Blazing the Social Media Trail

Associations have been engaged in the meeting business (conferences and conventions) for as long as anyone can remember. For those association executives having a hard time getting their arms around the new social media, they can think of it in terms of the traditional meeting that they know and likely love.

Traditional meetings have attendees who come to meet with peers and experts to exchange ideas and discuss solutions to common problems. Attendees also spend time with vendors/exhibitors to learn about the latest technology or business solution. They usually hear experts deliver presentations filled with good advice on a range of topics.

At the end of the traditional meeting, attendees ideally go away with new contacts, greater knowledge, and a renewed sense of being connected with a group of people who share a common field of interest.

This can happen all online with by using the capabilities of social media. The new media offers ways to exchange information, mutually discuss solutions or the merits of products and services, obtain knowledge, and make meaningful new connections with those of similar interest or those with knowledge to be shared.

Association executives can look to the new social media for creative solutions to some age-old challenges of generating revenue, connecting professionals with similar interests, providing a forum for discussion, and sharing valuable information in new and, most of the time, more immediate ways.

The novelty of the this media gives associations new tools to have continuous engagement with their membership. So, try blazing your own trail with some of the social media in your organization. At the very least, this media gives associations some inexpensive networking tools to start conversations before their traditional meetings, continue them at the event, and continue it afterwards.

Comments

[Dick Barton]

As a follow-up, there is a good article in the June 11, 2009 edition of The Chicago Tribune which discusses the concerns of employers which have staff using social media. There are obvious risks of sharing too much or the wrong information i.e. trade secrets or corporate strategy and the risk of having employees getting in trouble with inappropriate comments or sharing too much personal information.

Associations and companies will have to revisit their employee policy manuals and update them to reflect use of social media from and about the workplace.

[Edward Salek]

Dick's point about association meetings and social media is well taken. As a community, we tend to be surprisingly slow at latching onto new ways to do business. I am sure at one point someone thought an annual conference was risky but worth a try as an innovative idea. But they were willing to experiment and it became a business staple. Dick's advice is sound: experiment and give social media a try. It’s a natural fit.

[Dick Barton]

This week's cover of Time Magazine features a good look at Twitter. The article provides background on how Twitter came to be and what it may mean for corporate America and individuals in the near future.

There are plenty of nay-sayers around who think Twitter will go away or go bankrupt -- a victim of its skyrocketing success as more and more folks sign up and starting using the service.

Some purists from the Internet are complaining that people are hiring folks to post their Tweets and, thus, taking away the true spirit of the service and perhaps putting Twitter at risk of becoming another spamming tool.

What are your thoughts?

[Dick Barton]

There is a growing buzz among meeting and expo professionals about how to use Twitter before and even during large gatherings. The pre-event use helps the promotion and obviously can facilitate communication among stake holders in the event but it's the onsite aspect which I find a bit more interesting.

Our meetings industry has struggled for years with trying various message boards and devices for updating attendees at meetings about schedule changes or alerts. Twitter could become the answer to this challenge for event organizers. And it's free (for now at least) but opps there goes any sponsorship opportunity out the window.