In this week's issue:
    
Going Beyond Hashtag: The Ultimate Live Blog Framework
Given how quickly and easily people can follow breaking news and quick opinions in real-time from events that they may not normally have access to, you’d be hard pressed to find a corporate event this year that didn’t have a strong Twitter component as part of its PR strategy – an event invite is not complete until it has the “Follow the Conversation on Twitter at #[insert_event_name_here]” hashtag.
However, Twitter has its limitations and we’re starting to see companies miss an opportunity by treating event blogging as an afterthought. Social media analyst and blogger Jeremiah Owyang recently echoed our thoughts on Twitter, noting that he wished more companies would live blog instead of tweet from events because you can better convey the message than what you’re allowed in Twitter’s 140 characters.
The key here is “LIVE” blog. While queuing up posts for our corporate blog that support your event’s agenda or writing wrap up posts that summarize the event have their purpose they can’t replace the real-time nature of Twitter.
So what should your LIVE EVENT blog include? Text 100 recommends the essential elements:
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Multiple Perspectives – Using a multi-author blogging platform you can dispatch an army of bloggers at your event to report on different breakouts simultaneously. Look for distinct personalities that will bring different points of view from the event. Look outside of your organization for potential authors – is there a customer, analyst, partner that is willing to blog their third-party take? Introduce your bloggers in advance of the event to readers via video introductions.
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Streaming Video – YouTube videos that capture moments in time at events are great, but you can amplify your keynote or other sessions by allowing readers to be there virtually in real-time. Use services like UStream’s embed code to stream to your blog. Create further engagement by asking blog readers to leave questions in the comments that could be addressed during the keynote’s Q&A session.
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Embed Presentations – Let people access the presentations and supporting materials shared at the event. PowerPoints and documents should be uploaded to Scribd and embedded in blog posts. Be sure to provide the necessary context or build in the presentation to foster discussion.
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Candid Image Stream – Ditch the stuffy posed corporate photos and capture on the fly shots with your digital camera that give an insider’s look at the event. Upload them instantly to a Flickr album for a dynamic presentation that can be integrated into your blog.
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Bring the Twitter Conversation to Your Page – Blog plugins let you bring the conversation happening about your event on other social media channels to your blog. TweetSuite allows you to display all of the Tweets that link to that blog post or a keyword like your #[insert_event_name_here] hashtag.
The beauty of a LIVE EVENT blog is that it gives you a multimedia platform to extend the reach of your messages in an authentic, “behind the scenes” way. It also allows you to make more of your content. The hours you powered into the presentation deck now have greater ROI when hosted on Scribd and your blog. Using tools like Flickr and UStream also create an opportunity for discovery by their respective communities. Promotion of event resources also becomes easier when you have a central location to point people too. Last, you’re able to collect feedback from your target audience in more than 140 characters.
Tip: Worried about altering the state of your corporate blog to accommodate your live event needs? Concerned your blog readership is too broad for such a push on one targeted event? Wordpress.com’s free hosted platform can be used to quickly create a standalone blog for your event. You use an automatic redirect for your existing blog address or point readers who may be interested to follow your event at this new site.
Tips for Getting More Eyes on Your Tweets
Twitter becomes a powerful communications tool for your company when your tweets are amplified and reach a broader audience than just your followers, ultimately resulting in more brand exposure. But getting your tweets retweeted is more than just luck; it’s a science that requires each tweet to be crafted carefully.
Social media scientist Dan Zarella has studied tens of thousands of tweets, compiling an extensive report with various findings on ways to get retweeted. His data suggests that simple things like including links, using longer and complex words, including new information and being less self-referential increases your chance of being retweeted.
Our tips include:
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 Timing: Research shows that Tuesday is the most popular day for Twitter activity, accounting for 15.7% of total activity; followed by Wednesday (15.6%) and Friday (14.5%). During the day, the most Twitter activity happens from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (EST).
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Say it Again: The vast majority of people on Twitter do not see every tweet from everyone they are following. They might check their tweet stream once or twice a day and rarely look back in time. Brands should not be afraid to re-share something they’ve tweeted. Try saying it different ways at different times. As long as you don’t repeatedly tweet the same thing over and over again, you won’t be viewed as spam.
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Word Choice: Choose your words carefully (full list of top 20 most retweetable words to the right). The most retweetable word is “you”. Be sure to share how your tweet can help or impacts your followers directly. Note that “how tos” get shared often and terms like “10 or top” indicate that lists are popular. Make sure your tweet has thoughtful key words that will help it be discovered for someone who is searching for interesting tweets. @Photocompany: New Slim SuperShoot7000 Takes Perfect Shots Every Time won’t appear in searches when someone is looking for digital cameras.
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Link It: The study found that the presence of a link in a tweet increases the chance of being retweeted – 57% of retweets include links. The most popular link minimizing tool is bit.ly.
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Cut it Down: If you want it shared, keep it to 120 characters or less for easy retweets.
Dan’s latest project is a tool help users find the most retweetable words about a specific topic to write tweets with a higher chance of getting shared. For example, if you wanted to tweet about a
green issue – one could enter in a keyword to the tool, and click “analyze,” the most retweetable words include city and breakthrough. These terms could be used to craft your tweet (when appropriate) for a better chance of being shared.
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