Did you know events are one of the most opportune times to grow your Twitter program? It’s true, we’ve seen client social activity spike on days they’re embedded at shows like CES, NRF and NAB. But this doesn’t happen out of thin air. You must do some pre-planning, delegation and follow through to achieve this increased performance.

Here are some tips for leveraging an event to connect with targets, grow your following and increase RTs.

  • Join the conversation: Know and use the event hashtag in all of your tweets. Tweets with hashtags get 2X more engagement than tweets without.
  • Make your own hashtag: Weave your own hashtag into the conversation. Make it something you want people to be using long after the conference closes. Conversely use event hashtags your partners and customers are using.
  • Pump up your presence: Weeks before the show starts, let people know where you’re going to be, what partners you’ll be with (tag them) and what you’ll be showing off. Also tease any panel or speaker sessions.
  • Develop a game plan: Recruit helpers for better coverage of the show. Sketch out who is responsible for what, such as live tweeting sessions, snapping pictures and posting content.
  • Execute the plan: Shows get hectic and priorities can slip. If you start to get off track, get back at it as soon as possible. Having more hands on deck provides coverage just for these instances.
  • Share the news: Twitter is a great place to break your news stories. Let followers know they can get the full release on your website to help drive traffic in that direction.
  • Put news clips on blast: As coverage starts to stream in, tweet it out early and often. Tag the outlet in original tweets and RT what it has already sent out.
  • Be spontaneous: Don’t just talk about your products, partners and news, comment on what others are doing or saying and why you think it’s interesting. Take photos with the folks you connect with, tag them and share in real time.
  • Follow them: Using the show’s hashtag, start following others tweeting about topics of interest. Also, follow back those who follow you.
  • Blog about it: Recap your event experience and observations in a blog post and promote it through several teaser Twitter posts.

With a little help and little planning, you can use events to make steady, marked improvements to your Twitter program all year round.