Angela Crocker

Write. Teach. Organize.

Ways to bring social media to a presentation

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Is public speaking part of your marketing mix? I encourage any organization with a knowledgeable, articulate team member to book at least a few engagements each year. Your spokesperson must be passionate or  funny or eloquent or all three to represent  your brand well.

Now, take each speaking engagement to the next level using social media. Here are five ways you can enhance your presentation:

  1. Give away some prizes to randomly selected tweeps onTwitter who tag you (e.g. @AngelaCrocker) in their live tweets during the event.
  2. Schedule tweets during your presentation with links related to resources you mention. For instance, if I’m talking about Evernote, the tool I use as a digital notebook, then I might pre-schedule a tweet mentioning@Evernote.
  3. If you use Powerpoint, share your slides publicly on SlideShare following your presentation so your audience can refer to them again.
  4. Share step-by-step instructions for any multi-step task by posting a how-to video on YouTube for your audience to watch when they return to their desks.
  5. Invite the audience to post any un-addressed questions on your Facebook wall. And be sure to answer them!

Of course, if you’re going to bridge your online and offline interaction with fans, it’s a good idea to make it easy for them to find you online.  Here are some great examples I received at Blogworld last fall:

Cool Swag from Blogworld

I suggest you make your giveaway something affordable and recyclable like a sticker or a business card unless you’re willing  to spend a bit more on something people will keep like the iPhone cover or light-up pen. Whatever you choose, check and double-check the type to make sure your web address is listed correctly!

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Do you make it easy to connect?

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Any efforts using social media tools should be an integrated part of your overall marketing campaign including offline things like signage, posters and ads. One of the most common mistakes I see is companies announcing their presence on Facebook or Twitter by including these familiar icons but failing to be specific. Here’s an example of what not to do:

This advertiser wants to engage with customers through these social networks yet they expect the customer to do all the work. Why should they go to the trouble of searching for your brand? The reality is that people don’t do that. Worse still, if your brand name is similar to another company’s then you may drive traffic to those accounts. A better way to handle it is like this:

Muskoka Woods Example

Muskoka Woods included this information as part of a full page ad in the April 2011 issue of Canadian Family magazine.

This is exactly the right thing to do. The ad shows the child-friendly summer fun that Muskoka Woods wants to exude about their camp yet makes it easy for busy parents (and kids!) to receive further information in the way that works for them. Type in a brief URL and they connect to the company’s social network on Twitter or Facebook in no time.

So, how are you making it easy to connect?

Social Media Takes Too Much Time!

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Does this sound familiar?

  • Social Media takes too much time
  • I’ve got too many things on my to-do list already.
  • I haven’t got time to waste.

A well planned social media strategy will only use a limited number of tools. Sure, you’ll have to invest a bit more time at first to set up your accounts and learn how to use them but I always advise adding one social network at a time. Once you’re up to speed a few minutes a day should be all that’s required.

During those few minutes I encourage you to make these actions your priority:

  • Check for private messages addressed to you and respond.
  • Look for mentions of your brand (@mentions on Twitter for example) and reply, as appropriate.
  • Read some of the newsfeed to keep up with what’s happening. Like, comment and retweet as you see fit.
  • Share one or two pieces of new content,  it can be referenced content or original content.

Of course, as your social graph (your community of friends, fans and followers) grows and you start to experience the value in direct interaction with prospects and customers you may want to invest more time.  This is a good thing! You want people to be interested in all you have to say and their interest gives you permission to get to know them, too.

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