A conference is a natural networking
opportunity. But social networking can help you – and your members –
get even more out of your association’s next convention.
1. Shaping events
Instead of telling members what they’re going to get at your next
conference, why not ask them what they’d like to see? Create a
discussion thread on your social network and call for suggestions on:
- topics
- speakers
- venues
- accommodation
- local must-sees.
By inviting their input, you’ll get:
- some really bad ideas
- a lot of ordinary ideas you’d already thought of
- a few great ideas that make the whole exercise worthwhile
- member buy-in – they’re already part of the event.
Member influence doesn’t need to stop at the agenda. Each speaker
can invite members – via the social network – to submit questions
they’d like answered during the Q&A. This gives a voice to those
who feel too intimidated to ask questions over the microphone.
You’ll generally find that people don’t need an incentive to proffer
their suggestions, but, to make it more interesting, why not offer
bottles of wine for the best five ideas?
2. Creating a buzz
Instead of announcing your conference agenda in one big hit, you can
raise interest by releasing details as they come to hand. For example,
publish news items on your social network when:
- an international speaker confirms
- the Early Bird discount is drawing to a close
- the location for the conference dinner confirms
- a controversial panel discussion topic is finalised
- registration numbers hit key milestones
Every news item should have a call to action, driving members to
register now – or run the risk of missing out on this fabulous event.
3. Inviting feedback
If your members are loving the conference, you want to know about it.
And if they aren’t, you want to know about it too – so you can address
inaccuracies and apologise for stuff-ups. Your social network is ideal
for this.
Encourage your members to get online after every session and give
their feedback. Ideally, that will be on your social networking site,
but they can use Twitter from their mobile phones using hashtag
keywords. E.g. #actuaries09 Learn more about hashtags
4. Turning e-cards into the real thing
To make the most of the networking opportunities at the conference, you should encourage your members do 3 things:
a. Before the conference – send e-business cards to people they’d like to add to their networks
b. At the conference – arrange to meet in person* for a coffee where you can turn that e-business card into the real thing
c. After the conference – follow up with a thank you message. The
personal interaction will solidify the friendship and expand your
network.
* Not every member will agree to meet in person and that right needs
to be respected. Anyone who is overly aggressive in their approaches –
or forgets the difference between a social network and a dating site –
will get a strong wrap over the knuckles (at the very least).
5. Personal rather than Professional
You don’t want your conference to be all work and no play, so you
should encourage members with similar outside interests to connect
online and catch up at the conference. For example, in almost any
association, there will be members interested in:
- Wine
- Art
- Sailing
- Theatre
- Golf
- Motor Cars
- Architecture
- Star Trek (though they might not readily admit it)
The more ways in which your members interact, the strong your
association will be. A social network just makes it so much easier for
people to find and connect with people like them.
6. Picture this
People love seeing pictures of themselves. Sometime this might be hard
to understand but it’s a fascination you’d be wise to indulge. Post
images and videos from the conference to your association’s home page
on issociate. And don’t wait until the conference is over. Post as you
go – it will help generate much more discussion. Did you see that photo
of …
Make your conference sizzle – with social networking
Social networking is an incredibly powerful tool that can take your
next conference to another dimension. It can help deliver an agenda
that’s more relevant
- raise awareness
- drive registrations
- channel feedback
- connect like-minded members
- trigger social interaction
- increase connectivity, strength and unity.
Most importantly, social networking can help make your conference a
whole lot more fun – and remind your members why their annual fees
continue to be a worthwhile investment.