How well are you combining your social media and your offline marketing and communications? Twitter chat today at 1 pm PST#AECSM #AEC
— AECideaX (@AECideaX) April 24, 2012
I decided to join in on the AECSM (Architecture, Engineering and Construction in Social Media) twitter chat today after seeing a tweet go by in my morning check-in on the twitter stream. Curious, I wanted to know more. A “twitter chat” is a place where firms, individuals, and bloggers can join in for a curated conversation about specific topics.
In this case, Amanda Walter of Walter Communications hosted a six-part question and answer session looking at how to combine online and offline media, marketing, and communications efforts within the AEC industries. By tagging each of the responses with a hashtag (in this case, #AECSM), the event can be tracked by entering the hashtag into your search bar on twitter.
By listening in–watching what others had to say, seeing who showed up, and clicking through on relevant links–and also by commenting myself, I found myself surprised by how much I learned so quickly. Here is a recap of the questions we chatted about–and some of the best responses:
Q1: How are you using offline marketing and communications to drive your online presence?
Several people chimed in about the relationship between online and offline communications. Where does one start and stop? How much are you engaging online versus offline? Is there a best-practice strategy? It turns out that the two feed into each other, as BrandConstruct said:
#AECSM A1:We promote our our online presence on our business cards, proposals, email signature, and talking about it. — Brand Constructors (@BrandConstruct) April 24, 2012
Q2: How is your online presence driving traffic to your offline strategies?
A2: We can more easily tell what precisely piqued the lead’s interest. #aecsm — Shannah Hayley (@shannahhayley) April 24, 2012
Q3: How can in-person events tap into social media?
@AEC_SM A3: Live-tweeting an event is a great way to get people outside of the event engaged and participating. #AECSM — Laurie Meisel (@LaurieMeisel) April 24, 2012
A3 – I love when events have their own hashtag, so you can network & find contact info during and after event (easier than biz cards) #AECSM — Holly Berkley (@holly_berkley) April 24, 2012
A3. #hashtag for updates, twitter lists of participants, copies of presentations on slideshare, blog posts for more info… #AECSM — Patty Swisher (@pmswish) April 24, 2012
Q4: In what way has social media changed your firm’s approach to PR?
A4: #aecsm Social Media has made us much more visible. That is the number one thing for now. And it makes it a more active task.. — Hawkins Architecture (@HawkinsArch) April 24, 2012
#AECSM A4: Lots of great responses from students and recruiting about our blogs, ideas, and online writing. — SWA Group (@SWAgroup) April 24, 2012
Q5: What tips do you have for using social media for market research?
YES!! RT @carolhagen: SM is an extension of PR that moves faster than lightning when the content is compelling. Engage Evangelists! #AECSM
— Eric D. Lussier (@EricDLussier) April 24, 2012
#AECSM A5 – People are curious and want to learn; be interesting and the ideas will travel.
— landscape urbanism (@landurbanism) April 24, 2012
MT @landurbanism – Social is not as much about traditional press releases & talking about yourself; it’s sharing & exchanging ideas#aecsm
— Shannah Hayley (@shannahhayley) April 24, 2012
Q6: What firms are integrating social media with mrktg &/or comms strategies well?
@waltercomms #AECSM Q6: I’ve been a fan of Balmori, CMG, Perkins+Will, Arup, and WRT’s “offsite” as places for idea exchange. — landscape urbanism (@landurbanism) April 24, 2012
A6 @populous does quite well. #aecsm — Eric D. Lussier (@EricDLussier) April 24, 2012
At the end of the conversation (which lasted for about 30 minutes, although I chimed in for 15 or so), Hawkins Architecture gave some interesting information about the reach of the conversation: 24,007 people viewed the tweets related to #AECSM over the course of an hour. Perhaps a reason in and of itself to join in — beyond the chance to learn.
And the other stat page –> Tweets about #aecsm have reached 24,007 people via @tweetreachapp ||ow.ly/auDpv
— Hawkins Architecture (@HawkinsArch) April 24, 2012
