With #ECRegionals in full swing, social media is a way for Enactus teams to stay connected with what is going on across the country. Here are our top five tips for live-tweeting for these, and any other events.
1. Do Your Prep
Live-tweeting requires quick fingers and attentive ears. To ensure that you can pay attention to the speaker or the event, prepare a document with the Twitter handles of other schools who will be present and take note of the event’s hashtags.
For Enactus Canada, the hashtags are: #ECRegionals, #ECNationals, #WeAreAllBestFriends and #enactuslove!
Quick Tip: You can also look up popular hashtags associated with topics covered at the event. For example, #socent, #SocialGood, #3bl and #finlit are frequently used at Enactus events.
2. Assign One Person to Represent Your Team on Social Media Platforms
Assigning a social media lead on your team ensures consistency in the language and tone in each post. If this is not possible, try to create a document with draft tweets and posts (or even image templates) so that anyone can easily step in and take care of social media.
Quick Tip: You can also schedule event tweets using HootSuite or Tweetdeck (free online platforms) if you have access to the itinerary ahead of time.
3. Interact with Others
Be sure you are part of the event as it unfolds by using #ECRegionals in every live tweet and by tweeting at specific users. Leading up to #ECNationals, @EnactusRyerson instagrammed and tweeted shout outs to many schools.
Quick Tip: Don’t be afraid to duplicate concepts – that’s the whole point of memes! Follow the event hashtag and see what interests you.
4. Take pictures
Photos are versatile because they can be posted on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well, and they serve as an excellent documentation tool.
It’s also hard to capture some things in less than 140 characters, so your followers will definitely appreciate the image!
Quick Tip: Tweets using imagery are more likely to be retweeted than those without.
5. Enjoy yourself
Remember to enjoy the event. Your excitement will come through in your tweets and posts.
Live-tweeting is fast-paced and sometimes auto-correct may fail to do its job. If you post a tweet and notice that you’ve made an error, just delete it and write it again (within a reasonable timeframe). Remember, don’t sweat the small things and keep things positive!
Quick Tip: People engage with people. Show personality on your social media platforms – they’re social after all!
To learn more about Dorothy, read about her Enactus beginnings!