Tap Into Twitter For Marketing

1. Create a Twitter account.  

You can either use your organization’s existing Twitter account or create a new account dedicated specifically to your event.

Twitter account tips:

 Consider your existing Twitter followers and your target audience you are  trying to reach in order to decide whether to create a new account or  use one that already exists.  One thing you definitely want to avoid is  using a personal Twitter account as your Twitter event marketing hub,  because newly acquired followers may be confused by off-topic Tweets  about your personal life.)

2 Customize your Twitter profile page. 

Twitter account specific to an event – National Restaurant Association Show 2011. Design a background image and upload your event logo as your Twitter  picture so followers and other users can easily recognize your tweets.  Most importantly, keep the look and feel of your Twitter account in line   with your event and organization’s branding. Consistent branding is one  more way you can increase event awareness.

3 Develop an event #hashtag.

 Create a hashtag on Twitter so people can easily identify the  conversations surrounding your event in order to listen and participate.   A hashtag is simply a keyword with a pound sign in front of it that  people can include in their Tweets.  Attendees can also search for the  hashtag on Twitter to follow updates about your event.

 Keep your hashtag short, sweet, and similar to the name of the event so it doesn’t use too many of the 140 characters.
 Websites like Twubs.com show the activity on any hashtag. We suggest you search for the one you’re planning to use to make  sure it is unique and not already in use for other topics.
 Do not include punctuation or special characters in your event hashtag. These cause Twitter hashtags to function improperly.

4 Encourage live tweets from your event. 

 Using your hashtag live at the event is a great way to extend  the conversation and include virtual attendees in the action.
 Creative ways you can leverage Twitter live at your event include:
 Facilitate Q&A sessions by asking attendees to tweet with the hashtag from their mobile devices or send messages directly to   presenters. You can make it even easier by ensuring there is a  reliable wireless Internet connection at your event.
 Display a feed of all Twitter conversations on-site by projecting them on a wall or scrolling them on a television or computer screen.
 Enable attendees to easily identify and connect with each other by asking them to include their Twitter handles on their badges   or name tags.
 Ask speakers to announce their Twitter handles prior to  their presentations