The best social media is predictable, consistent, and continuous, according to Mike Brown, founder of The Brainzooming Group, who spoke at the 2012 Virtual Edge Summit, January 9-11, in San Diego. And to keep it fully effective, it’s important to build social media into the overall organization, not just events.
“Social Media Strategies to Drive Your Virtual Event,” is just one of more than 50 presentations given during the 2012 Virtual Edge Summit – and one of dozens to be presented in the VES Virtual Epic Event on Jan 26. There are deep-dive presentations, 15-minute snippets, 30-minute conversations, interview sessions and technology demos. And the entire event is free.
To plan a social media strategy, first decide what you’re trying to achieve, and who your target audience is, Brown says. Start by developing your brand’s personality, which can be anything—from “straight-shooter” to “confidant” to “comedian.” The one personality type to avoid is “aggressive salesperson who hammers people with pitches.”
To better understand your target audience, Brown suggests creating a persona for them that goes beyond basic demographics to describe their personality and social background. Delving deeper can help you create content that specifically targets an audience’s needs.
Brown suggested adopting the “social media by thirds” strategy, which involves spending equal time observing conversations, participating in conversations and creating your own conversations. To create conversations, look for opportunities where the audience’s needs and interests overlap with your event brand. If you can communicate this content in a compelling way, you will create great posts.
Another method is to “seek focused challenges” by looking at who you know, what you think, and what you do, and creating posts around those points.
As social media content continues to grow exponentially, getting noticed can be a challenge. One of the most effective ways to reach an audience is by investing in search engine optimization (SEO). This includes using Google Analytics and AdWords to gain familiarity with keywords and phrases people use to find you online, as well as which keywords your competitors are using. Brown advocated starting a blog, as this demonstrates expertise and serves as a powerful tool to improve SEO.
Watch this session – and dozens of others – during the VES 2012 Virtual Epic Event, January 26. In addition to the captured content, we’ll have subject matter experts on hand all day long for live Q&A. Design your own day, and get just what you need!
