free ebook . new ideas for old conferences

I speak at a variety of amazing conferences around the world on the topic of Social Media. And although these conferences have recognized the need to educate their attendees on the topic of web 2.0, some have been slow to leverage social media for their own event. I wanted to pull together this eBook to help stimulate ideas for ‘old conferences’ to think in a new way.

I will stress, however, that before moving forward with any of these tactics, a few things need to take place:

1. Make sure you have an event worth talking about. If you garden you know that making sure you have great soil before planting is key. The same is true about have a great product or service before marketing it.

2. Make sure you’re organization is ready for social media. Culture clash is one of the most common reasons for social media upstart failure. Understanding the fundamental shifts in culture needed to make social media work is critical before starting.

3. Make sure you know what you’re looking to achieve and how you plan to measure success. Social media without a strategy is a lot like pots and pans in the hands of a baby. You can spend countless hours playing. If you take the same pots and pans and give them to a chef, they can create an amazing dish. Same tools – two totally different outcomes. Knowing how to use the tools, what you’re looking to do with them and how to course correct if you’re off track is imperative.

I hope that I’ve provided some good thought starters. I know I’ve only scratched the surface, so I welcome you to weigh in with any additional ideas on this post. How have you used social media to meet your conference objectives?

Click on image to download the free ebook “New Ideas for Old Conferences”.

If you missed our last free ebook “Social Media in Events 2010“, feel free to download.