Tips for Using Social Media at a Conference

There can be an overwhelming amount of things to do at a conference — breakout sessions, networking, panels and roundtables, tours — and between all of the on-site activities, you still need to run your real estate business. One way to take care of some marketing tasks is to use social media. Position yourself as an expert to let fans, friends and followers know that you’re keeping on top of the real estate industry, network with leads and clients, and participate in the conference’s on-site social media conversations to gain exposure and market your brand.

Here are some tips for using social media while attending a conference.

Use hashtags to share and discover conference topics

A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the # symbol (e.g., #ZillowForum, #mortgage, #REtips, #listing, #waterfront). Hashtags are searchable and make it easy to discover content on a specific topic, and they work across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

When and where to use a hashtag

Include a hashtag within your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram post in a shared discussion about a conference topic.

Be mindful of hashtag etiquette:

• Don’t use more than two hashtags in a single post. #Doing #This #Will #Annoy #Your #Audience.
• Don’t use hashtags to spam anyone.
• Don’t make your hashtags too long: #ThisHashtagIsAGoodExampleOfWhatYouShouldNotDo.
• Don’t use hashtags like #RepostForRepost or #LikeForLike. They will attract random followers who will only clog up your News Feed.
• Do keep your hashtags #simple.
• Do check the spelling on your hashtags. You’d hate to get an important keyword #worng.
• Do make your hashtags relevant to the topic you’re tweeting about: e.g., #realestate, #luxurycondos.
• Do search for hashtags that are related to real estate and feel free to join the conversation and repurpose those hashtags in your own posts.

Content worth posting

There are many post-worthy ideas from a conference that you can pass along to your followers. Share a great quote, interesting fact or a neat tip. For example, “4 out of 5 U.S. homes have been viewed on Zillow” or “Wondering how to boost your home's appeal? Check out these ideas! .”

How to post

Posting to Facebook and Twitter can be as easy as sending a text message. On Facebook, simply tap or click the What’s on your mind? box and enter your message. Add conference photos or video if you like. When your message is perfect — be sure to include the conference hashtag, e.g., #ZillowForum — tap or click Post.

On Twitter, tap or click the What’s happening? box and enter your message; the counter will let you know how many characters you have left. When your tweet is ready and you’ve dropped in the conference hashtag, tap or click Tweet.

To share a photo through Instagram, tap or click the camera icon within the app to either take a photo or select one. Scale, crop and edit the photo as desired, add a caption, and then tap or click Share.

Using rich media like photos and videos brings your followers into the event with you and can boost your posts’ performance — as long as the content is relevant to your real estate business.

Since you can’t always access your computer while attending a conference, it’s a good idea to download these social media apps to your mobile device so that you can post messages whenever and wherever you hear something valuable.

How to share the love

Use Twitter to retweet content from the conference — such as a great quote from one of the speakers or an upcoming trend to look out for — to your followers. To retweet, simply hover over the tweet you want to share in your timeline, tap or click Retweet, then tap or click Retweet one more time in the confirmation box that pops up.

If the conference organizers or sponsor companies have Facebook pages that you visit and you see something interesting — for example, the link to real estate market information that was delivered by one of the conference speakers — use the Share link in Facebook to send it to others in your network.

Connect with your network while attending a conference

Great idea: More fans means a bigger audience. If you don’t have your computer or laptop with you, you can use Facebook Messenger on your mobile device to stay in real-time contact with one or more of your Facebook friends. Follow people and brands you care about to stay up-to-date on their latest news. Real estate agents who tweet using the conference hashtag should expect to meet others through Twitter who can translate into genuine contacts.

Grab a person or a brand’s attention on social media

While attending the conference, you might hear something that really strikes you — something you’d like to reply to or you have a question about — and want to send a message to a specific person or maybe the company itself. The fastest way to get their attention is to include their username! Usernames are preceded by the @ symbol; for example, “@PremierAgent, can you repost the link to the Resource Center?” It’s a great opportunity for exposure since the conference host might reply, retweet or display your message at the event.

There’s more you can do

Upload and share conference snapshots on sites like Instagram and Flickr, or post them to your Facebook page. Some great photo opportunities could include snaps of you with real estate industry experts you met, speakers on the stage, you and your peers during social time — even shots of the venue’s décor can appeal to your audience.

Use your phone or tablet to shoot videos, which you can also share through social media sites such as Vine and Vimeo. Interesting videos might include the keynote speaker, a panel or roundtable, a breakout session, or any part of the conference that might be too fast-paced to capture with pen and paper.

While conference agendas tend to have you running from one ballroom to the next, they also provide compelling content for social media posts that let your network know how dedicated you are to staying on top of the real estate industry. Whether your conference is a mile from your office or three time zones away, use social media as a networking tool to help you stay connected and communicating with leads, clients, fans and followers.