In this special conversation, two of Leoni Consulting Group's team members, Social Media Lead Hillary Trussell and CEO Elana Leoni, sit down to share best practices for using social media to leverage EdTech companies' presence at education conferences. In great detail and with great enthusiasm, they explore what to do before, during, and after the conference. Even if you're new to the convention circuit, you'll walk away from this podcast informed and energized.
Before: Be Intentional About How And Why You're Attending A Conference.
A lot of planning happens before conferences, yet Hillary suggests taking your brand to the event with these boxes already checked:
"Who's the conference being targeted to? Look at which hashtags come up in conversations. That can help you see who went to the conference the year before, the session topics, people who may be already excited to go."
"Figure out, 'How am I going to get on people's must-do, must-see, must-stop-by list?' Maybe it's a special guest or influencer at your booth or in your session. Maybe you're offering a special service that people can only get when they're there. Post teasers when you have those things in place."
"Since I'm part of a social media team, I like to make sure whoever's on the ground has my contact information, and I give them some basics of what I'm hoping to get. So if they give me a picture of the booth, or if they're having giveaways, be sure to snap a picture, so that behind the scenes I can help support and drive people to the booth through those real-time moments.”
"Are there any sessions where they're going to talk about your brand? Be sure that you're connecting with those people and elevating what they have to say about your product or brand."
"Reach out to educators. They're your market. Get your social media audience engaged by using just a simple Twitter poll or Facebook text post. With that insight into what your audience is hoping to take away, ask yourself, 'Is there a way to weave this into our plan?'"
During: Stay On Mission In The Heat Of The Moment.
It's hard to be in the moment at a conference while orchestrating a social media plan. Hillary has a few suggestions:
"Offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse. I was following a conference recently, and one specific person was tweeting from the moment they left their house. I felt like they took me on that journey with them."
"Remind people of that special opportunity that you have in your session or at your booth. Using the hashtag can help you reach people at the conference who are not connected with you on social media yet. It can help them discover you."
"Remind people to connect on social media, and make sure your handles are clear and available in your session slide deck or at your booth."
"Elevate other voices while you're there. Go through the hashtags and see what people are tweeting about. Are they talking about a topic that's close to your brand? Is that something you could retweet and share out? That's a way to be really involved and to not just be talking about yourself and your brand."
After: The End Of The Conference Is Just A Beginning.
Hillary reminds us that when you're leveraging a brand on social, post-conference launches the next stage of converting those leads:
"What were your highlights? Can you share your top three to five photos from the conference and show your appreciation for all the connections that you made and the experience that you had? It really flows into the feed nicely. And you want to do it soon."
"Make sure that you're staying connected with your audience and talking about some of those same topics, and sharing more insight into what your session was about or what happened at your booth."
"Curate the resources you collected at the conference and make it easy for people to find those resources and continue their learning journey."
"When people reach out on social media to say, 'I didn't get to go, but I really wanted to hear what you had to say in your session,' let them know, 'It's going to be available, and we'll send it to you after the conference.' That gets them excited and keeps the conversation going."
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
EdTech marketers 2023 Planner - use this free resource to plan around the various EdTech conferences this year.
EdTech Conferences Beyond the Booth: A Conversation With Joyce Whitby - a podcast episode where we discuss how to make the most of conferences
Celebrating 5 Years as Leoni Consulting Group - Hillary’s favorite podcast episode that drew her to team LCG
Elana Leoni, Host
Elana Leoni has dedicated the majority of her career to improving K-12 education. Prior to founding LCG, she spent eight years leading the marketing and community strategy for the George Lucas Educational Foundation where she grew Edutopia’s social media presence exponentially to reach over 20 million education change-makers every month.
Hillary Trussell, Guest
Hillary has over 10 years of experience in social media marketing management and consulting. Seven of those years were dedicated to higher education, where she promoted services, resources, and events to help students stay engaged and connected throughout their collegiate experience. She is passionate about helping brands make their services and resources known through online platforms. She also enjoys her time in the classroom as a Business Communications Adjunct Instructor at Tarleton State University. In her spare time, Hillary stays inspired and expresses her creativity through home decor. She also enjoys spending time with her five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, and her husband.
About All Things Marketing and Education
What if marketing was judged solely by the level of value it brings to its audience? Welcome to All Things Marketing and Education, a podcast that lives at the intersection of marketing and you guessed it, education. Each week, Elana Leoni, CEO of Leoni Consulting Group, highlights innovative social media marketing, community-building, and content marketing strategies that can significantly increase reach, relationships, and revenue.
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