The buzz these days is all about social media, from Facebook to LinkedIn to Twitter to Flickr to blogs and podcasts and …well, the array of options is seemingly endless. But is social media right for your organization's events, or is it just a fad? To help you sort through what you need to know before jumping into this pool of sociability, Association Meetings called on the expertise of Lindy Dreyer and Maddie Grant of SocialFish, a consulting company based in Washington, D.C., that they formed to help associations and nonprofits build community via the Web.

AM: Let's start with the question I heard repeatedly at ASAE and The Center's annual meeting in Toronto this summer: Is social media just what the cool kids are doing, or does it really add value to an organization's meeting strategy?

GRANT: Social media does more than add value — it's about a new way of communicating between individuals and their friends and colleagues, and between individuals and brands or organizations. The idea that it's something only for the cool kids or early adopters is fading as every main social site is showing exponential usage growth in every demographic. What that means for associations is that you can guarantee that some of your members or stakeholders are out there using these sites — and maybe talking about you, or your industry — so it makes perfect sense to think about how to join that conversation.

DREYER: Also, associations are in the business of bringing people together for collaboration and community. The Internet is empowering collaboration and community in ways that were not possible before. It is important for associations to adapt their thinking and prepare for a future where social media is taken for granted.

AM: What can social media do to enhance an association's meetings and trade shows?

GRANT: Actually, we see face-to-face meetings as one of the cornerstones of a good social media strategy. Online activity can feed real-life events, and real-life events provide amazing content for social media activity. Essentially, you can build buzz for your event by “teasing” potential attendees with snippets of the best stuff that will be at the event; you can add a whole layer of networking and connectivity during the meeting; and you can make the meeting content (both official and social) live online long after the actual event is over.

DREYER: Also, social media opens up a lot of possibilities for informal and peer-to-peer learning channels. This adds value both for the attendees who are experiencing the meeting for themselves, and for spectators who are connected to those attendees but may not understand the value of your event until they see the richness of their colleagues' experiences.

AM: How can you tell if your organization, your members, and meeting attendees are ready to use social media around meetings?

GRANT: You can tell by listening and monitoring. You'll find out very quickly if any of your members are using public social sites like Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn by doing a few keyword searches. It doesn't matter if there are only a few people using it — you can still provide value by participating and showing others how to use it.

DREYER: We're in an awkward spot at the moment. For a lot of associations, the percentage of folks who'll actively contribute to or monitor social spaces during a meeting is fairly low. That said, they are often some of your most engaged participants, and the value they add can be tremendous. It's worth adding a layer of support into your meeting for social media activity; there are a lot of ways to dip your toes without overwhelming your resources or your budget.

AM: What costs and staff time are required to implement a social media strategy?

GRANT: How long is a piece of string? You can do it halfheartedly or you can throw yourselves into it — you'll get out of it what you put in.

DREYER: For Buzz2009 — a meeting we hosted for associations on how to use social media — we spent four to five hours per week leading up to the month before the conference. Then we spent six to eight hours per week and had one staff person on site whose job it was to live-blog and tweet at the event. We used all free tools. When you're getting started, it's about picking one or two things and doing them well. Small and good can grow to large and good. Large and bad cannot be salvaged. Spend your resources on a thoughtful plan for connecting people and feeding the social space with content they can socialize around. Find champions from your membership to help you.

AM: What can you gain from using social media with your meetings? What are the potential pitfalls?

GRANT: You'll energize your community. You already have people who care enough about your event to talk about it, share their experiences, and look forward to next year, right? So now you're empowering that community with tools that make it easier for them to stay connected throughout the year. You're making it easier than ever for them to tell their colleagues why attending makes sense. And you are potentially creating a public record of the ripple your event made in the hearts and minds of your fans. When someone searches the Internet for your event, the opinions they find from people in your community matter.

DREYER: There are potential pitfalls — you know your attendees love to complain about the food, the boring speaker, the room temperature. And yes, some people will be on their computers or tweeting during the keynote — but that doesn't mean they're not listening. In fact, they may be deeply engaged in capturing the best of the session and sharing it with their network. The biggest risk for associations is in not being prepared to listen and respond to the social interactions happening before, during, and after the meeting — and that risk exists regardless of whether you choose to add social media to your meeting. By consciously adding social media and recruiting champions from your membership, you're actually ensuring that your fans will be a part of the conversation, as opposed to ignoring social media and just leaving it to chance. The folks you recruit can and will come to your defense.

AM: If your organization is using social media for other purposes, how do you fit the meetings piece into the existing strategy? Or, if you're starting your social media strategy with meetings, how do you make sure it can expand to incorporate objectives outside of the annual convention?

DREYER: Think about real life for a minute — most meetings exist to bring an existing community together face to face. Apply that concept to online community, and what we're really talking about is using your meeting to find and connect with people who care about your organization, and then building community with those people. It's a long-term process, and your meeting is essential to jump-starting that process.

GRANT: Meetings are a great way to start experimenting with social media, because there is a specific time frame and you're tapping into an existing groundswell of energy from people looking forward to the meeting. It's still important to know your objectives for both the meeting and for your organization as a whole. Pay special attention to the sweet spot — where your meeting objectives are in line with your organization's objectives. Over time, you should strive to build an online community that reflects the diversity of your association.

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