What the Trump vs Clinton debate can teach us about live tweeting

Whether you live in Singapore or the United States, the Twitter play-by-play of the Trump Vs Clinton presidential debate had more jabs than a school-wide vaccination. Between the Trump as a Godzilla and the Clinton victory memes, the public craves news and opinion in real time.

Despite rumours that Twitter (the company) isn’t growing, live-tweeting is still an excellent way to share  news about your brand. If you’re attending or hosting an event, updating quotes, pictures, and funny thoughts gives your fans a chance to hear the brand’s voice. Simply check out the flutter of activity on Trump’s  and Clinton’s Twitter accounts over the past 24-hours.

Live tweeting may seem stressful at first, but gaining traction is much easier than you think. Here are our top tips for live-tweeting:

1. Get the whole team involved

The designated tweeter can’t be everywhere at once. Get the attending team on a #livetweets mobile Slack channel and ask them to post quotes or questions to this channel for the designated tweeter to pick up. For consistency, there should only be one designated Tweeter per team to have oversight on the page.

2. Prepare good visuals

Come prepared with some stock images and if you hear a good quote, overlay it on the go with a meme generator or inspirational quote app. Take photos before tweeting to make sure you have something good to pair a post with.

3. Engage with gifs

 Twitter’s gif features are totally underutilised by corporations that have strict brand guidelines. If you’re a small team, run it by a manager and share a gif or align one with your quote or update.

Here’s a funny interpretation of the live debate:

Then there was this:

4. Use one easy hashtag

It should be something easy like your company and the event, i.e. #Mutantatrise.

5. Tag everyone and everything

There is almost no point to putting up a tweet without mentioning a company handle, someone’s handle, or using a hashtag. Twitter is designed to link up people in a community, so don’t be lazy with tags!

6. Trend trends trends

 This is the main thing journalists look for on Twitter. At an event more often or not you’ll hear that some big investor has invested billions in a technology no one is using right now, that might point to a trend. Keep your ear to the ground and ask lots of questions.

7. Find the official hashtag of the event

This is a no brainer,  but you’d be surprised how many people don’t look for this. It’s the number one way to get discovered by a journalist or someone else at the event.

#debatenight was the official hashtag of the debate:

8. Use vines 

Getting a live feed on Twitter isn’t as easy as it is on Facebook. What’s better than a quote? Getting a quote Vined or Periscoped from a notable speaker and uploaded it on Twitter.

9. Pick a good quote

 Pick a quote that is on brand,  offers simple business advice, or even something funny and post it.

Here’s an example from Camp Clinton:

10. Be cool

Save the corporate riff-raff for when you have word count.

Live-tweeting makes your company look on the ball, and most importantly helps your fans know the latest news and trends in the industry. By using a real voice, you’ll be able to connect with your fans.

Need some social media advice ? Contact us at [email protected]

 

Header picture credit: www.thedailydot.com

How to get the media to attend your event

media

From weddings to birthdays, the presence of quality guests can really make or break your event. Sometimes the more the merrier, other times… not so much.

Just like personal celebratory occasions, when it comes to corporate events, product launches or press conferences, there are some people you will most certainly want to attend – the media!

Media presence is an important element of any event; they provide leverage to the awareness and purpose of what you, or your business, is doing.

Journalists, radio hosts, bloggers and TV presenters are very influential. Consumers (aka your potential customers) follow their news and respect their opinions, and inviting relevant, quality media to your event can do so much for your brand.

But anyone who has attempted to contact media themselves will know they are a fickle bunch. A journalist’s main objective is to cover news that is relevant to their target audience. Grabbing their attention amid a sea of news and events is no easy feat, and personal relationships go a long way. Not to mention they can work long, erratic hours, pounding away on their keyboards to constantly meet deadlines.

It can be a challenge to entice the media to an event, but challenges are good!  Contrary to popular belief, there’s more than promises of free booze and food you can offer to grab their attention (although, we won’t lie, that definitely helps!)

Make them an offer they can’t refuse

Journalists receive many invites every day about everything – food tastings, new product launches, store openings, movie premieres, and press conferences. What sets your invitation or event apart? Do you have a special guest speaker flying in? Is he or she an outstanding thought leader who will be sharing valuable insights about the industry, or local trends?

Journalists need an angle – i.e. a reason your event matters to their audience. Is your product the first of its kind in your market? Are you releasing a new white paper or piece of research of interest to their market?

ill-allow-it

Make your invite enticing by targeting it to them. Depending on your budget, you can even mail them a physical and specially designed invite. Get creative with the exclusivity, and make it an event that even you wouldn’t refuse.

Invite the right crowd

Do a little research on your media guests and ensure their relevance. It might seem impressive to get the senior current affairs correspondent along, but how relevant are they for a food tasting? Instead, you want to get in touch with the food reviewer or editor.

This is an important but often-neglected process for novices. It is pretty unassuming, but building up relevant media lists takes patience, time and effort.

Timing is everything

Besides events, writers often have to struggle with constant looming deadlines – so send your invitation at least two weeks in advance. If you don’t hear from them in a few days, follow up with a phone call. 

Send out an email reminder with the date, time, dress code, and map of the venue a few days leading up to event – they will appreciate the gesture and it will reappear on their radar in case they have forgotten about the event.  

Successful events with the media take practice and time, and forging sincere relationships with journalists definitely helps. They will be more compelled to RSVP and attend an event with a familiar face. 

Spoil them

If you do get media to attend your event, it’s okay to be excited about it. Now, don’t waste the opportunity. 

happy

Make sure you give them attention (but not too much – no one likes to be hovered over). Keep them happy, make sure they have all the information they need, and let them know they can come to you if they have any questions. If you make them feel welcome and special, they’re more likely to remember you the next time you get in touch.

If you would like to know more about coordinating or successfully engaging media for an upcoming event or launch, get in touch at [email protected]

Image credit: Eugenio Marongiu / Shutterstock.com

 

10 easy steps to organising a stellar fashion event

Events are an important part of a fashion brand’s PR campaign. They can also be a fashion brand’s worst nightmare, but here are 10 easy steps to a successful shindig.

I’m definitely not going to give you my two cents on the latest fashion, but I do have an idea of how you can make your fashion brand or concept fabulously famous through a memorable, successful event.

Events can be scary, but they can also be very effective marketing tools.

All you need to remember is this very simple acronym.

PACBSMMEDF

(Purpose, Audience, Channels, Budget, Strategy, Measurement, Management, Equipment, Details, Follow-up).

Let’s start with purpose. There must be a reason you are promoting your brand or event. Do you have a new line? Do you have an interesting guest? Are you celebrating Valentine’s Day? Pick a purpose that will run through all the elements of your event.

Audience. Who do you want to attend your event, and who do you want to hear about it? Fashion bloggers? Cashed-up mums? Investors? Identify the groups who absolutely want to hit, as well as those it would be nice to hit.

Channels. There are so many to choose from now – be it the multitude of social media platforms, broadcast radio or TV, flier drops in shopping areas, blogs, newspapers, magazines, ads on taxis and buses. When you know WHO you are talking to (audience), it’s easier to firm up which channel is best for reaching them.

Budget and timeline. Bor-ing, you say. But this will make or break your event. These days, brands are looking for creative ways to do more with less, but things you may still need to pay for include venue, talent, F&B and marketing materials. Keep costs down by using your already-established relationships, by building partnerships with other complementary brands that reflect the same purpose and audience, and try to be clever about aligning your event with something your audience is already excited about (increasing their likelihood of attendance and support).

Strategise. Now that you have your budget and timeline, you need to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. How are you going to hit your audience via those channels you had established? How are you going to communicate your purpose? How much time do you have till the event takes place and what do you need to accomplish each week leading up to it?

Measurement. Before you start executing your bulletproof strategy, set yourself some targets. What will determine the success of your event? Media mentions? Attendance numbers? Sales? Make sure you place adequate weighting and direct budget towards the channels that will ensure you hit those targets.

Management. You’re nearly there, but before you press play, think about what you can do to make sure the people you are communicating with get the right message. Look at the materials you are giving press, and make sure there are no burning questions left unanswered. Brief your spokespeople on what they should and shouldn’t say to any press and make sure you prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Equipment. Technically this is the event management team’s role, but really, if the music is too loud, or there aren’t enough microphones, or your slideshow won’t play, or the lighting makes all the guests look a bit unwell in photos, there’s no point in having an event. Make sure you personally check all these components before the event.

Details. Again, you might think this is the event coordinator’s role, but what are the location, food, invitations, music and collateral going to say about the brand?

A lack of food, an awkward location, deafening music and tacky collateral can be all it takes to deter the media from what could otherwise be an amazing story.

Follow-up. So the event’s over – now don’t let all that hard work go to waste.

How are you going to track the success of the event, thank guests and media for their support, and give them something to hang on to, to ensure they continue to be interested in what you are doing? How can you make best use of the database you have built? A follow-up email with links to photos and regular (but not spammy) updates to let the guests know when you have special offers, or just that you are around, ensures you continue to build on the success of the event.

So, there you have it. A killer event, as easy as it is to say PACBSMMEDF.

Have a chat with us about organising a media event and getting the word out to ensure a successful shindig. Reach Joseph at [email protected]

Stop looking! Fashion Runway 2011 image by Henry Jose is licensed under CC BY 2.0.