Social Networking For Conferences

Facebook and the Events Industry

Online social networking resources such as facebook, myspace, and twitter are now common place and most of us have at some stage chosen either to embrace them, or to avoid them like the plague. But love them or hate them their importance in networking is difficult to deny and no where is this more apparent than in the conference industry. Specialist online social networking systems designed explicitly for the conference experience are fast being recognised for the networking enhancers that they are. There are several key benefits:

Create Profiles and Start Discussion Online

Like any social networking system, social networking for conferences allow the user to create their own profile with which to communicate with delegates, speakers, exhibitors, and indeed organisers. It allows the user to search through a range of criteria such as job title, company, interests, hobbies, and location and to speak with other members of interest. It allows the presenters to break the proverbial ice early on, and gives visitors the option of seeing who will be attending before they make their decision to do so.

Personalised Calendars and Timetables

How often have we been to an exhibition or conference and missed a speaker simply because we lost track of time, or completely forgot? With social networking for conferences delegates can print off a personalised calendar and timetable based on who they would like to see and when.

Year Round Activity

Social networking for conferences maintains an all year round presence and users can start their discussions well before a conference is due to take place and continue this discussion long after the event is over. From an organiser’s point of view this is a great way to maintain exposure until the next year’s event, and for a delegate it’s a simple way to retain contacts and make friends.

Feedback and Analysis

All too often overlooked by the event organiser is the importance of feedback and reflection. Without the two, improvements for the future is unlikely. Many events gather feedback information but sadly then fail to act upon it.

Social networking for conferences will allow users to enter their feedback online which can then be analysed by the organiser and used to market the event in the future. Similarly online activity, blogging, and networking can be analysed providing the organiser with useful information about which speakers are the most active, attract the most the delegates and which topics of discussion are of the most interest. 

Customisation

Finally the whole experience can be customised and branded to suit your event and its sponsors. This customised site is then available through your own domain name and can even be linked to an online registration system or ticketing system.

If executed correctly, the system will be a hive of interactive activity all year round  creating momentum for your event and an increase in unique visitor hits for your website.