At our third Event Sessions roundtable, held in partnership with Kru Live at The Roof Gardens in Kensington on 2 June, Tom Rutter, managing director and partner at Slice, talked about his work with Kelloggs and explained that Twitter can prove effective at promoting brand activity.
"Gone are the days when you can throw a hashtag out there and hope that people use it. Giving people a compelling reason to use social media is key.
"One of the really interesting ways we’ve used social media is as social currency. With the Kellogg’s Tweet Shop we got people to submit a positive Tweet in order to receive a sample, and more than 3,000 samples were distributed," he said.
Victoria Archbold, head of events and sponsorship at Hearst Media said social media has become an important marketing tool.
"Social media is now a fundamental compliment to our print and online channels. Beyond simple communication it now assists us in selling tickets to events.
"People have been drawn into an event through social media even if they aren’t a reader of our magazines. We’ve sold events in a matter of hours by posting on social media," she added.
Shareability is also an integral consideration when it comes to the company's live events. "When we plan an event we also look at what media we will use.
"We look at shareability – it’s not just about the people in the room but the wider audience. We want people to be inspired by the event even if they haven’t attended it.
"We film and write synopsises of our events for publication online, so the wider audience can read about them," she explained."
Archbold said it’s important to have consistent social media messaging around an event. "We will come up with a communications strategy and communicate it to our partners. We look at where they come into it and what their involvement will be."
Rutter predicts Periscope will gain momentum at events over the coming weeks and months. "It allows you to view people’s personal experiences live, anywhere around the world. Brands will start jumping on it and find interesting ways of using it," he said.
More:
Comment below to let us know what you think.
For more in-depth and print-only features, showcases and interviews with world-leading brands, don't miss the next issue of Event magazine by .