Facebook, Search Engines, Social Media

Google +1 and the rise of social search

Yesterday, Google announced the launch of their ‘+1’ button. ‘+1’ is a continuation of Google’s desire to make social features more central to a user’s search experience and also challenge Facebook’s ‘Like’ platform . The button will allow anyone with a Google Profile to ‘+1’ their favourite sites and provides the ‘social search’ that Google has long been talking about.

What does the ‘+1’ button offer? Like the Facebook ‘Like’ button, users will have the ability to ‘+1′ different Google items.  All they have to do is log in to their Google Profile, click ‘+1’ on a webpage or ad you find useful and it will then start appearing in Google’s search results by friends, contacts and others on the web. (If you can’t yet see the +1 button in your search results you can enable it in Google experimental.)

These social results promise to be more relevant to the user searching through thousands or millions of results.  Google claim that “The beauty of +1s is their relevance—you get the right recommendations (because they come from people who matter to you), at the right time (when you are actually looking for information about that topic) and in the right format (your search results).”

The +1 button goes beyond showing up in search results – and this is where it will prove even more useful to brands’ online visibility. Google will attempt to rival Facebook’s ‘Like’ button by offering publishers a +1 button that lets users +1 something without leaving the business’ site. The appeal of utilising this is that the search giant has stated that +1 data will directly influence its market share dominating search rankings.

Where is social search heading?

It has been claimed that with the changes that Google are implementing search engine optimisation as we know it will be transformed. +1 is a clear indication that Google view the integration of social and search as the future – and that their search results will become more and more weighted by social interaction.

‘+1s’, Likes, comments and Tweets are going to become increasingly important when it comes to site optimisation and ensuring your business ranks highly. It is therefore crucial that brands engage across social platforms. Businesses must drive engagement and encourage people to share content in order to optimise their site and generate organic traffic.

By increasing social media functionality and interaction in what they offer Google is changing the face of search and how the user will experience it. For businesses this means they must engage with people on social spaces and get people to ‘+1’ their content in order to optimise their presence on Google.

Social ecommerce: how social media is transforming ecommerce

Social ecommerce is a term you will be hearing a lot. It is at the forefront of marketers’ discussions and looks set to redefine ecommerce. In August 2010 Mark Zuckerberg stated that “If I had to guess, social commerce is the next area to blow up”. Since then social ecommerce (or Facebook commerce or F-commerce, if you prefer) has moved on apace. You can now rent films, book plane tickets, make donations to charities purchase clothes and even buy Tomato Sauce – all through branded Facebook Store tabs.

The rise of Facebook ecommerce has transformed Facebook Pages, allowing brands to not only engage with fans but also sell to them. Businesses are starting to realise the value of using Facebook not just to engage but to translate the conversations they are having with fans on Facebook into conversions.

Facebook now provides a tangible difference to a business’ bottom line. This is obviously a very enticing opportunity for marketers. There are more than 30 million people on Facebook in the UK alone (out of a global potential of 600 million). Social ecommerce means that brands can provide a one-stop-shop where consumers can get everything they need without ever leaving Facebook. This is a huge opportunity to convert Fans into customers.

However, how do you leverage your Facebook store to maximise profits and brand engagement?

• Holistic social ecommerce solution

Brands need to understand that social media is about trust and relevance. There are a number of key elements that must feature in any social media community – and your social ecommerce programme must utilise these. This includes ease of use, brand trust and personalised offers, coupled with high levels of customer support and advice. Creating such a holistic solution ensures your social ecommerce activity fits seamlessly into your social media offering.

Retailers must focus on keeping brand advocate experiences social and engaging – adding value to your customers’ brand experience at every stage of the buying process – instead of solely focusing on sales. It is through providing this complete brand experience that you will maximise sales.

• Social ecommerce and sharing

Social media has reinvigorated word of mouth marketing – and likewise social ecommerce encourages a personalised shopping experience, based on sharing and the trusted opinions of peers.

The very nature of social media means that brands are dealing with consumers to whom discussing and sharing things with their friends is second nature. Brands must therefore use Facebook share, ‘Like’ and review APIs to maximise the visibility of their brand, their products and their Facebook store tab.

Brands need to provide shareable, relevant content. Get this right and you have an audience who are willing to recommend you to their peer group. Facebook store apps make this easy – they include many social features which means shoppers can easily share products they Like with their Facebook friends as well. This produces a social domino effect, with your brand featured on more and more users’ news feeds – and it will optimise your online visibility and sales.

• Facebook ‘Like’ to Facebook ‘Buy’

For marketers and brands alike social ecommerce offers so many possibilities because it provides a concrete link between ‘Likes’ and a business’ bottom line.

Facebook has developed a range of tools that allows brands to track this. Facebook Insights allows you to track the performance of your e-commerce platform – this includes metrics for specific features such as ‘Likes’ and shares as well as demographic information and user behaviour. The information can then be used to understand what messages, deals and rewards will be most effective in gaining customers and maximising sales.

This ability to understand your audience and tailor how and when you communicate with them is what makes social ecommerce such a compelling solution for brands.

The future for social commerce

Facebook’s ecommerce solution has created a huge potential marketplace – and explains why it such a hot topic. However, it is also here to stay. Facebook audiences are receptive to brand messages, willing to share information and buy products from brands. A Facebook ecommerce tab is a cost effective, tangible and unique way for brands to provide a complete user experience in a social space.

It’s crucial for brands to understand exactly how they can convert ‘Likes’ into buys and, most importantly, how they can make their ecommerce platform a fully integrated part of their wider social media strategy. It is only through this process that brands will not only maximise sales but also encourage brand loyalty.

Branding and social media: living the brand

For brands one of the central goals of social media is to create communities who are passionate and interested in what you are saying – and as social media continues to play an increasingly important role in people’s lives it means that the opportunities for brands to do this are growing.

Brands need to take advantage of this. That means not just creating short-term campaigns, but long-term programmes that build the brand and foster a loyal audience. Brands can no longer simply push out a campaign message – they must deliver a brand experience. It is, in short, all about living the brand.

This is because social media offers unique ways of conveying a brand’s personality in a more tangible way than traditional media ever has.

Social media has allowed businesses to focus on understanding their audience further, how they can actualise the brand and provide a unique relationship that benefits advocates.

This is not a simple task. It’s a long-term process and brands need to create conversations and content that engage, entertain and keep the audience coming back. However, the rewards are vast. It means brands and businesses have the ability to impact on all areas of the buying cycle – from the initial consideration of the brand and the moment of purchase right through to creating loyal customers who come back again and again.

Here are 3 crucial ways businesses can achieve this:

Interact with your target audience

Brands must engage. It sounds simple but it’s crucial. Your consumers need to know that if they comment on your brand’s Facebook or Twitter Page, or any other community spaces your brand have a presence on, that they will get a reply within an hour.

They also need to know that your brand is authentic and transparent in what you are offering. This real time customer service means they are talking directly to the brand – and it is this personal touch that provides your brand with authenticity and trustworthiness.

Brands must also encourage user generated content and get people to share this content. The goal? Get as many relevant people as possible engaged with your brand. Word of Mouth marketing in this way is extremely powerful. The ripple effect of users receiving and viewing information about your brand from their friends and followers not only puts your brand name in front of millions of online users but makes users more receptive to your message.

Create valuable relationships

Social media offers the perfect tools to engage with customers, ‘live the brand’ and have meaningful interactions that add value. From conversations with their target audience to the promotion of special offers and events, there are a number of ways in which businesses can actualise their brand. By utilising the right platforms at the right time brands can create an emotional connection with their target audience and ensure they are front of mind.

Actualise the brand

Actualising the brand proposition online is all about ‘Why?’.  A customer’s attention is hard to maintain. With so many channels and businesses vying for attention, if brands are not relevant and interesting they will not be listened to. Social media incentivise people to become advocates – brands need to communicate their USPs, provide engaging content and offer a unique community experience. This is living the brand and means you can create brand ambassadors and ensure customer loyalty.

The growth of social search

The rise in importance of social media was demonstrated this month with the announcement that Google were giving increasing prominence to results from social networks.

On February 17^th Google launched major updates to Social Search, integrating information from Twitter, Flickr and Quora throughout its search engine – with Facebook conspicuous by its absence. This is undoubtedly because of partnership agreed between Microsoft and Facebook that brings “Like” data and profile search to Bing. This means Google doesn’t receive Facebook data that happens on personal Facebook walls in the way that Bing has been getting from Facebook. Google still doesn’t even have access to Facebook Like data because it objects to some of Facebook’s terms and conditions for having access to this information.

Indeed, it is almost certainly because of this rivalry and the competition posed by Facebook that Google has launched so many updates over the last few years in an effort to unite social and search. These reasons also mean that there will be a lot more updates from Google in the future to keep pace with the growing popularity of social media.

In summary: what the new changes mean

The new changes provide the ability to see results based on what the people you follow, and are connected to, are viewing and sharing. This means that if you are logged into your Google Account you may begin to see listings shared by your connections within organic search results.

Here are the most important aspects of these changes and how they will change your Google experience:

• Possibly the most important result of Google’s changes is that there will be a huge increase in social media’s appearance in search – now any content shared by your friends on Twitter, Flickr and new Q&A site Quora may now appear in your search results.
• The outcome of this is that different people will see different results. That’s because results will now be based on your individual relationship with the people who have shared content. The stronger your connection, the higher it will be found in the organic listings.
• By allowing users to connect their social profiles to their Google accounts the search giant can judge the strength of your connections by cross referencing your friends on Google’s network of sites and seeing if that list matches your friend list on other social networks such as Twitter. This will in turn influence your search results.

So, social search results will now be found with all other results, not just along the bottom of the page. However, it will be easy to spot which results are taken from social networks – they will be indicated by a sentence underneath the URL which will tell you which of your connections shared the link.  As you can see below (click on the image to make it larger):

Much has been made of the battle between social and search but it seems that they are becoming more and more closely integrated. The question is: will Google and Facebook ever be able to resolve their differences?

Ask The Experts: agency:2 interview with MDC Magazine

As part of their Ask The Experts feature  Mike Filsaime of Marketingdotcom.com interviewed agency:2’s Joel Davis for MDC magazine. The interview covered a range of topics concerning social media marketing, including how to successfully utilise social media, best practice and the future of the industry. Here are Joel’s answers:

1) What should an online marketer’s primary goal be when utilising social media?

The primary goal when creating a successful social media strategy must be to maximise ROI. Social media is uniquely positioned to provide businesses with measurable results – allowing them to spend less and invest smarter. At agency:2 we believe that driving ROI must be at the heart of all social media activity.

Another fundamental principle of social media is the need to follow strict legal and ethical practices. Being honest and open is not only ethical and legal but will protect the client’s brand and online reputation. That is why all the social media marketing campaigns that we run are completely transparent.

2)  What, in your opinion, is the most effective way for online marketers to use social media?

We are obviously big believers in what social media marketing can help brands achieve. It means we can provide businesses with unique insights into their customers so that they have a clear picture of how they relate to their brand.

There are a range of highly effective ways in which online marketers could – and should – use social media to interact with consumers at every stage of the buying cycle. By listening and engaging in a timely and useful manner with the target audience, brands can enhance their proposition and drive leads.

3) Facebook and Twitter are often cited as the two primary social media sites that online marketers should use.  What other social media sites are also worthy of attention?

If you have an international brand with a global reach then an understanding of the social marketing landscape within each country is crucial.  Whether it’s RenRen in China, Mixi in Japan or Orkut in Brazil and India, you need to know the big players in each country so that you can reach these netizens in the most effective and efficient ways.

4)   What tools and software would you recommend for assisting with social media management?

We use a mix of our own in-house tools together with best of breed monitoring tools to ensure that we know exactly what is going on. Workflow and project management tools are also vital in streamlining your processes and ensuring that you are able to track and respond to all opportunities.

5)  What new social media opportunities can we expect to see over the next 12 months?

With social media continuing to grow and develop so rapidly, and in so many directions, it is always difficult to predict whether there will be a new, big start up just around the corner. However, recent developments suggest that the existing industry leaders – such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – will refine and develop their offering, incorporating new technology, such as geo-location, into their existing offering and cementing their dominance of the market. Facebook’s development of Places and a messaging service, together with other innovative features, are prime examples of this.

Social Media and the ASA Cap Code

March 1^st 2011 will be a significant day in the history of digital and social media marketing and advertising. That’s because from this date the ASA’s (Advertising Standards Authority) remit will extend to cover all brand owned websites, their social media pages as well as video and mobile campaigns.

What does the Cap Code mean for your brand?

The ASA now has the power to regulate all online and mobile marketing communications and ensure compliance with the Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (The CAP Code). This covers all businesses, regardless of size, and extends to other non-paid-for space online under your business’ control (e.g. messages you post on social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook).

At agency:2 we feel this is a very important and significant step forward.  As one of the Founders of the DMA, we have constantly adhered to strict ethical guidelines. We are proud of always working ethically and legally for the good of our clients. Our aim as a Social Media Council member has always been to focus on legislation and social media best practice.

Being honest and open is not only ethical and legal but also adds value to brands and, most importantly, the audience. That is why all the social media marketing campaigns that we run are completely transparent. We believe the new remit will ensure that the same high standards which exist in other media published in the UK will now consistently be adhered to in digital marketing communications right across the board.

The rules in the current CAP code will now apply to digital communications and the ASA will be able to use these powers to ensure that misleading and falsified marketing and advertising communications online by any business within the UK are removed.

How will they implement this?

• Current practice includes unfavourable publicity arising from an ASA adjudication as well as the withdrawal of trading privileges, including media space.

New sanctions:

• The ASA will provide details of an advertiser and the non-compliant marketing communication on a specifically designed ASA microsite, which draws public attention to the offending piece of communication.
• The ASA will also work in conjunction with search engines to remove any paid-for search advertisements that link directly to the page hosting the non-compliant marketing communication.
• They will also place paid-for advertisements on search engines highlighting the continued non-compliance of an advertiser’s marketing communication, linking through to the ASA microsite.

We are extremely hopeful that this will have the desired effect and that all online communications become more transparent and ensure people reading online are receiving honest and truthful messages.

March 1^st then – a date to put into your iCal.

What you need to know about the new Facebook Pages

Facebook Pages

Last week saw Facebook roll out the much anticipated new look Pages. There are many new features: some good, some bad. Here are the main things that you need to know:

Facebook Images

The most striking changes you’ll notice when clicking on to a brand’s page are visual – they now feature 5 photos along the top. You may have seen personal profiles make the most of these by creatively taking advantage of this (as seen in Mashable). However, unfortunately for brands this isn’t possible. Unlike personal profiles which are ordered chronologically the Facebook Pages images are now selected randomly.

This means that brands must use this as a place to showcase images of products or promote themselves in other ways – the new layout provides businesses with the ideal way to do this.

Facebook Tabs & the importance of iframes

The navigation of the Brand Pages has also changed. The content that was previously accessed by clicking the tabs at the top of your Brand Page can now be found in the column underneath your Brand Page profile picture. Tabs have traditionally been central to the user experience. Moving them to the side could be detrimental to brands’ Pages – with the tabs not so prominent it could see a reduction in how many people click on tabs that are not the Wall or the default landing page.

However, it is not all bad news. When news of the new Facebook Pages was announced last year there were rumours that with the change in the style of the tabs brands would no longer be able to create custom landing Pages. However, this is not the case and it is still possible to have a customised landing page that promotes the USP of your business or incentivises people to Like your Facebook Page.

The demise of FBML

There is one significant change, however, that will have a profound effect. The Static Facebook Mark Up Language (FBML) App is to be pulled on 11th March 2011, so tabs will need to be created using iframes, not FBML.

Here’s what Facebook said on their Developer Blog:

With our recent launch of Requests and the support for iframe on Pages Tabs, we are now ready to move forward with our previously announced plans to deprecate FBML and FBJS as a primary technology for building apps on Facebook. On March 11 2011, you will no longer be able to create new FBML apps and Pages will no longer be able to add the Static FBML app. While all existing apps on Pages using FBML or the Static FBML app will continue to work, we strongly recommend that these apps transition to iframes as soon as possible.

This means that if you already have the Static FBML application (which allows you to create customised tabs) added to your Page before 11th March 2011 then they will continue to work – whether you will be able to create new tabs after this date is another question. However, it seems that sooner rather than later Facebook will really start pushing the use of iframes on Pages Tabs.

This will make it a harder to create a tab than it has previously been. One of the major benefits of the Static FBML application is the minimum amount of HTML knowledge required to create custom tabs without having to hire a developer. iframes are a lot harder to use – you need to be familiar with HTML, CSS and be comfortable troubleshooting technical issues that may arise.

Facebook Pages get social

One of the major benefits of the new Facebook Pages is the fact that you can log in as a business rather than a personal profile. By selecting ‘Use Facebook as a Page’ you will be able to run your Page like your own personal Facebook profile. This opens a whole host of new networking opportunities and makes the whole brand experience more social.

What does it mean in actual terms? Well, you will be able to receive notifications for your Brand Page, view a News Feed for your Page and ‘Like’ and post on other Pages as your Brand Page. You can also opt to receive notifications when people post or comment on your Brand Page. This makes it a far better customer service tool than it had previously been.

It also allows brands to become more social. The ‘mutual connections’ function means that when people visit your Brand Page, they will be able to view friends who also ‘Like’ your Brand Page, as well as other Pages that both they and your Brand Page ‘Like’. This enhances a sense of community and broadens the reach of your message. This knock on effect, with more and more people seeing your brand name is invaluable.

In addition to this the opportunity to comment and post as a brand throughout other Pages within Facebook means that you can get your brand noticed by very targeted and niche audiences. It greatly increases your reach by allowing you to take your brand name throughout Facebook, interacting with other brands, ‘Liking’ content and posting comments.

Add to this is the rumoured third party comments platform that can be integrated onto any site. This will provide an additional way of engaging with customers.

What this means for brands

Overall, the changes to Facebook Pages both give and take away power from brands. On the one hand, the changes to the navigation mean that bespoke tabs that have been used to push brand messages will (in all probability) prove much less powerful and significant to their Facebook marketing activity. However, businesses have the chance to be truly social, visit other Pages and get their brand name noticed by targeting brands and users who are interested in what they are saying. On a social networking platform that has over 600 million users this is an amazing opportunity.

The 3 types of social media user

Over 600 million Facebook users, around 200 million people on Twitter (with 25 billion Tweets sent in 2010), 5 billion photos hosted by Flickr and over 150 million blogs – it seems very clear that almost all internet users now interact with social media and that it has had a huge impact on how brands can communicate with people.

However, in order to utilise social media platforms in the most effective ways, it’s vital to segment and target your audience and gain a clear understanding of how these different groups interact with social media.

Classifying user behaviour – frequency of use, variety of use and content preferences – into meaningful categories ensures that brands can maximise their social media presence.

Here, then, is our guide to the different types of social media user:

The Social Spectator

The Spectator is a passive type of social media user who is content to simply view the information that they are interested in without a high amount of interaction on their part. This group has a ‘just’ kind of attitude. They ‘just’ visit social networking sites and maintain their profiles. They will selectively like fan pages, only when they feel that it will bring them useful information such as special offers.

They will also read the occasional blog, view YouTube videos, and in particular search for user reviews and ratings when making purchase decisions. Despite their lack of interaction they will expect brands to have a presence and will be disappointed if they don’t. They are spectators – but spectators who expect a lot.

The Social Connector

The Connector likes social media because it’s very convenient to connect with people. They allocate significant time every day on social media sites to look around and comment on their friend’s status, chat and interact with brands. In this way marketers can understand their personality and easily target them.

They will engage and share their views if they are passionate about the brand (or if prompted by engaging content), but they won’t take the lead. They will enter competitions, they’ll tag photos on Facebook, post comments, reviews and ratings of products and services, comment on some blogs and forums and will use LinkedIn as a tool to broaden their professional network. They may have a Twitter account where they will follow more than participate (this explains why 90% of Tweets are written by 10% of Twitterers) and will have probably created a blog but long since forgotten about it.

However, there are pitfalls. These people will turn off if they are not engaged by brands – unfollow, unlike, stop listening. They know that social media provides useful tools to keep in touch, share information and find out about interesting things that are happening – more importantly they also know that social media has given them a voice and that brands need to listen to them.

The Social Extrovert

On most social platforms, 10% of the top content producers account for 30% of all content produced. These are the Extroverts, the creators, the people who produce social media and want everyone to know about it. This type of user will create lots of content for multiple channels. They will publish blog posts or web pages, upload videos/images/podcasts and share this content online through ever channel they have at their disposal. As early adopters they will also sign up for each new social media platform which emerges.

It is these users who were the early adopters for Facebook and Twitter (interesting fact – Twitterers are 3 times more likely to be ‘creators’/’extroverts’). They will have developed large amounts of followers on these sites so it is crucial that brands try and create and nurture a relationship with these people through an outreach programme. The ability to amplify your brand’s voice through engagement with influential social media users who speak to large like-minded groups is one that can’t be missed.

How to use social media to promote your event

If you’ve ever planned an event you’ll know that it is a challenging and complex process. There’s the venue to book, speakers to sign up – and that’s before you’ve got to the promotion of the event and the task of getting people to attend.

This is where social media comes in. Social media has transformed the way so many things are done, and events are no exception.

Using social media to plan an event will make you realise the power these platforms can give you. It vastly enlarges the reach of what you’re doing, so that it’s not just about the people in the venue, but the thousands who could be accessing it online.

Whether it’s an online or an offline event, social media ensures that all the tools you need are at your disposal to promote it, spread the word, engage with leads and make sure your event is a success before, during and after.

Here’s our guide on how to use social media to make sure your event stands out:

Before the event

So your event is planned. It’s now time to use social media to make sure that people know about it. Promoting your site using a variety of social media channels offers new and highly effective ways to market your event and ensures people can easily find you online.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as location based sites such as Facebook Places and Foursquare, are key to increasing the reach of your event and encouraging highly effective word-of-mouth promotion.

There are many options, with each site offering different advantages. If you already have active Facebook and Twitter accounts in place these can be used to promote the event, update people with information and drive conversations. If not, you can set up an event specific Twitter feed for event updates; create a Facebook page to promote the event or set up a LinkedIn group to provide information about the event. Just make sure that you choose the right platforms for your objectives, your resources and your audience.

Social networking sites (this includes your blog) are fantastic platforms for engagement and you should use them not only to promote your event but also to get your community to offer topic themes and discuss ideas prior to the event. Be proactive as well – join relevant groups and promote your event by contributing to existing conversations.

These sites should direct people to a central hub, such as a website or blog, which can be integrated with these social networking platforms. This makes it simple to inform attendees of the latest news and provide them with all the information they need for the event. The website could feature an attendee list, with links to participants’ web sites and Twitter feeds, as well as a link to the event’s Facebook page. A link could be also be provided to a YouTube search results page providing videos that are relevant to discussions taking place. This type of activity ensures that attendees are engaged long before the event itself takes place.

During the event

To make your event one that people remember there are many innovative things you can do with social media.

Let’s start with the basics: don’t forget to have a unique hash tag for the event. A Twitter search widget can be used to show a real-time feed of all the posts using the specific conference hash tag. Using this hash tag gets people engaged with the event and allows you to easily monitor conversations. Most importantly it allows you to be an active participant in what is being said and drive conversations.  This could be projected on to screens throughout the venue. You can also use your website to aggregate these posts in real-time before, during and after the event.

Using geo-location services such as Facebook Places, Foursquare or Gowalla is another attractive option for an event. You can create a special venue on Foursquare for the event which offers tips and advice to attendees. You can also create multiple locations within the one venue so that you know exactly where people are. Plus, if you have organised a large event you can partner with Foursquare to create a badge and offer incentives for checking in.

There are many other features which could be utilised to enhance your event. This could be through an audio feed, with podcasts of certain sessions being made available after the event; a live video feed of the event could be streamed on your website and seeded on relevant sites; or you could create a Flickr badge on your website which links to tagged photos.

When it come to online events such as webinars, live webcasts or digital fairs it’s crucial to keep people informed. Send reminders (particularly in the lead up before the event) and make it easy for people to find by using LinkedIn Twitter and Facebook to link to the event URL. Post tweets in the build-up to the event to keep it front of mind and encourage people to send questions for the speakers or panellists. You can also stream your webcast through your Facebook page.

After the event

It’s vital that after the event is over that you use social networks to engage with everyone who attended. Using social media is a great way to keep in touch with all your attendees as well as gain valuable feedback so that you can refine what you will do next time.

Use the information and platforms you have to continue communication with the attendees. Thank them for attending, provide them with updates and information. You can upload the presentation from the event and write a blog post that highlights comments and questions that arose during the event.  You can also upload your webinar to YouTube or embed it on your Facebook page.

Again use the LinkedIn group as a platform for discussion and encourage debate. Attendees can use the group to discuss the event and topics that were raised before the event. In this way you can turn a group of attendees into a community.

Finally, and most importantly, listen to your audience – ask for feedback or create polls. Follow conversations on Twitter using a unique event hashtag to find out their opinions: find out what was good and what could be improved. Address their needs and become involved in the conversations. You’ll be able to use this information to shape future events and improve the event experience for all your attendees.

So, there you have it. No matter what type of event you are running, the array of options social media offers means that it is the perfect solution to promote and complement your event.

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