Hi everyone, A quick post from me giving a re
view on day one at Business 2012.
Business 2012 #Biz2012 on Twitter is a three day conference/seminar held at the O2 on 18th-20th March. The event is aimed at SMEs, Start-ups and Mid-Market Businesses.
According to the website the conference is a must go, stating that visitors can, “Harness 200 minds to take your business forward: With expert help and advice from 200 exhibitors, you can take your business to the next level in this amazing year for Great Britain. Gone are the days of lifeless exhibitions with rows of soulless stands – the future has arrived. Business 2012 has been dissected into three areas to help you find the best solution for you during your visit.”
Well I for one really wanted to go to this I love going to industry events and SME events to expand my knowledge base and meet like-minded peers. The event received excellent social media buzz and had some fantastic headline speakers – Richard Branson and Alan Sugar. I have followed the Twitter hashtag sporadically over the past few weeks, using it to find out who might be attending and what the best day to go on would be. I have also had some interesting conversations with people in the week leading up to the event.
@Biz2012 even tweeted me a few times to ask if I was coming along. I replied to them saying it was very difficult to see the line up of speakers and seminars on the website but that I would be interested to attend, to which they replied “you’ll receive the printed one on your arrival, that’ll be easier to read 
It’s hard to get everything in on digital ^CB” – sorry but that doens’t cut it with me, it is certainly not hard to put up an event timetable on a website, and people like to pre-plan activity at large conferences so the organisers should have done the utmost to make it easy for delegates to plan their day.
I’d urge you to read this article this article by Amanda Hill, a fellow social media fanatic who gives an honest account of her visit on day one: http://thesocialmediacafe.visibli.com/share/gr0SBM If it’s anything to go by it looks like the organisation on day one was an absolute shambles! Glad I didn’t miss Mothering Sunday to make the trip.
What can we learn about Social Media and Events?
- Social Media lets us raise awareness of events quickly, events can quickly go viral
- events which make use of a conversation hashtag are great ways to make new followers and contacts and engage in meaninful conversation
-I don’t need to be at the event to get a taste for its content (good or bad)
Top Tips for Using Social Media as When Hosting an Event or Seminar
- encourage the use of a conversational hashtag early on and immerse this into all marketing materials (Press releases, websites, flyers, presentations, tickets etc)
- make the conversation hashtag short and easy to remember (check its not already in use too!)
- use relevant searches to find people who might be interested in your event and reach out to them – Business 2012 did this well.
- designate community managers to chair the online conversation
- monitor the coversation around your event, be prepared to respond to both positive and negative comments
- At the event itself have posters and signage to remind visitors that they can join in the conversation using the hashtag
- Make sure all event staff are aware of social media use
- continue the conversation after the event to gain feedback and possibly further nurture leads
******
That’s all for now
I’ll be sure to keep following Business 2012. There are some great comments coming from Branson’s talk its just a shame to see so many disappointed delegates.
Catch up soon!
P.S if you need any help organising the use of social media to support an event drop me a line.Rich Text AreaToolbarBold (Ctrl + B)Italic (Ctrl + I)Strikethrough (Alt + Shift + D)Unordered list (Alt + Shift + U)Ordered list (Alt + Shift + O)Blockquote (Alt + Shift + Q)Align Left (Alt + Shift + L)Align Center (Alt + Shift + C)Align Right (Alt + Shift + R)Insert/edit link (Alt + Shift + A)Unlink (Alt + Shift + S)Insert More Tag (Alt + Shift + T)Toggle spellchecker (Alt + Shift + N)▼
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Hi everyone, A quick post from me giving a review on day one at Business 2012.
Business 2012 #Biz2012 on Twitter is a three day conference/seminar held at the O2 on 18th-20th March. The event is aimed at SMEs, Start-ups and Mid-Market Businesses.
According to the website the conference is a must go, stating that visitors can, “Harness 200 minds to take your business forward: With expert help and advice from 200 exhibitors, you can take your business to the next level in this amazing year for Great Britain. Gone are the days of lifeless exhibitions with rows of soulless stands – the future has arrived. Business 2012 has been dissected into three areas to help you find the best solution for you during your visit.”
Well I for one really wanted to go to this I love going to industry events and SME events to expand my knowledge base and meet like-minded peers. The event received excellent social media buzz and had some fantastic headline speakers – Richard Branson and Alan Sugar. I have followed the Twitter hashtag sporadically over the
past few weeks, using it to find out who might be attending and what the best day to go on would be. I have also had some interesting conversations with people in the week leading up to the event.
@Biz2012 even tweeted me a few times to ask if I was coming along. I replied to them saying it was very difficult to see the line up of speakers and seminars on the website but that I would be interested to attend, to which they replied “you’ll receive the printed one on your arrival, that’ll be easier to read It’s hard to get everything in on digital ^CB” – sorry but that doens’t cut it with me, it is certainly not hard to put up an event timetable on a website, and people like to pre-plan activity at large conferences so the organisers should have done the utmost to make it easy for delegates to plan their day.
I’d urge you to read this article this article by Amanda Hill, a fellow social media fanatic who gives an honest account of her visit on day one: http://thesocialmediacafe.visibli.com/share/gr0SBM If it’s anything to go by it looks like the organisation on day one was an absolute shambles! Glad I didn’t miss Mothering Sunday to make the trip.
What can we learn about Social Media and Events?
- Social Media lets us raise awareness of events quickly, events can quickly go viral
- events which make use of a conversation hashtag are great ways to make new followers and contacts and engage in meaninful conversation
-I don’t need to be at the event to get a taste for its content (good or bad)
Top Tips for Using Social Media as When Hosting an Event or Seminar
- encourage the use of a conversational hashtag early on and immerse this into all marketing materials (Press releases, websites, flyers, presentations, tickets etc)
- make the conversation hashtag short and easy to remember (check its not already in use too!)
- use relevant searches to find people who might be interested in your event and reach out to them – Business 2012 did this well.
- designate community managers to chair the online conversation
- monitor the coversation around your event, be prepared to respond to both positive and negative comments
- At the event itself have posters and signage to remind visitors that they can join in the conversation using the hashtag
- Make sure all event staff are aware of social media use
- continue the conversation after the event to gain feedback and possibly further nurture leads
******
That’s all for now
I’ll be sure to keep following Business 2012. There are some great comments coming from Branson’s talk its just a shame to see so many disappointed delegates.
Catch up soon!
P.S if you need any help organising the use of social media to support an event drop me a line.
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