Most companies have finally succumb to the fact that they need to be on social media. But what is GOOD social media? We all judge the voice and imagery of a social media presence differently. Yet, one undisputed and defining adjective that characterizes social media success is when a company is “trending”—being widely discussed online—and especially when it is trending nationally.
Curious as to how a company with a three-person digital marketing team could accomplish such a feat in 80 days? Well, 100 days ago, the Synapse team, as we prepped for the big Synapse Summit, wondered this ourselves.
There are two avenues to trending nationally. The fast, easy and expensive way is to pay.
According to ThriveHive, “to be placed in the Trends section of Twitter, guaranteed to receive a colossal amount of exposure, you’ll pay a pretty penny to the tune of $200,000 per day.” As Synapse is a 501c3 non-profit organization, this pay-to-trend avenue wasn’t an option.
The second avenue was working hard and smart. The prior year’s social media campaign was foundational to building Synapse’s brand locally. This was the year that the bar needed to be set. Daniel Cura with Tidal Marketing, Wes Lehman with Urban Buffalo Marketing, and Loran Jarrett with Synapse developed an aggressive strategy with 75 days leading up the event. Then, they worked that plan. There are a few keys points that made the difference in our success:
1 - We chose generic hashtags knowing that using too many tends would confuse users. We made the hashtag easy to use, easy to understand and applicable for any post on social media about what we were marketing.
2 - We created engaging content. Companies forget that people are on social media to be entertained. Knowing Twitter’s algorithm encourages unique images and videos, we set out to create our own original and fun imagery.
3 - We strategically personalized our responses and offered value to our constituents. These specific messages and focused time and energy made people feel more engaged with our brand. We could have responded with generic phrases - “thanks for participating” - but undoubtedly, that would have been the last tweet communicated with that supporter.
4 - We capitalized on research by Tyler McCormick, PhD (from Columbia University) revealing that the average network size was 611 people. With these research findings in mind, we created four ‘toolboxes’ of graphics for our speakers, exhibitors, partners and speakers. We also developed a “See You at Synapse” graphic for attendees that became available after ticket purchase. Knowing our goal of registering 5,000 people, we calculated if each shared an image we created with our hashtag just once, it would total over 3 million posts on social media!
5 - We built a team of 12 volunteers for the 2-day event who all had access to the @SynapseFL Twitter page. Each had a passion for social media and was an avid believer in the mission of Synapse. They were encouraged to retweet, respond thoughtfully, and let Florida see the event they were missing.
6 - We utilized the 700 digital screens in Amalie Arena to encourage people and companies to share their experience on social media along with our preferred hashtags. We also purchased Walls.io: a live tool that visually displayed the social media with #SynapseSummit.
7 - We encouraged attendee social media participation. We made sure to give them unique photo opportunities to take pictures with event props like robots, a 3D printed car, virtual reality headsets, and 360 cameras. Attendees posted, shared, retweeted, and liked content often at the event; without their engagement, the success of the event would not have been possible.
8 - We worked with a local agency that focuses on influencer marketing. With the compressed timeframe of our endeavors, only 12 influencers worked with our campaign. However, we do feel that they helped share the excitement of the Synapse Summit leading up the event.
9 - We used optimal timing for communicating in the Twitterverse. According to Buffer’s 4.8 million tweet study, the highest volume of tweets, in the U.S. occurs between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., peaking between noon and 1:00 p.m. #SynapseSummit began trending locally the first day, and by 1pm it was trending nationally. The national trend continued through the first half of the second day.
10 - We showed love to our supporters by tagging them whenever possible. Everyone wants to feel special acknowledgment for their time and contributions and people tend to share personalized posts.
In 80 days, the @SynapseFL account exceeded expectations:
- Followers: +451• Posts: 653• Likes: 2,227• Retweets: 507• Mentions: 1,014• Impressions: 278,600
- Profile Visits: 5,164
Important note: Synapse did not pay for any promoted tweets.
Synapse is a movement. The passion people have for making Florida more than just known for alligators, hurricanes, and being God’s waiting room is evident. Florida IS a great place to launch a business. Investors, support and talent are all here. Cura had the most interaction on Synapse’s Twitter account and explained, “Synapse Summit trending nationally is a testament to how passionate people are about Synapse's message of innovation and entrepreneurship in Florida and beyond.” Those who know it want to shout it from the rooftops! And, we encourage them to use Twitter as their “rooftop” platform.
