I keep coming back to Twitter as one of the key communication platforms in the MICE industry. Today, Twitter is a genuine multimedia platform. Previously, the service was associated with short text messages using # hashtags and also tagging other profiles using the @.
The history of Twitter is complicated, but it can be said that the first time the world officially heard about it was in 2006. It was then promoted as a micro-blogging platform for sharing messages (tweets) with just 140 characters. Over the nearly 12 years of this social platform’s existence, many things have changed, including extending the characters limit to 280, but what has remained is the inability to edit a tweet once published.
What options does Twitter currently offer for content creators?
You can add photos (up to four in one tweet) and video (up to 140 seconds long) to the content of a single post on Twitter. Thanks to a simple built-in editor, both photos and videos can be edited before publication.
The platform also allows live sharing of audiovisual content. In a previous blog post, I wrote about the new Twitter Spaces service, which from 2021 allows live conversations. There is also the possibility of live video streaming.
Twitter is trying to retain and encourage online creators to publish exclusive content by introducing paid subscriptions for followers (Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces). This is great news for all professional content creators, now they can get paid for their hard work.
The platform is currently testing new features:
- Twitter Articles – the ability to publish longer text content
- Twitter Communities – you can create and manage topic-based communities
for those who've been asking, invites for Communities come through your DMs (they have to be open!)
here’s what it looks like pic.twitter.com/WNOgMOsvdx
— Twitter Communities (@HiCommunities) September 14, 2021
Thanks to Revue, newsletters can be created and distributed. Another new feature is Twitter for Professionals. How is this being promoted?
Twitter for professional content creators and businesses
The foundation of Twitter for Professionals is to provide businesses, creators, publishers, and developers of all industries to showcase and highlight their content, products, and services directly on Twitter for free.
Twitter is constantly developing and introducing new possibilities for users so it is worth following the development of this service.
Wrong decisions by Twitter
Vine
And here’s an interesting fact. In 2013, Twitter was ahead of the times and owned the prototype of TikTok. Purchased by Twitter, the Vine app allowed people to create, short looping six-second videos. I loved Vine and created many short videos, including at events I covered and reported on social media.
However, at the time Vine was too innovative and it wasn’t video time (as it is now). Twitter decided to liquidate Vine in 2016.
Fleets
Copying competitors does not always work. Snapchat was a revolutionary concept. This idea was copied by Instagram and created Instagram Stories. This proved successful and greatly enhanced content creation on Instagram.
Twitter wanted to follow the same path by launching Fleets in 2020. In this case, it failed and Twitter users were reluctant to adopt this new feature. In August 2021, Twitter abolished the Fleets project.
Twitter in the MICE industry
How to use Twitter in the MICE industry? You can start by following the accounts of leading industry players – brands, organisations, trade shows, publishers or experts. Of course, I encourage you to publish content on your own profiles.
A very engaging form of communication that also allows you to get interesting results is publishing polls on Twitter. Here you can find 4 engaging Twitter Poll ideas for businesses.
Another useful function is the creation of thematic Twitter lists of interesting profiles. Here you can find some Twitter lists created by me:
- Convention Bureau Region – Regional Convention Bureaux official Twitter profiles
- Convention Bureau Nation – National Convention Bureaux official Twitter profiles
- MICE industry Media – Meetings Incentives Conferences Events media to follow on Twitter
Here’s an interesting fact for those who are building a personal brand online. If individuals are active on Twitter, when you type their names into Google, their last three tweets appear as one of the first results for that person in the search results.
How to get verified on Twitter?
What you should strive for is official verification. Before you start the whole process, you can check if you qualify for verification. To receive the blue badge on Twitter, your profile must be authentic, notable, and active.
Find out more here: About Verified Twitter Accounts.
Once you meet certain guidelines, you can obtain a blue badge, confirming the authenticity of your profile. This is particularly important for brands and public figures. Good luck!
Twitter hashtags for the MICE industry
Additionally, it’s worth following and using the most popular hashtags in the meetings and events industry. According to a study by Twitter itself:
tweets with hashtags can increase engagement by almost 100% for individual profiles and 50% for brand twitter accounts.
In the MICE industry, these will include #eventprofs, #meetingprofs #eventplanners. How to find the most popular and appropriate hashtags? Hashtagify and Tweet Binder are among the many tools that will allow you to find the best hashtags, the most engaging tweets and the most influential and active users on a given topic on Twitter.
Read also on my blog:
- How eventprofs & content creators can save one day a week
- The Top 100 Most Influential People in the Event Industry by Eventex
- How have I become Think MICE magazine journalist – let`s get to know each other
- Influencers in the MICE industry
Without a doubt, #IMEX22 will be worth using this year during the IMEX Frankfurt show and #IBTMWorld in Barcelona. Also during the ICCA congress in Krakow, Twitter will undoubtedly be the most important channel for social media communication and conversation about this important event for MICE Poland. Will you join this conversation?
Yet another strategy for using hashtags is to create your own. This is what Aneta Książek from the Poland Convention Bureau, who uses #KonkretyAnety to promote her analyses and articles.
What are the top hashtags on Twitter?
What are the most used hashtag on Twitter? The ultimate list of the best 20 hashtags for event professionals and content creators.
#eventprofs #events #eventplanner #eventplanning #event #eventmanagement #eventdesign #corporateevents #eventdecor #meetingprofs #eventplanners #eventstyling #weddingplanner #wedding #eventtech #weddings #eventorganizer #partyplanner #party #eventproduction
What are the best hashtags for #eventprofs? Brand24 report screenshot
#Eventprofspl
Finally, I wanted to share our new initiative. Together with Think MICE (one of the leading meetings and events industry magazines in Poland), we encourage Polish Twitter users to use the hashtag #eventprofspl in their tweets. We know that many people have already created new accounts or are back to being active on Twitter.
We want to motivate them to use this additional possibility of conversation in the online world and create a Polish community of MICE professionals. You can follow the most active and influential MICE industry people on Twitter here.
