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Indeed, social media has taken the online aspect of events as much as the real one. Attendees now share their experiences live to magnify the reach of your event well beyond the confines of the venue. Among the most effective tools for harnessing such power lies the social wall for events. A social wall is an aggregation of user-generated content from any social media site, allowing you to create a living, breathing display that can be proudly showcased at events.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore what a social wall is, its benefits, and practical examples of how it can be used to enhance your event’s engagement and visibility.
What is a Social Wall?
A social wall referred to as an event social wall is a live digital display of aggregated posts, images, and videos from platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, aggregated on the basis of one specific hashtag, keyword, or handle. The aggregation is then streamed onto a screen in real time, so attendees and remote viewers can witness a live feed of all this user-generated content related to the event.
Benefits of Using a Social Wall for Events
A social wall can provide numerous benefits for event organizers, attendees, and even sponsors. Here are some of the key advantages:
1. Boosts Attendee Engagement
A social wall allows the attendees to participate actively in the event by sharing their experiences on social media. People feel recognized and their excitement grows as they look at their posts being displayed on a large screen. The more people begin to interact with the social wall, the more lively the entire event turns out to be.
It also encourages the attendees to update their content and to interact with others online, which fosters a community atmosphere at the event as well as on social platforms.
2. Amplifies Event Reach on Social Media
You organically increase the online reach of your event when you ask attendees to tweet or post on social media using the designated hashtag for the event. Every post the attendee makes increases it to a sub-mini-promotion for your event because more people in their follower network are reminded of the presence of your event.
This rippling effect may therefore generate buzz and attract attention from people not present physically but just following what is happening online. Sometimes, the hashtag of the event might even trend on social media, thus boosting its visibility quite remarkably.
3. Provides Real-Time Interaction
The immediacy of the social wall makes it a feature that is alive and is actually a catalyst that fuels energy of an event. It can allow people to share their ideas, photos, and videos that instantly pop out on the screen; therefore, it provides instant gratification, driving more participation while, at the same time, animating an event with a dynamic feel of modernity.
In addition, real-time interaction can afford conversations among attendees, speakers, and organizers; questions, feedbacks, and shoutouts can be displayed on the social wall thus establishing an interactive experience.
4. Encourages User-Generated Content
True user-generated content is one of the richest forms of marketing because it comes from real attendee experiences. A social wall promotes and encourages your attendees to create UGC, which event organizers can then repurpose for future marketing efforts. If you’re sharing photographs, testimonials, or video snippets about your event as captured by attendees, this gives authenticity to your event’s promotion and serves as material for building credibility and excitement for future events.
5. Strengthens Community Building
A social wall encourages a sense of community because it gives participants an opportunity to visualize different voices and contributions happening at the event. It creates an inclusive environment where everyone, from keynote speakers to casual participants, can contribute to the conversation. Whether it is sharing the best moment of the event, asking questions, or just posting a selfie, one gets a feeling of being in on things through this social wall.
Examples of Social Walls in Action
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of a social wall, let’s look at some real-world examples of how they’ve been used successfully at various events.
1. Coachella Music Festival
The Coachella Music Festival is one of the largest and most popular events in the world, and its social following is tremendous. As organizers used a social wall at Coachella, they displayed live user posts at the festival on both Instagram and Twitter via the event’s hashtag, #Coachella. The social wall increases excitement as it displays energetic festival vibes, making people post about their festival experience.
2. Web Summit
One of the biggest tech conferences, Web Summit, makes visitors engage and interact with each other more using social walls. This means aggregating real-time posts, highlighting key points, and making the audience connect at the time of the event when thousands of attendees, speakers, and exhibitors share content.
There’s also a social wall at Web Summit from influential speakers and leaders who take the stage there. Therefore, you’re seeing both a good interaction of attendees and informed insight.
3. Adidas Product Launch
When Adidas launched its newest product line, it used a social wall to create a unique brand experience: The social wall was well-placed throughout the venue and displayed user-generated content made by influencers, athletes, and attendees who were invited to the launch. This way, Adidas expanded its reach in social media and could communicate with their audience through a balanced mix of professional and user-generated content.
How to Set Up a Social Wall for Your Event
Setting up a social wall for your event is relatively simple, thanks to the many platforms available that specialize in this service. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Choose a Social Wall Platform: Social wall platforms provide customizable social walls through which you can aggregate multiple sources of different social media platforms. Here, you have to choose the one that will best suit your needs based upon the features available in regard to design customization, features for integration, and analytics.
Define Your Hashtag or Keyword: Select a unique event hashtag or relevant keywords you will use to aggregate social media posts. Promote your hashtag very heavily both before and at your event to encourage those attending to join in.
Promote the Social Wall: Share the social wall with your participants through event materials, emails, and social media. Explain how to participate by posting via an event-specific hashtag.
Customize the Display: Customise the appearance of your social wall according to your event’s brand. You can add your logo, colors, and sponsored placements.
Display your Social Wall at the event: Place the social wall in a spot with high footfalls, like the Main Stage or the entrance, so it is very visible to the attendees.