Social media has taken the marketing world by storm. As more and more businesses get on board with social media marketing ideas and techniques, people have come to recognize the ever-increasing value of social media not only in marketing, but in other venues as well. Of particular interest to businesses looking for expansion and networking opportunities is the ability of social media to enhance meeting planning.

Planning your Meeting

As you begin thinking about speakers, workshops, venues, and promotion, take advantage of social media’s ability to connect you with the best and brightest in your field. If you already have a social media presence, begin following the Twitter feeds and Facebook posts of experts on the topics you want to cover. Take note of what topics are under discussion as you consider ideas for speakers, workshop sessions, and audience engagement techniques. Another social media venue you’ll want to capitalize on is your LinkedIn account. Use the Q&A feature to get ideas from your network about topics they’d like to see covered. As you begin advertising for your event, incorporate as many social media venues as possible. Offer discounts for your Twitter and Facebook followers, post a video on Youtube to help people engage with your theme, and promote your conference on Twitter by offering free tickets or another incentive for every retweet. As always, provide links to your conference page with each social media venue so people can find out more.

Increasing Attendee Engagement

Once you’ve sold people on the idea of the conference, it’s time to build anticipation through networking. Sometimes attendees gain the most value not from the conference sessions themselves, but from the deals and contacts they make between the sessions. Capitalize on this by making it possible for networking to begin before your attendees leave their offices. With social media, entrepreneurs can begin getting to know one another and building a sense of community ahead of time, making the ice breaking period less intimidating during the event itself. Once everyone is on site, give them opportunities to participate during and between sessions using real time Twitter interaction and feedback forums. If your audience feels like they’re part of a discussion, they’ll be more likely to pay attention to what you have to say, especially if you give them the opportunity to help shape the conversation.

Following Up

Always give your attendees the opportunity to offer feedback after the event takes place. This is the time to start planning for next year’s event by building on the ideas, likes, and dislikes you receive from this year’s participants. Take their comments seriously and let them know you appreciate what they have to say. In addition, make the most of social media networking opportunities to help expand your reach.

As a meeting planner, you can and should make social media a key player at your next event. By building a sense of community among participants, you’ll create an atmosphere that allows attendees to receive the greatest possible benefit both from the sessions and from the networking opportunities.