4 Ways to Utilize Social Media Stories at Your Annual Conference

While the concept of the social media story originated with Snapchat, both Facebook and Instagram have debuted similar functions. Now users and brands can facilitate better engagement by documenting their day in a series of photos and videos, visible for a period of time before disappearing.

As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Video is just as important and expressive. So, how can you capitalize on this growing trend across channels to improve your event?

  1. Keynote Takeover
    Leading up to and during your event, allow your keynote speaker(s) to access your accounts to introduce themselves, follow up on ideas presented or offer exclusive content outside their session. By posting via a story, followers are given a look into the event no matter their location and the account admin can analyze how many views and screenshots individual parts of a story received and by whom.
  2. Create a Specific Snapchat Story for Your Event
    There are a few different ways a Snapchat user can post stories. The default on an account is to post to “my story,” however you can also choose to create a new story and customize the name to reflect your conference title. Make sure to update your settings so that everyone can view the story, and not just direct followers to ensure maximum exposure. You can also choose to create a geo-story which allows anyone attending the event to post to that specific story thread. Bonus: create a custom photo filter (very cost-effective marketing option) that promotes the organization and event.
  3. Promote Facebook Collaborative Stories
    During your event encourage attendees to post to your Facebook Event’s collaborative story. This requires the page admin to create a Facebook event tied to the page, and attendees to respond to the event to add or view any story content. This feature functions like a private hashtag, allowing multiple contributors and appearing in the story feed at the top of a user’s timeline.
  4. Story Scavenger Hunt
    Want to push more interaction among attendees? Create a scavenger hunt for your conference and declare a winner. This works best on Instagram where you can use a hashtag or include the association handle. Have attendees move throughout the conference and post photos of specific programming highlights, networking, individuals, etc. Not only does it get attendees interacting with your event brand and fellow attendees, but it also serves to cross promote your event to their personal contacts which follow their stories.

Use these tips to take advantage of a growing trend, especially among younger demographics, and create an engaging experience for attendees!