The Long Beach Convention Center’s Arena transformation event became a case study on how to use social media to turn posts from attendees into millions of social media impressions. Jeff Forney, vice president of marketing and membership for the Long Beach Convention Center, stated that "we believe that, as a convention center, our job is to demonstrate that everything we do is about amplifying messages to the world."
The use of “Swarm Social Media"—the concept of sending in a team armed with smartphones to capture all elements and post to sites like Twitter—helped maximize the reach of the message of the new space and matched the innovative ideas behind turning an arena into a ballroom in under 30 minutes. Event organizers can learn from the Long Beach Convention Center's launch by implementing these 10 easy tips:
1. Put social media front and center as an important strategy and not as an afterthought
2. Make sure the venue has top-flight Internet access
3. Build a network of influencers and bring them in early
4. Have influencers extend their reach by focusing on spreading word to their networks
5. Create great content to send out to specific channels
6. Use video of every aspect of the event, from the hosts, to the entertainers who endorse the event, to mission of the event
7. Use contests and gamification to invite other bloggers to come to the event
8. Create your own "Swarm Social Media” crew to tell the story of the event and use the model of reporters covering a political convention with each one having their own focus for coverage
9. Make social coverage visible to encourage attendees to pick up a smartphone and get social
10. Go crazy the next day disseminating news to outlets for more traditional media coverage
Below is a Storify to show how the event was captured on social media.
