Melissa Vaught

For many professionals, conferences are a valuable venue for networking, communication, and career development. Increasingly social media platforms are becoming part of the conference experience. With a bit of forethought and planning, these tools can help you get more out a conference than ever before.

Getting ready

Before the conference gets started, you can use digital tools to prepare for the days ahead.

Download the app. Many organizers use existing applications or develop their own to provide searchable schedules of presentations and events and even schematics of the conference venue. You can now find this critical information on your mobile device, rather than carrying around an abstract book. Before the conference starts, identify your “can’t miss” events and start building your schedule.

Schedule some meetings. Conferences are a great venue to meet people whose work you’re interested in. Yet time at a conference can become very busy and oddly isolating, especially if you’re not attending with colleagues. Digital tools can enable solutions to these challenges.

Social media, like any form of networking, is about building relationships. If someone you follow online is attending the same conference, you have an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face and engage in a new way. Conferences also bring the chance to discuss work or careers and make connections with people in other regions. You might find someone who is presenting at the conference or who mentions on social media that they’ll be attending. Asking for a time to meet with them during the conference can forestall scheduling challenges.

You can often reach out to attendees via email or messaging on social media platforms. Some conference apps—such as Whova, which the NPA is using for its upcoming Annual Conference—enable you to find and message fellow conference goers. Regardless of how or why you connect, be courteous and clear about what you’d like to discuss.

Promote your work. Share the date, time, and topic of your conference presentation or workshop on your social media accounts. This can bring some more attendees to your presentation and might spark someone to connect with you for further discussion at the conference.

Bringing the conference to the web

Social media can provide ways to connect and share. Live posting (e.g. tweeting or blogging) can be a way to record notes, while sharing information with others who aren’t able to attend or are in a different session.

Know the conference rules. Some conferences don’t allow photography, and a few meetings prohibit any posting of content on social media at all. Before posting from a session, check the social media policies.

Use the official hashtag(s). Hashtags provide a way for social media users to find content related to a particular topic or event. Include the official conference hashtag whenever you post from a session or other information pertinent to a conference.

Give credit. When posting about a presentation, name the presenter, using their social media handle if they have one. If they provide citations or websites for the work, try to post links either during or after the presentation.

Be concise. Live posting isn’t intended to transmit a transcript of a presentation. You might consider sharing a detail that you find particularly surprising or interesting. But for the most part, focus on summarizing key points.

Engage with virtual audience. Your posts may be the only window someone has into a conference. If they ask a question that’s covered in the presentation, respond to the best of your ability. If the point wasn’t addressed by the presenter, consider bringing it to the floor. You might also discuss your own views of the presentation or topic, but be sure that your opinions or critiques are clearly distinguishable from the presenter’s in your posts.

Keeping it going

Check the conference hashtag. See what you missed while you were in another session.

Follow people you meet. LinkedIn, Twitter, and other platforms offer easy ways to keep up with people you meet, learn more about their work, and periodically connect with them.

Share relevant follow-up information. If you’re a presenter, post links to relevant websites or publications, even if the conference is over. This can provide attendees and social media followers useful resources and articles to cite.

Melissa Vaught, PhD, (@biochembelle) is a research navigator for the Institute of Translational Health Sciences at the University of Washington. Views expressed here are her own.