The document summarizes the key elements, or "musts", of successful social media events based on interviews with 5 professionals. It identifies 5 musts: 1) having great content, 2) technical delivery, 3) early and post-event promotion, 4) engaging talent, and 5) measurement. It provides examples from a Cox Communications event that incorporated original research, prominent talent, and robust promotion and measurement of engagement. Experts emphasize the importance of content, functionality, and rights management for social media events.

1. 5 Musts of Social Media Events
Interviews with 5 Professionals, 5 Questions, Resulting in 5
Musts (and must NOTs) for Most Social Media Events
By Mallard Holliday
Follow me on twitter @mallardholliday
Graduate Student
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Syracuse University

2. 5 Musts of Social Media Events
1. Must have great content
2. Must have great technical delivery
3. Must promote early and after
4. Must have great talent
5. Must measure

3. 1. Must have Great Content
Content Counts: You must have most of the these 5 key content elements:
Great info, great talent, great food, great location or great entertainment
Example: Cox Partners with
National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children to survey
Tweens and their Internet
habits; Holds
#CoxTakeCharge Tweet Up to
share results, provides tips to
keep kids safer online.
“Gone are the days when people would just show up because twitter was the
newest thing. People don’t go to the movie just to see what a movie is, they go for
great content—the same applies to Tweet Ups.”
- Danica Kombol @danicakombol

4. 2. Must have great Technical Delivery
It Must Work: Great events go
nowhere fast when the technology
doesn’t work. Use reliable vendors at
reliable venues.
Example: Cox’s event was
held at the National Press
Club using their state of the
art production and
broadcasting facility.
“It’s got to work. You have to manage technical needs well, especially at a field
location.”
-Amani Channel @amanichannel

5. 3. Must Promote Early and After
Promote Early: Create
a hashtag early and a url
to include in all
promotions. Invitation
should be social, like your
event. Find creative ways
to promote the event and
the content shared.
Promote After:
Example: Cox’s event included original research Record the event, make it
findings to get the conversation started. Cox created a available online; Use stats
social media animation and an infographic and multi- from survey to drive
media news release to explain the survey results. The traffic to view the
Cox web site provided more information for parents and recorded event.
caregivers.

6. 4. Must have great Talent
Talent can carry the
event: Choose talent
who have a built-in
following in the social
media space and
understand how to use
the medium.
Amy (Burton) Storey
“One of the biggest errors I
see clients making is
forgetting to include social
media rights in their
contracts with talent.”
Example: Cox chose former CNN correspondent Jeanne Meserve (left) to
moderate the Tweet Up; John Walsh (center), Children’s Advocate and
Host of America’s Most Wanted on LifeTime and Leticia Barr (right), well-
respected blogger to moms known as TechSavvyMama.

7. 5. Must Measure
Use measurement tools to determine if your event is successful.
Example Measurement report from
Cox Event:
7.1 million social media impressions
11 Washington, DC parent bloggers
attended the event in person
5.2 million Twitter impressions to-date
from pre-promotion to post-promotion
451 people contributed to the Twitter
conversation
1,600 tweets (using hashtag
#CoxTakeCharge)
5 posts from bloggers, including a pre-
event post by panelist Leticia Barr on
Parents.com that generated more than 1.8
million impressions

8. 5 Must NOTs
1. Must not over market your product
2. Must not over market your product
3. Must not over market your product
4. Must not over market your product
5. Must not over market your product

9. The Experts
Danica Kombol @danicakombol: www.beEVERYWHERE.tv
“Gone are the days when people would just show up because twitter
was the newest thing. People don’t go to the movie just to see what a
movie is, they go for great content—the same applies to Tweet Ups.”
Amani Channel @amanichannel www.amanichannel.com
“It’s got to work. You have to manage technical needs well, especially
at a field location.”
Amy (Burton) Storey, Vice President, KEF Media www.kefmedia.com
“One of the biggest errors I see clients making is forgetting to include
social media rights in their contracts with talent.”
Stephanie Davis, @therealsteph Cox Communications, Corporate
Communications Manager, www.cox.com
“Original research acts as a 3rd party endorsement. It adds credibility
and extends the life of the event.
Todd Smith @toddpr, Cox Communications, Media Relations Director,
www.cox.com
“Don’t forget to invite traditional media to cover your social media
event.”