In last week’s blog post on using social media at conferences, Social Media and Conferences,  I primarily focused on LinkedIn as the place to go prior to, during, and after a conference.

Several people who read my post brought up Twitter as their “go-to” social site when they are at a conference.

twitter - montage of words

“I find that Twitter is the best place to connect when I meet someone at a conference. It’s easy to use and an easy way to strike up a conversation.”

Social Connections, LLC

“My conference networking tool is Twitter. It definitely helps when the conference has a special hashtag.”

Helene Kwong, CEO and Co-Founder, Hashtagitude

 

The more I think about it, these are great suggestions. But, as I don’t use Twitter very often, I simply overlooked its power and practicality in a conference setting.

So, here is some advice for my readers (and myself) on this topic.

 

Tips for Using Twitter at Conferences

  • For those attendees with whom you are already connected on Twitter (meaning you follow them and they follow you), send a direct message letting them know you are attending and suggesting an in-person meeting.
  • Search Twitter for the people who are presenting at the conference and follow them on Twitter. (Search tip: If you can’t find them by name, try searching for their business name.)
  • If any of the presenters are tweeting from the conference, reply to their tweets (which you can do even if they are not following you) commenting on or adding to whatever they said. Keep in mind that this is a public act, so others following them and/or following you will see your reply.
  • You can also favorite one of their tweets. When you favorite a tweet, the sender is notified via Twitter, as they are when someone follows them or replies to or retweets one of their tweets.
  • Another option is to tweet the especially memorable points a specific speaker makes, being sure to credit the speaker of course. Doing this will bring you to the attention of the speaker as well.
  • Many times people you follow on Twitter will follow you back. If that happens, you can then have a private conversation via the direct message feature. Use this to ask for their email address and/or phone number for future communication if you can’t find this info elsewhere.
  • Use these same steps for the fellow attendees you meet at the conference, as well as for elected leaders of the organization and those who ran for an elected office and didn’t win.
  • When you get home from the conference, reach out to any of these people via Twitter and continue to stay in touch.
  • In order to keep your twitter feed organized, and remember who you met where, it’s helpful to create a list of the people you reached out to at this specific event. This also allows you to quickly and easily check their tweets on a periodic basis.

 

 

How About You?

How do you like to use Twitter at conferences? What recommendations would you make to someone who is relatively new to Twitter in terms of using Twitter at a conference?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, leaders of nonprofit organizations, job seekers, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.