You see it everywhere you look at Dreamforce 2013: attendees buried in their phones, turning to their social media channels to document the moment, share lessons learned, and connect with other conference-goers.
Conferences (and particularly Dreamforce!) are an incredibly busy time, especially for businesses trying to make the most of their time to reach as many people as possible. But if you’re neglecting your business’ social media channels in all the hype, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity. Let’s take a look at a few of the powerful ways that companies can be (and are) using social media at Dreamforce 2013.
Build Relationships
Social media marketing is all about listening and building relationships, so make sure you’re using it to enhance the relationship-building process as you make new connections at Dreamforce. If a visitor has a great experience stopping by your booth (and particularly if you just handed them some awesome swag), you have a window of opportunity to turn them into an instant fan of your brand — don’t let it pass you by! See someone mention that they came by your booth? Follow them, thank them for coming by, and keep the conversation going.
Use Cross-Channel Promotions
Conferences are a great place for building up your follower numbers, so use this opportunity to get the word out about some of your lesser-known channels. This is a time when a lot of people are just learning about your product and actively looking for ways to connect with your company, so give them options for how they can interact with you. Post some conference pictures on Facebook or Instagram, then Tweet them out on the conference hashtag (“and don’t forget to Like us on Facebook!”), or share links to conference-related content on your SlideShare or YouTube channels.
Stand Out from the Crowd with Pictures
According to hashtags.org, during peak conference hours the #DF13 hashtag is trending right around 3,000 tweets an hour (!) — meaning that just opening the #DF13 feed is enough to make your head spin. So how do you keep from getting completely lost in all the noise? Pictures (and particularly those with people in them) are going to be the most effective content for capturing attention in a rapidly moving feed. They’re also a great way to get information across quickly, so Tweet a picture of your booth location, some of the great swag you’re giving away, or just of a few of your employees enjoying the event.
Looking for more tips? Check out our recent post, “7 Ways to Use Social Media at Events.”
