We engaged our conference social media outposts all year long and consider it the perputal conference. When booking speakers to speak at a face-to-face event, we asked them to also do a pre-event Webinar (& sometimes post event too), a pre-event blogtalkradio show which was recorded and created a podcast and MPC, an enewsletter article and a blog post. This information was used to populate the conference eCommunity and its subsequent outposts. We knew that seeding our communities before and after the event were critical to our attendees' success and use of the outposts.

Post event, we askef for more attendee-created content like photos, blog posts, thoughts, questions and ideas. Following TED events model, we would also release specific recordings and/or videos from the event in the months following the events.

Strategically thinking about this process and preparing ahead helps.

Well said, Jeff! Social media provides great opportunities to promote events, engage attendees during events and extending the life of the meeting. This is the new model for planners and speakers.

One problem I see is that most attendees and exhibitors are not yet prepared to utilize social media pre-, during, or post show which leads to difficulty keeping them engaged between cycles. Thank goodness for people like Corbin who are speaking at conference sessions on how to use social media. Another issue is that I often find that the person responsible for posting and providing content is typically not the person(s) who attend the shows so communication is filtered. 

It is good to keep in mind that social media is a very new platform. As it becomes a standard piece of everyone's marketing plan, it will become easier to keep the conversations going between cycles. 

I agree with Steven.  Social media is indeed a very new platform and that's part of everyone's challenge.

I also agree with Jeff and Corbin that social media for events is perfect for extending the life cycle. I'd suggest that we need to think less of the event itself and more about the creation of 365/24/7 communities that serve those interested in the the subject matter, whether they actually attend the event or not.  The reality is that the vast majority of the potential audience for an event is never going to attend. That doesn't eliminate the possibility that those folks can become valuable participant in the event's community.  

I agree with you, Stuart, when you say "the vast majority of the potential audience for an event is never going to attend." But do you think that social media can be used to engage them throughout the year so the possibility of more of those folks attending increases?

Yes Kari, I do believe that.