This document provides guidance on using live blogging to increase engagement with events on social media. It defines live blogging as creating a report of an event as it happens using various social media tools. The benefits are increasing audience, involving attendees, and creating publicity. It offers tips on strategy, planning, execution at the event, and evaluation, including selecting hashtags, testing equipment, summarizing after the event, and measuring reach. Examples demonstrate live blogging at conferences on dedicated blogs and Twitter.

1. GUIDE TO EVENT
LIVE BLOGGING
Using social media to increase the impact of your event
Remco Timmermans | @timmermansr | December 2012

2. CONTENTS • The value of social media
• What is live blogging?
• How to: Strategy
• How to: Planning
• How to: Event
• How to: Evaluation
• How to: Tools
• Examples
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

3. LIVE BLOGGING • Increase your audience
AT AN EVENT
WHY?
• Involve your audience
• Interact with your audience
• Increase (free) publicity
• Create a live report of your event
• Measure the impact of your event
• Attract attendees for future events
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

4. WHAT IS • Create a report of your event while it
LIVE happens
BLOGGING?
• Add an interactive channel to your event
• Use social media tools
• Combine photo, (live) video, short and
long written reports to reach a live
audience
• Aim at your online and in-room audiences
• Bottom line: an additional strategic and
interactive communication channel
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

5. HOW TO: • Long term
STRATEGY
• Incorporate social media into corporate
communication strategy
• Dedication (not just for just event)
• Set goals and measurement system
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

6. HOW TO: • Select #hashtag for the event  2 weeks
PLANNING • Inform the audience through social and
traditional media (press release)
• Select methods (blog/twitter/video) and
tools
• Select dedicated team to live blog at event
• Consider livestreaming the event online
• Ensure connectivity at the event (test!)
• Set up Twitterwall and/or live blog monitor(s)
• Start capturing social media activity at least 1
week prior to the event
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

7. HOW TO: • Have a list (handout to bloggers) of all
BEFORE EVENT relevant social media accounts (Flickr,
YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Blog) and
website locations relevant to the event
• Have a list (handout) of Twitter names of
all event speakers and other live bloggers
• Announce #hashtag and accounts used in
attendee handouts and introduction
speeches
• Invite the in-room audience to participate
• Test all equipment and connectivity!
especially when streaming live
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

8. HOW TO: • Ensure tweets and blog posts are good
DURING EVENT summary of the event (quality versus
quantity)
• Use a good mix of live blogging tools
• Use photo/video clips to support
message
• Show twitterwall and live blog at the
event
• Interact with online audience (as well as
off line audience)
• Retweet each other’s messages
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

9. HOW TO: • Summarize tweets, highlighting ‘key’
POST EVENT tweets and messages, in stories and
reports
• Publish live blogs and summaries on
social media and event website(s)
• Publish live blog results (KPI’s and tag
clouds) as soon as possible
• Keep monitoring #hashtag until at least
one week after the event
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

10. HOW TO: • Ensure reach and impressions are
EVALUATION calculated, as ROI basis and comparison
to traditional media
• Monitor effectiveness of live blogs by
analyzing timelines for (timing of)
interactions, website visits, follow-up on
links, etc.
• Include these results in press releases
• Ensure ROI targets are met and adjust
strategy accordingly (close the loop!)
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

11. HOW TO: Live blogging on a blog site:
TOOLS – On dedicated part of your corporate or event
organizer website
– Supported by social media (Twitter,
Facebook) to attract audience to the event
blog
– Add photos to your corporate Flickr account,
videos to your corporate YouTube channel
(and link them into blogs)
– Wordpress is a common live blogging tool
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

12. HOW TO: • Use both PC/laptop and mobile devices
TOOLS • Live micro blogging (Twitter):
– Twitter (web client) on mobile devices
– Hootsuite or Tweetdeck on PC, better suited
to follow #hashtag
• The Archivist for archiving all tweets
• Storify to highlight key tweets and photos
• Hashtracking to measure reach and
impressions
• Google Alerts to follow news on the event
• Twitterwallr or Twitterfall for live twitter
wall
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

13. EXAMPLES The next slides contain a few examples
of live blogging at events:
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

14. ESA’s ISS Symposium
Blog – Live blogging
event highlights at a
dedicated website
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

15. ESA’s ATV Blog – Live
blogging key events
in the ATV program at
a dedicated website
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

16. @Stirn live blog of
the ESA Ministerial
Council event at
personal blog website
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

17. Storify of key tweets
after live tweeting
from NVR and
SpaceNed event
GUIDE TO EVENT LIVE BLOGGING

18. Use Tweetdeck or
Hootsuite to track
#hashtag live during
an event

19. Live blogging and
tweeting at ILA Event
in Berlin