Why Your Next Conference Should Include a Social Media/Tech Training Room

It’s unusual to attend any conference recently without finding one or a handful of speakers presenting on some aspect of social media. Whether it is for marketing, client relations, brand promotion, professional collaboration, staff training or some combination of these purposes, the fact is that pretty much everyone is aware of the importance of social media platforms and most of us who are aware are also wondering about the place SM should or will play in the future strategy of our companies.

Speakers from the podium can certainly impart a lot of good knowledge to an audience in a structured presentation. Data on important questions such as who uses which platforms — and for what purposes — is helpful. Case studies or examples of successful (or at least apparently successful) projects can help stimulate our thinking, guide us in developing our implementation plans, and point out potential pitfalls so that we can steer around them.

But listening to a presenter, no matter how experienced or knowledgeable, regardless of the clarity of their thought or speaking abilities, and even a quality PowerPoint presentation notwithstanding is not as good as sitting down and “getting your hands dirty”. We often learn best by doing, and offering attendees an opportunity to actually discover the features of the major SM platforms for themselves adds an important extra benefit to industry meetings.

Recently, Innovaision. LLC was asked to help design, set up, and run a Social Media and Technology Center for a major regional human services industry conference. The goal was to provide a designed space which attendees could enter and in which they can get hands-on introduction and experience using internet based technology, with an emphasis on Social Media tools. There were scheduled instructive workshops held in the Center, but attendees were also encouraged to stop in, sit down and “play around” at any time. The room was  adjacent to, and open at the same times as the vendors exhibit area.

When attendees entered the center, they found nearly a dozen computer workstations, already connected to the Internet via the hotel’s WiFi. The home screens of these machines were set up so that there were easy access buttons to the main information pages of the most used social media tools (in this case Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, and YouTube). Tutorial files were available onscreen at the click of an icon, and also links to further web resources. Center visitors could not only read through these at their leisure, but also were able to email  or download the resources for future reference.

We did provide several “Quick Shot” workshops on each topic, lasting around 30 minutes each, but in between these more structured presentation, there were always one or more experienced Social Media Mentors available in the room to answer specific questions, assist participants in using the tools provided, or just provide some moral support to attendees, some of whom were taking their first tentative steps to getting connected with these social tools that will be our future work platforms.  In several cases, collaborative discussions broke out among the users, and it was not unusual for one person who had dropped in to tryout the Center to give some tips to another based on their own experience.

The informal environment of the center, the availability of pre-loaded computers to work with in direct connection to the ‘Net, and the helpful assistance from both the Mentors and colleagues provided a unique opportunity for many participants to begin their journey into the world of Social Media.

If you are planning your next conference now you might want to consider having your own Social Media/Technology Center. It is a welcome addition to any major learning convocation. Conference attendees will appreciate the opportunities provided by this initiative, and your planning group will demonstrate their own awareness of the future and technological savvy by including this approach.