We all know that social Media is something that every association and nonprofit should have on their radar. Social media is a great way to keep members and attendees up to date and informed about a thousand things including your conferences and events. Knowing that you should do something and jumping in with both feet is another matter altogether. One reasons many groups are reluctant to dive in is because they cannot answer the question “which social network should we concentrate on, where are our members?”. I get it. I totally do. This is not only a valid question, it just might be the most important question in determining if your conference social media marketing will take off or die on the vine like a grape in the hot California sun and no one wants to see their colleague sitting at a desk looking like a raisin. Luckily, we got a simple plan to get the info that you need!
There is really awesome and easy way to find out where your attendees or members are living and hanging out online. It only takes a second and provides buckets full of info. What is this magic secret? How can you find out without hiring an overpriced, overdressed, buzzword-spewing, microbrew swilling “social media guru”…Just ask!
Finding Attendees and Members on Social Media
That’s it, ask. No secret special sauce required. Just create an online form and ask your members or attendees to tell you where they hang out. Here is an example of what we did for a nonprofit client that had zero budget for market research.
This is a simple Google Form that takes minutes to create. The data goes right to a Google Sheet which can be shared downloaded as an Excel file to send to those old fashioned peeps that don’t do the Googley thing.
Once you have created the form, get it out there. Put a link in your association newsletter, put that sucker on your website, throw the link on your Facebook page, heck, do all of the above and let people know that they have until X date to get you some answers. You will find that people want share. People want to be involved. They want to feel that they have a hand in guiding you. You, in return, get to know where to focus your energies.
That’s it! Go to it! Here is another little bonus infographic from the fine folks at Smart Paper Help titled Social Media – A Cheat Sheet that Helps.
Sign up now, all the cool kids do it!
