Social media is a great and necessary way to promote your statewide and regional meetings. In the fifth part of our six-part Chapter Leaders Blog series on effectively planning statewide and regional meetings, we’ll share suggestions for how to make the most of social media before, during, and after the event.
Selecting Social Platforms
Before you can begin working on the actual posts, you must first determine which social platforms to use. If you have existing accounts used by your chapter, those are a good place to start. However, you may also consider creating specific pages for the conference itself. For example, APA national has a Facebook page just for Annual Congress where they share conference updates, registration info, and other content to maintain interest in the event year round. Members of your chapters can provide input on which social platforms to use, the most popular being Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Branding Content
To monitor and organize posts, create a short-and-sweet hashtag that represents your event and can be used in all your posts and by attendees. For the Wisconsin Statewide Payroll Conference, we created the hashtag #wipayroll 6 months in advance to help us advertise and allow attendees to start networking before the event. We also contracted with a freelance graphic designer to create a statewide logo and used it in posts along with the hashtag.
Social Media Leading Up to the Event
Prior to the conference, social media should be to used increase the number of registrations and raise excitement for the event by sharing key information and reminders. Below is a basic social media plan that we used to promote our 2019 statewide event:
- 6 months prior – Save the date
- 1 month before registration opens – Registration will be open soon, share date
- 2 weeks before registration opens – Share secured education topics
- When registration opens – Announce registration is open and share event countdown
- 2 months prior – Share event agenda
- Each week from day of open registration to event:
- Promote reasons to register: RCH credits, topics, entertainment, networking, speakers, volunteering, professional pictures, gift baskets, vendors, etc.
- 1 week prior – Post daily
- 1 day before – Final pre-event post, excited for the conference
Social Media During the Event
Maintaining a social media presence during the event adds to the 
excitement for attendees while creating buzz for the next conference. Selected members of our statewide committee posted pictures at various times throughout the conference and after each class/agenda break if possible. We also had a contest on Facebook where whoever posted the picture with the most “likes” using our hashtag won a gift card.
Social Media After the Event
After the event, social media can be used to share moments from the event to benefit attendees and provide reference photos for potential registrants in the future. A few posts to include are:
- Final picture of all charitable contributions
- Group picture of the attendees
- Event photos from attendees
- Save the date for 2020 conference
- Thank the vendors
- Thank the speakers
- Thank the attendees
- Two weeks later do a Throwback Thursday to the event with any previous unpublished photos
Keep Learning
We learned some important lessons regarding social media throughout our 2019 statewide. It’s important to tag the other chapters involved in the posts to reach their members. Also, make sure the privacy settings for the posts are appropriate for sharing. Finally, know your audience. Understand that some people simply will not participate on social media, and some prefer one platform over another. You may even consider allowing attendees to text their pictures to someone who can post them on social media. After each conference, discuss what worked well and what can be improved moving forward to make the most of your social media strategies.
If you need help, or have a specific question, you can reach out to a member of APA’s Social Networking Committee or submit your question to CHAMPS online.
This article is the fifth of a six-part series on effectively planning statewide and regional meetings, authored by Statewide Coordinator and Past President of the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter, Stephanie Ernsting, CPP. Part 5 was also co-authored by Cassie Tennant, CPP. Subscribe to the blog for weekly updates!
Read Part 1 on Finding the Right Venue Using an RFP.
Read Part 2 on Preparing a Thorough Budget.
Read Part 3 on Selecting Topics and Speakers.
Read Part 4 on Creating a Communication Plan.
