The OpenWater Blog

How to Create and Use a Social Media Wall at Your Next Abstracts Conference

Your attendees – especially once they’re at your abstracts conference – are a great resource for marketing materials. However, few attendees will post consistently and get your conference the exposure you want. Luckily, there’s a simple way to fix that.

The answer? A social media wall.

What is a Social Media Wall?

Social media walls are walls with one or more screens to display photos, posts, and other social content being posted throughout your event. You’ll populate the stream with photos entrants submit online using your event hashtag in real time.

Typically, conferences will display social media walls near sponsorship booths, next to stages, in the lobby of the event, or anywhere else within the venue that makes sense! Here are just a few ways abstracts conferences are currently using social media walls:

• Questions for Speakers – Create hashtags for separate events at your conference and use the screens to display questions or comments for speakers in real time. This adds an interactive element to any presentation and is easier than passing around microphones to ask questions (though you can do both, if you prefer to do so).

• Highlights – Think of social media walls as your way to showcase a highlight reel from your event. Post reactions, photos, and more to encourage other attendees to submit their own experiences!

• Sponsors – Looking for better ways to integrate sponsor content? Social media walls are a great platform to do so and get sponsors in front of more people.

How to Create a Successful Social Media Wall

Just creating a wall isn’t enough – you need to do so and ensure your entrants understand how to get their content on the screen. After all, less than half of conference attendees remember the event hashtag. As the conference manager, it’s your job to ensure this doesn’t happen at your conference.

Here are some tips to ensure your hashtag is visible (and otherwise successful):

• Catchy – If your hashtag is boring or generic, it won’t be memorable. Instead, focus on coming up with something creative that will be difficult for attendees to forget.

• Prominent – Put your hashtag on posters, in handouts, and everywhere else you can think of during your event. The more places you display the hashtag, the more content you generate, and the more attention your organization receives.

• Use Your Own Hashtag – Your dedicated social media staff members should use your event hashtag in every post. You should also encourage sponsors to use your event hashtag to further insert them in the conversations taking place around your event.

What Will You Do With Your Social Media Wall?

Most events already have a unique hashtag. This means a social media wall is a logical next step you can use when you want to generate greater interest in your program and showcase your social media efforts front and center.

So, how will you use a social media wall? The possibilities are virtually endless.

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