Social Media Club Events – How to do them right

Sure we’ve all been to dozens, perhaps hundreds, of events in our careers. For me … I like it when an event organizer goes the extra mile to remind me about the event. This blog post is about an event organizer that went the extra mile and included a “Day Of” reminder letter on Facebook. The event being highlighted is the Social Media Club Seattle event and the person that prompted this blog post is Veronica Sopher. Veronica sent a letter with the details about tonight's event – when, where, what, a call to action for those attending and for those that cannot attend, and what’s next.

Event Management Etiquette

I’m sure everyone is up on their Emily Post Guide to Etiquette for their business and personal lives, but what about running an event? Just in case you aren’t I have broken down Veronica’s letter below as an example of How to do events right.

Events are multi-faceted and they take a lot of effort to insure they are successful – pre, during, and after the event. One of the often overlooked aspects of events are the “Day Of” activities. It seems that once the tickets are sold some event organizers figure they’ve done their part and the people will just show up. Wrong!  A “Day Of” note reminds people that they are signed up, what to do and what they can expect.

Below is the note Veronica sent with my comments in the left column where “She Got That Right”
Note: the event was announced and tickets were sold via Facebook. The event is SOLD OUT. 

You Got That Right	The Facebook Note / Letter
Quick intro and opening	Hello everyone! Thanks for your fantastic response to our February event. As you may have already heard, it is sold out.
Reminder of the location with a map and what to do when you arrive	If you have a ticket -- The event is in Bldg 118, Mt. Si Room. Map here: http://tinyurl.com/aab93y . Please check in at the door and pick up your badges.
Call to Action	Come prepared with tough questions for Chris Heuer, founder of Social Media Club.
What if you cannot make it – or are in a different part of the world?	If you don't have a ticket -- Please join us online.  No ticket necessary!
Tweet It	If you wish to tweet, the hashtag is #SMCSea.
Stream It	The link to the live stream is http://tinyurl.com/abon97 . Danielle Morrill from Seattle 2.0 will be reporting live.
After Event	The after-event networking will take place at The Matador in Redmond. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/ceu9qh
Common courtesy – Say thank you to your hosts	Again, we want to thank Microsoft and the Windows Live team for their generous support and hospitality.
Who sent this and how can you get in contact	See you soon! Veronica Sopher Communication Director Twitter: @SMCseattle

What’s Next?

This should be done for every type of event, not just Social Media Club (SMC) events. I suggest that all of the SMC chapters adopt a similar model for “Day Of” notices. Furthermore I suggest that all event managers take up the practice of sending out “Day Of” notices and to encourage attendees to use Twitter and other Social Media tools to discuss, debate, and distribute what they learn.

I also encourage event organizers to enable and encourage streaming their events. Providing access to this “Back Channel” is going to be more and more important – especially in a down economy when people cannot travel like they used to. A good article on encouraging the Back Channel Communications was posted on Laura Fitton’s blog site today.

Thinking Points:

• Have you been to any events lately where you received a “Day Of” notification? Was it helpful?
• Have you been to any events that utilized Social Media technologies in a unique and effective way?
• Do you think using Twitter while a speaker is presenting is acceptable? Would you rather pass notes or whisper?

More info:

Social Media Club – Find one in your area

About The Author: I have spent the better part of the last 16 years working in various aspects of the ECM space. I spent time at Kofax, Microsoft, FileNet, K2, and most recently Captaris (which was acquired by Open Text in Nov 2008). Prior to that I was a Unix VAR running my own company. Follow me on Twitter, check my blog, send email or find me on Facebook or LinkedIn.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

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