Don’t Tell me to Tweet it, If you Don’t Mean it!

Want to hear a doozy of a social media mistake many people make? Don’t Tell me to Tweet it, If you Don’t Mean it!

I remember being at a conference here in Halifax this year; the event was great and I had a fabulous a-ha moment too! Went home with lots of good info.

The only downside for me was that the speaker was somewhat incongruent when it came to one aspect of what he was saying and doing throughout the night.

During the pre-event networking time they had a slideshow up on the screen showcasing the sponsors as well as having his special hashtag on it  (I will call it #marketingfail so as to not embarrass anyone) and during his talk he mentioned a few times that we could feel free to tweet with his special hashtag, #marketingfail.

Now, being the Twitter lover I am, of course I took some pictures, posted some tweets and shared some quotes from him as he spoke from the stage. During some downtime I would check on Twitter for the hashtag looking to connect with some of the other attendees, but alas only one other Twitter person was in the room.  I connected with her and tweeted a little more and then the evening ended.

The next day I wanted to check something with this hashtag and did some searching on Twitter.

The speaker did have a Twitter account… one that was not used much at all, and he never tweeted with the hashtag at all. So why tell us to?

Don’t Tell me to Tweet it If you Don’t Mean it!

There were only a few examples of his hashtag out there and it appeared to be people like me – Twitterfolk who attended an event and used the hashtag as told. If he wasn’t even tweeting or using this tag – one very unique to him – why bother?

Half the point of using these tags is to connect with people. You can search Twitter for hashtags and find the other people using them; people you know, people you don’t. People who see it and think – Oh, what is that about and join in, and yes … I hate saying this phrase- but they “Join the conversation!” because of the hashtag. Hashtags allow people talking about the same topic to connect and, for speakers who use it – properly – at an event, it is another way to reach your audience – people who are interested in what you teach and sell – potential customers.

Yes, I know, you probably collected their names and emails when you sold your tickets, but social media – Twitter in particular – also offers a different avenue for you to be able to reach these people and not to straight out sell to them, but maybe talk and network in a way that can lead up to a sell.  Not everyone is happy reading emails, which is a one sided conversation. They like to talk – on Twitter, so don’t get me all keyed up to talk on Twitter and then…nothing.

So, now do you understand why I thought this speaker was a little incongruent?

Not to mention wasting his time using a tool that could connect him with people, when he did not follow through and actually use it.

It is a common mistake with social media – people do what others say to do even though they are not really following through themselves.

My advice for others thinking of using hashtags when promoting themselves and speaking at an event– use it in a helpful way that works for you not against you. Be sincere if you tell people to tweet with a hashtag – then make sure you follow up with people that do. It is but a small step and piece of your marketing plan which should include networking.

Hashtags can bring you media attention too. Last year when I was assisting a client at an event and live tweeting from onsite, a television news team showed up because they saw all sorts of tweets with a hashtag we used at the event. Wondering what was going on they came down to the hotel and did some interviews which were on the news the next day.

Hashtags can do a lot for your business – if used effectively. So please make sure if you say to tweet it – that you mean it!

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