By Jody Long
When breaking news hits the internet, the first place it usually goes is Twitter. Why? Because it moves faster than any other form of social media out there. Twitter is all about sharing content, and sharing it quickly.
It is home to over 640 million users as of January 1, 2014 (Source: Twitter.com), and there are over 9100 tweets per second posted to the website (Source:Twitter.com). According to Wikipedia, “Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables users to send and read tweets, which are text messages limited to 140 characters. Registered Users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them.”
So what does this all mean to an event planner looking to promote their next event? It means that your potential attendees are probably using Twitter already, and you just need to find them and connect.
Here’s how you can use this fast-paced, content-sharing, high-volume social media platform to promote your events.
· Use Twitter as a way to drive clients to your sites: Since Twitter is often used to help drive followers to other places such as company websites, facebook pages, and blogs, it’s the perfect way to send people to your event website or registration page. However, remember the 80/20 rule so that you don’t overwhelm your followers, clients and potential attendees. 80% of your tweets should be helpful or entertaining. 20% of your tweets should be self-promoting, meaning that they relate to your business or event. If your website, or registration page is lengthy, consider using BitLy.com to shorten the link, and make it more twitter-friendly.
· Use hash tags: By now you’ve probably seen hash tags everywhere. Use them to promote your event, they’re great to use because you can track who used it. Find out if the event you’re attending already has a hash tag created. If you’re coming up with your own, get creative by including your company name with the name of the convention. But, be sure to keep it short. Last but not least, check the web to see if this hash tag already exists.
· Find conversations: Go to Tweetchat.com to find people talking about your event, certain topics, and lots of other things. This may be a great way for you to promote your event.
If you’re brand new to Twitter, here are some other general tips to keep in mind after you’ve set up your account:
· Keep your tweets to a maximum of 3-5 per day. Again, you don’t want to overwhelm your followers. Consider setting up a schedule of what you’ll post, and when.
· Find out who your followers are, this way you can know what to tweet about. Go to Ads.Twitter.com for insights.
· Don’t link your Twitter and Facebook accounts. They are different platforms, and have different languages. They are each set up differently, so you should use them differently. Take the time to use the same content on both.