How to use a social media wall at events
CREATING excitement and engagement at events can sometimes be a little tricky, especially if people are burying their faces in their smartphones. So if everyone is using their phones anyway, why not make it part of the event?
A good idea to incorporate smartphones into your event is to have a social media wall, harnessing the power of social apps such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. This gives all attendees the opportunity to participate and be part of the conversation.
What is a social media wall?
A social media wall is effectively a digital screen or screens which display different social media channels and feeds. You can opt to have your social media wall across multiple screens throughout your event, ensuring many people see it, or use one main screen as a large feature wall.
How do they work?
Social media walls work by displaying social media channels and feeds, in real time. For example, you can display the Facebook feed of a speaker, the Twitter feed for the event hashtag, or the Instagram feed of the event sponsors.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Make sure you #hashtag
To maximise engagement, create an event hashtag that gives your event attendees a way to participate and have their posts, photos and updates appear on the social media wall. For this to work effectively, you must have a simple and on brand event hashtag. Some examples of event hashtags are: #ANZgala2017 #NewtownFestival #JoandTomWedding
Start conversations
You can utilise a social media wall to ask questions at the event, or spark light debate. All attendees can get involved and post their opinions, ideas or replies simply by using the event hashtag.
Update your attendees
You can also use the social media wall for event updates, keeping everyone in the loop and up to date. This is extremely helpful at large trade shows or festivals where information might change throughout the event.