2015 Social Media Trends in Meetings

Kim Harwood September 10, 2015
Social media network logos on wall

With 89 responses in total, a recent survey by Successful Meetings discovered how planners are using social media at their meetings. From the number of respondents, 51 percent were corporate planners, 20 percent were independent or third party planners, and 29 percent worked for associations.

Overall, 96 percent of planners said that their organizations hosted events that employed social media in some form. Here’s what else they had to say:

Your organization has already or plans to include social media activities in:

  • Some of our events: 52%
  • All of our events: 44%
  • None of our events: 4%

Compared to last year, the number of your events that will include social media activities will:

  • Increase: 62%
  • Remain the same: 34%
  • Decrease: 4%

Social Media iconsWhich social media tools do you use as part of your events?

  • Facebook: 88%
  • Twitter: 73%
  • LinkedIn: 65%
  • YouTube: 41%
  • Instagram: 31%
  • Pinterest: 21%

What do you typically use social media for?

  • Pre-event promotion: 80%
  • Attendee engagement at the event: 68%
  • Attendee networking during the event: 51%
  • Build community with attendees over multiple events: 47%
  • Attendee networking pre/post event: 46%
  • Pre-event networking: 43%
  • Capturing survey feedback at the event: 33%
  • Interaction with speakers during sessions: 20%

 

What are the biggest challenges in integrating social media into your events?

  • Getting attendees to use social media as part of the event experience: 68%
  • Figuring out how to use social media to enhance the event experience: 56%
  • Getting enough Wi-Fi bandwidth at the hotel: 45%
  • Monitoring the use of social media at the event to censor impropriety: 29%

Does your organization have a social media strategy specifically with respect to meetings and events?

  • We have an informal strategy: 53%
  • No, we don’t have a strategy: 39%
  • We have a written strategy: 15%

If you do have a social media strategy for meetings, which of the following does it address?

  • Who is authorized to post meeting-related content on social media sites: 70%
  • What the content may/may not include: 70%
  • Process for answering comments/questions about the meeting or event: 70%
  • Pre-approval process for social media communications: 50%
  • Punitive actions that may result from improper use of social media: 15%

Where do you rank among your peers? Are you among the 80% using social media for event promotion? Have you also struggled with Wi-Fi bandwidth at your venue? Let us know in the comments below.

Need more social media tips for your events?

Check out our posts Twitter for #Eventprofs and 4 Ways Social Media Marketing can Benefit Associations.