Convergence 2015 is starting soon. On your mark, get set – BLOG!
I always think that I am going to have more time at Convergence than I actually do. So here are a few tips to help my fellow bloggers, and tweeters, to get the most out of the event.
1) Use a recording app.
When you have an idea for a blog post, I bet you won’t have time to sit and write it down. So record your thoughts after keynotes and sessions, or as a daily recap, on your phone and send to a transcription service. I use www.speak-write.com. They have a free app so I can record, press submit and within an hour or so I receive a word document back with my text.
2) Ask for help at home.
I always think I will have time post articles during Convergence but it rarely happens, the week is so busy. But your articles and tweets will get more attention during the event since there are so many people focused on social media. So now I have someone back at my office standing by to help me. I can send her rough drafts of my blog posts to polish, add links/photos and post. I can also automatically save event photos to a Dropbox folder for shared access so she can tweet them for me. (Just be sure there are no compromising photos from Rock-N-Rave in that shared folder).
3) Set up interviews.
Interviews make great blog posts. You can set up formal interviews or just ask people you meet interesting questions, and pull out your phone to record their answers. You can interview:
- Microsoft executives
- ISV Partners
- Clients
- Your team members
If you want to go a step further you can do brief video interviews. Here are a few examples of ones I have done at past events.
DiCentral Interview, Unanet Interview
Again, I always send these back to the home office to be edited and posted during the event.
4) Corner your clients.
I don’t know about you, but as the marketing person, I don’t have too much personal interaction with our clients. Except at Convergence! So I try to take advantage of it. This is a perfect time to ask them for a testimonial or interview them for a case study. I like to ask my clients:
- What was your favorite session?
- What sessions should we offer at our next CAL event?
- What has been the most valuable/least valuable part of the event?
- Tell me something you like about using Dynamics GP?
- Tell me something you like about working with our team?
- What tips will you bring back to your team?
It is amazing how much information you can get over lunch with your clients at Convergence. Make sure you take great notes or, you guessed it, use your recording app. (I admit that some of my clients roll their eyes when they see me walk up because they know I am about to hit record, but it is always goodnatured.)
Along these lines, corner your consultants too. Convergence is a great time to get a “brain dump” from your colleagues traveling with you at the event. (How To Record/Polish/Post)
5) Don’t date your titles
Remember that blog post last forever, so if you put “Convergence 2015” in the headline this will quickly make your post outdated even if it has good information that would help prospects for years to come. But you definitely want to tag the post with Convergence 2015 or tweet with #CONV15.
6) Capture info while it is fresh in your mind.
When I am in a session I try to live tweet but often the good info comes all at once. So I use an old fashioned notebook to scribble down quotes and stats so I don’t miss them. And then I tweet them as soon as I can. (Just be aware that other people like @jon_rivers will likely have beat you to it since that man can tweet at a million miles an hour).
7) Use the Convergence Hashtag
Tweet Convergence news and remember to use the hashtag #conv15. (Download a twitter app for your phone before you leave. I personally like the official Twitter app or Hootsuite as I can tweet from multiple accounts). Many people who hardly even use Twitter will become very active during events and will search for the event hashtag.
Get a full list of Dynamics related hashtags here, and keep the list handy for reference.
8) Meet the Press.
Find the press room, introduce yourself to the Microsoft press team and offer your future services as a blogger if they have good topics. You just never know where it might lead. (Tweet me @AnyaCWmktg if you want to know the location of the press room as they usually stick us very far out of the way). Or go to the “Social Media Command Center” in the center of the Expo hall to meet the social media team.
Convergence Social Media Links
Facebook
Twitter (and use #CONV15)
LinkedIn
YouTube
Follow @MSFTConvergence
Convergence is an exciting, and exhausting, week. You have the potential to get so much content for blog posts in this short period of time – make the most of it!
By Anya Ciecierski, Collaboration Works Marketing
Twitter: @AnyaCWmktg