If things were looking a little brighter at the Christian Leadership Alliance Kingdom Outcomes conference this April, it wasn't just because of the "Get Happy" dance off at General Session. Donned in bright orange hashtag tees, The A Group team took over the CLA social media for the conference, tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming and blogging on behalf of CLA and the event.

As the "on the ground" team responsible for all social media coverage for the conference, we posted live updates and quotes from speakers and sessions, collected photos, shot "man on the street" video interviews, and shared schedules, news, and informational updates to keep a steady stream of posts going around the event.

Equally important was creating conversation among attendees. From our office in Nashville, a social media guru monitored all platforms, sharing and retweeting posts by others and responding to comments. 

As a result of the social media at the event, CLA gained 115 new Twitter followers and The A Group gained 65, showing that building a buzz doesn't just engage current audiences but grabs the attention of new potential followers.

So what does it take to create an unmissable social media presence around an event?

• Have a dedicated team on the ground:
  • At least one team member dedicated to real-time live updates from the event.
  • Have another team member at your home base monitoring conversation, responding and reposting.
  • Have a third team member dedicated to gathering footage - artistic photography, man on the street video interviews, and other great visual content that can be used to populate the feed during slower times.
• Post a mix of content that people want to see, from helpful information to real-time events coverage. Good content includes:
  • Schedules and reminders
  • Quotes from speakers and sessions
  • Photos and videos from happenings and events
  • Videos of attendees telling what they are enjoying about the event
  • Links to the host organization's website or other organizational news
• Know your platform. Twitter can be used as a feed of event happenings, where Facebook or Instagram should be updated less frequently with highlights.
• Always use a consistent conference hashtag, and promote this hashtag throughout the event so that attendees' comments can be tracked.
• Encourage social media participation among attendees before the event. We included a section in the conference program with the hashtag and ideas about how to join the conversation.
• Give attendees a voice. Monitor conversation and retweet those who post about the event.
• Include social media conversation in recaps of the event, from highlighting "most popular tweets" in a nightly blog to sharing photos on your website.

Who attended CLA? Did anyone catch the buzz about the event?