Social Media and Social Networking Tip #2 K.I.S.S (Keep It Socially Syndicated)

September 2, 2008 by admin
Filed under Featured Posts

That’s right, it’s not your business card, your faux event accent, or even your memorized list of credentials that sets the tone on whether anyone wants to meet you at the traditional event or seminar.

NOPE!

It’s that cheap plastic card with a clasp, or even worse, that sticky laser printed label currently curling up on your shirt pocket that sets your fate at an event or seminar.

The traditional event is a wonderful thing to behold – from the infinite platter arrays of precisely placed square cheeses, to those barbecue seasoned nano chicken wings only the precious few get to enjoy before they “fly” off the platters.

Maybe you were one of the lucky few that made it to the chicken wings before they “flew the coup.”

AND

Maybe you just left a perfect barbecue flavored fingerprint on your name badge in your attempt to get your badge to “fly straight.”

In a web 2.0¹⁰ perfect world, the people you were about to meet at a physical event would have already engaged you in conversations in a pre-event online discussion group or blog and had already exchanged contact information with you through various other social networking sites.

TRUTHFULLY HOWEVER,

Most financial institutions still conduct events and seminars via the 1960’s method explained to them by their 1970’s College Business Professors (you sing: “I like to teach the world to sing, in perfect h-ar-m-ony”).

OK,

For those of you who are shaking their heads up and down with me – I have a tip that will slowly help you build your web 2.0¹⁰ Rome.

Even though your institution may be a slow adopter to social media and social networking techniques, this does not mean however that the people attending these events are not already using these technologies.

The best thing operating in every institutions favor right now is that they are ON THE INTERNET and use online registration forms to register event attendees (if not, ouch!).

Usually the list of attendees ends up in a spreadsheet somewhere usually on your network.

Grab that list of names and email addresses and do one very valuable thing – cross-reference it against LinkedIn.

You will be amazed at just how many names you will find that are registered with LinkedIn – I was when I processed my very first list.

NOW

Go create a LinkedIn Group for your event and invite members from your list that are registered with this service, to “link in” with you.

LinkedIn also just recently added a discussion group feature that will let your group members interact with you and one another. As the group administrator you have the ability to craft pre-event and post-event discussion topics and even assign members who take a lead in discussions as a group “manager.”

After the event, be sure to post follow-ups to the group with answers to questions and links to online photos, presentations, and other media that the group can share on other social networking and social media sites (Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, etc.).

So practice K.I.S.S. and give your events new life, after all, staying socially syndicated, “ain’t nothing but a chicken wing!”