsite, lure him. Community and individuals already attending draw him like a magnet to that event.

Could it be that social media, social networking and the social web are having a broader impact on events than we realize? Many event organizers fear that social media and virtual events are cannibalizing event attendance. [That’s a different discussion.] Could it be that social media is actually expanding and increasing event attendance? Is social the new conference black? Should event organizers leverage social networks to drive new attendee registration? Are registered attendee lists the new appeal?

Have you made a decision to attend a conference purely based on who else is attending? Do you wait until the last minute to register for an event based on others in your social network are attending?

What do you think?

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1. Embrace and use DIMTY and WIIFM from the beginning!
Attendees are more finicky than ever and will not sit passively if you try to sell outdated, poorly organized or inaccurate information. If they don’t experience DIMTY (Do I Matter To You: survey them before you create the content) and WIIFM (What Is In This For Me) quickly, they will leave. Use Twitter to start collecting information early. Ask followers questions and ask them to RT your questions to others. You’ll get replies from people with real time information. Use PollDaddy to set up Twitter polls and get results. This will benefit your content development and help establish more followers as well.

2. Establish a hashtag for your event so that your followers can easily watch and search the conversations.
Hashtags are a pound sign followed by a term. Example: MPI established #meetdifferent for their recent MD09 conference. Hashtags help keep track of tweets that are all part of a single subject, event or topic. First, follow @hashtags on Twitter. They will follow you back automatically and your hashtags will be tracked. Next, start using hashtags in your tweets, preceding key words. It can be helpful to do a little research first, to find out if the subject you’re tweeting already has an established hashtag. You don’t need to do anything special to use a hashtag, just make one up and tell folks to use it if you want them to tag their tweets for your event or discussion. If you head to Twitter Search and type in the full hashtag, you can track all the tweets related to that term. Or go to hashtags.org and put in your hashtags words and follow the tweets using that hashtag.

3. Start using Twitter weeks, even months, before your event to build followers, buzz and energy. Use it during and after the event as well.
Link your Twitter account to your Web site and include it in all your electronic and print marketing materials. Invite people to begin following you and send tweets with information more than just press releases or marketing several times a day. Start retweeting (RT) what some of your followers tweet. A RT is like paying someone a compliment and will get you passionate, avid supporters. Send tweets during the event as reminders, announcements and any changes. Ask the CEO and Executive Director to tweet a couple times a day as well to their followers.

4. Encourage your attendees to tweet during the live event.
Encourage your attendees to send tweets during the event and create a TwitterFountain which mashes Twitter tweets and Flckr images, collected with your established #hashtag. Put your TwitterFountain on your event home page for everyone to see. As Tweeps tweet their thoughts and comments about your event, they’ll build more followers for you and they’ll engage in Peer2Peer learning as well. Also, consider projecting the live text or Twitter stream during the presentation with an application like Wifitti. (They have a beta that’s even cooler.) All you need is a live internet connection, laptop and LCD projector and you’re set to project everyone’s comments and questions. We’ve used it successfully for large meetings to engage our audience with immediate feedback.

5. Let your employees have a personality as they send tweets.
Assign your Twitter account to one employee and empower him/her to tweet for the organization. Don’t assign multiple people to one account, your audience will see that and cry foul. Turn your employee into your evangelists and ask them to help you in the process. Associations and companies, it’s time to drop the top-down reign of control and allow your employees to have a personality and share it with the world. Let them have a sense of humor. Don’t try to control the brand because you can’t with Twitter and most social media apps. If you do try to control it, your Tweeps will turn on you.

6. Use transparency and honesty, and apologize quickly when you’re wrong.
Attendees will no longer swallow their truth when angered or frustrated and will turn to social media to let everyone know what you’ve done. On the flip side, do it right, and they’ll become avid supporters. If you offend an attendee, hide behind a brand, spin poor planning or don’t engage the attendee, don’t expect them to keep quiet. WOM has moved to WOI (Word of Internet) and there are many more eyes that can read what’s being posted. Apologize quick and fast or risk the wrath of many.

Use these tips and you’ll see a new kind of buzz emerge for your conference and event. The Twittersphere is very patient to beginners so go ahead and give it a try.

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WIF09 Bloggers Hub

During breaks and after the conference, I asked several of these bloggers a lot of questions about the logistics and physical set-up of the Blogger’s Hub. I was very impressed with the quality of content and the insight of the planners for WIF09. Blogger Boris Pluskowski described the Blogger Hub like this, “Imagine the scene then – as you walk into a classic theatre type setting – only with two balconies either side marked explicitly for pre-registered bloggers and twitterers…looking not a million miles away from a press box at a sports game.”

Here are eight meeting planning tips I learned from WIF09 on how to make your next event blog and Twitter friendly.

1. Identify your goals of a Blogger’s Hub.
   Is your goal to have bloggers and Tweeps interacting with virtual attendees? Is it to provide journalists with a place to take notes and create new blog posts? Is it to get your conference topic or hashtag in Twitter Trends? Is it to provide leading bloggers and Tweeps the ability to share their insights, thoughts and opinions in real time?
2. Decide how you will measure success of your Blogger Hub.
   Will it be on the number of blog posts about your conference? Will it be the number of times your conference hashtag is mentioned in Twitter?
3. Designate a separate sitting place in main general session room for bloggers and Tweeps that is close to the stage yet is not an obstruction for other attendees.
   The World Innovation Forum 2009 provided a second level in the main theatre for their Blogger’s Hub. It was visible to all yet provided some nice amenities for those tweeting and blogging about their conference.
4. Provide plenty of electrical outlets for the bloggers’ laptops.
   With the rise of laptops in conventions and events, wall outlets are not usually enough. If you have ten bloggers, they will each need their own electrical connection.
5. In addition to electrical outlets, offer small cocktail tables, seats and light.
   Often meeting planners dim the lights during general sessions and your bloggers and Tweeps need the extra light to see their keyboards.
6. Ensure that your Blogger’s Hub has ample wifi access.
   You may need to purchase additional wifi access so that your bloggers can access the internet easily. You’ll want to provide as much dedicated wireless signals as possible to ensure adequate bandwidth. Attendees to the Interactive Section of SxSW 2009 complained about a lack of outlets and wifi and ATT was called in to provide additional access.
7. Set-up a Twitter Kiosk in the pre-convene and tradeshow areas.
   Using LCD projectors, laptops connected to the Internet and  twitter, and large screens, project the Twitter stream showing your hashtag for all to see. You can also have staff stationed at the kiosk to teach others how to use Twitter.
8. Provide a remote participation guide.
   Here is an example that WIF09 blogger Stuart Miniman put together for virtual attendees like me.

I was amazed at the content coming from the conference and the willingness of these bloggers to engage in conversation with me during the presentations. I could ask questions, ask for clarification and engage in differences of opinion. My experience at WIF09 was very different from those who were on sight and enriched in a very unique way.

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What’s a back channel you ask?

Open Back Channel picture from Guardain Activate09 source rooreynolds.com

A back channel is where attendees are texting or tweeting information about a presentation or event using SMS, a chat function or Twitter. The front channel, for lack of a better word and as opposed to a back channel, is the main presentation being delivered by the speaker.

Wikipedia has two different definitions of the back channel.

Wikipedia: Back-Channel: In public speaking

In public speaking, back-channeling is the practice of electronically passing notes among some or all of the audience/students during the lecture. When sanctioned, this practice is particularly useful for speakers who are attempting to dynamically modify their presentations based on immediate feedback from the audience… Meebo and Twitter are common back channeling devices, although any chat room style device works well.

Wikipedia: Backchannel

Backchannel is the practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks. The term was coined in the field of Linguistics to describe listeners’ behaviours during verbal communication, Victor Yngve 1970.

The term “backchannel” generally refers to online conversation about the topic or the speaker. Occasionally backchannel provides audience members a chance to fact-check the presentation.

First growing in popularity at technology conferences, backchannel is increasingly a factor in education where WiFi connections and laptop computers allow students to use ordinary chat like IRC or AIM to actively communicate during class.

So why should you encourage and use a back channel at your next conference or event?

1. To reach and communicate with virtual attendees who could not attend the face-to-face event.

2. To encourage attendees to take byte-size notes. In 140 characters if using Twitter. It also helps them synthesize and condense the presentation into content nuggets which are often more memorable than long spoken or written paragraphs of information.

3. As a form of audience engagement especially if the presenter is lecturing and primarily using one to many style of presentation. Encourage attendees to further discuss the presentation with each other

4. To market your event.

5. To allow attendees to ask the presenter questions and provide comments. Use an online application like Wiffiti and project the tweets or SMS to a screen for everyone to see. See Wiffiti Twitter screen example below.

6. To allow attendees to interact with the content. Some will look up definitions, other articles and additional links about the presentation, especially if they are inquisitive or need further clarification.

7. To allow attendees the ability to share additional resources and links related to the presentation.

8. To create a historical record and transcript of the presentation from many different perspectives. Go to WTHashtag , enter the conference hashtag, add date parameters and click the view transcript button. Then you have a transcript of the presenters information from the perspective of many attendees that were tweeting with the hashtag. This great tool allows attendees to read others views once the presentation is completed.

9. To listen to conference attendees and provide real time changes to the presentation or event.

10. To extend the life of the content and message besides a one-time hit of the presentation and reach a larger audience.

Bonus tip: Why should you use a back channel?
Because some of your attendees already are using it whether you want them to or not. They are going to talk about your conference, event or presentation using social media. Go ahead and encourage them to do that and you’ll have an audience that has a higher level of trust and respect of the presenters and conference organizers.

Additional Tips
A. If you’re using Twitter for your back channel, you’ll want to establish a hashtag of the conference and share it with others.

B. Then encourage attendees to use a third party twitter tool like Tweetchat, column in Tweetdeck, Tweetgrid, Twubs or WTHashtag to filter the noise and focus on the content coming from that conference or event.

C. You might also consider using image magnification of the back channel so the entire audience can view what is being said. Wiffiti is one of my personal favorites.

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