Netroots in June

From Netroots last month to BlogHer next week, I attend quite a few conferences for NationBuilder. And I love it. I meet lots of great people, tweet an abundance of interesting content, and listen to a variety of different panel discussions. I typically walk into these intimidating crowds of people, gathered in the overwhelming conference halls with gaudy architecture, shaky cell phone reception and generic hotel carpeting, not knowing more than just a few people. But if you tweet wisely and with humility, you'll leave with new friends, feeling enlightened with new information and new stories to tell by the end of the weekend. Whether you work for a nonprofit or a small business, getting your message out requires tweeting, following, and connecting with individuals online and in person.

Now as I prepare for the BlogHer on the 25th, let's talk through how this can be accomplished.  

1. Always make sure you have a good list of panels and people you want to talk with. Be smart about targeting which panels really relate to the mission and messaging of your organization. Now sit down and listen. Really listen. Take in important phrases, quotes, or big ideas from the information accumulated from the panel, discussion or training and let it be known to your network!
2. Remember to assume that people outside the conference will be interested and will read your tweets. This includes people who don't follow you directly. Explain frequently what that obscure hashtag means, so the hashtag achieves the purpose of promoting the event and ideas outside the four walls of the event venue.
3. On the note of hashtags, use them! Seriously though. In my normal Twitter life, I can't stand using hashtags. But when querying data for a specific location or trend, they come in handy. Before the panel starts, check with the presenters and the presentation board to figure out the specific event hashtag. Tweet and say hello to the thread. Social media is best used for two-way conversations, and it shouldn't just be used to push content forward to followers. Retweet  and share links applicable to the conference crowd. 
4. Use Twitter as a way to meet people face-to-face. At big events, meetups are often announced via Twitter. You may also want to invite someone to coffee or drinks via Twitter. Remember that face time with fellow attendees is invaluable.
5. Differentiate your personal account from your organization's Twitter handle. I use my personal account to cultivate relationships, check-in at panels, and recap events. I'm more discerning about what is tweeted from @NationBuilder. I'll retweet employees and focus on quote and events directly related to our mission. I recommend you stay balanced with both accounts, which will increase your visibility on behalf of your organization and will provide a bird's eye view of the event to your organization's followers.

In the following clip, my awesome co-worker C.J. provides additional advice about tweeting at events. She reminds us that quoting and paraphrasing speakers will provide useful information to people following the event hashtag from afar. Providing commentary on the event that doesn't rely on jargon or insider acronyms will also be beneficial to both attendees and others.