If you are among the many planning to attend fall conferences (like BSR or Net Impact, as examples from my own sustainable business and impact investing focus areas), I have a challenge:
Focus in on using your Twitter handle to engage around a single conference session.
I predict that that effort alone will persuade you to make strategic Twitter use a bigger part of your leadership development pursuits in 2017.
Here are the simple steps:
- Study this year’s agenda for your targeted conference, and identify the hashtag they are using to curate all conference-specific conversation. (#BSR16 and #NI16 for the two aforementioned events). Start following the tag now (at least two weeks in advance).
- Find the ONE KEY session that speaks to where you’d like your future leadership influence to be (in other words: the one most like where you’d see yourself speaking at the same conference next year).
- Map out which of the panelists is on Twitter and start following him or her right away (bonus points to those conferences that have sessions where more than one person is actively on Twitter).
- Again, starting now: tweet 1-2 times a week with (for example): “looking forward to X session with @SuzyJones and @BobSmith at #Conference,” or something along those lines (and that you honestly feel).
- When the conference hosting organization tweets about those speakers, Retweet (RT) and add a “+1” or other succinct indication of the value you are anticipating.
- The morning of your targeted session, tweet again (with slightly different copy) that you are looking forward to that session, and RT a few of the other tweets in the #Conference Twitter stream (the goal: to be visible in that stream before the session you are targeting).
Day of: Live Tweet The Session
- Be ready to tweet at least one key point each panelist makes (have their Twitter handle and their company’s Twitter handles ready). Tip: share in a way that those who are following the conversation from afar (not in the room or at the conference at all) can really learn or gain some bit of insight on the topic.
- Do not be overwhelmed! For one session, this means you’d maybe tweet 4-5 times in the entire hour or so.
- Remember to always also put that tag – #Conference – in all of your tweets!
- At the close of the session, use your own words to share something like: “Valuable session on (whatever), looking forward to continuing conversation in the #Conference halls,” and maybe a “Thanks again, @organization for a fabulous gathering and informative panels” tweet a day or so later.
- Notice if you gain followers and who RTs or “likes” your posts. And, notice/acknowledge if you felt a sort of pleasant “buzz” from being involved in the conference’s Twitter community… even that little bit.
Do it again at your next conference (lather, rinse, repeat).
I’ll be keeping my eye on the #BSR16 and #NI16 streams from afar myself, so will hope to notice your tweets there. Whatever your industry and whichever conferences you attend, I’d love to hear the results of your “one session” Twitter challenge! (Please let me know – by tweeting to my Twitter handle – @AndreaLearned – if you find the exercise productive).
For those of you who want a bit more strategic counsel for your unique conference tweeting/leadership platform building focus this fall, write up your questions and contact me to schedule an hour’s phone strategy session.
Or, if you are already sold on Twitter and want to develop a more comprehensive leadership platform strategy in advance of 2017 milestones or announcements, here’s an overview of my #LearnedTheory. Feel free to contact me about my 2-month Twitter jumpstart to give you or your organization a more solid foundation of engagement from which to thrive.
Image via Flickr/Creative Commons
First published on LinkedIn, October 7, 2016
