Tweet from the Street

Where do you find concession foods? The fair, fundraisers, amusement parks, food trucks, stadiums, concerts and special occasions. Most are attached to some sort of event. That gives you an increased awareness you can use to your advantage to reach a larger audience through live-tweeting.

Twitter defines live-tweeting as:  to engage on Twitter for a continuous period of time—anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours—with a sequence of focused Tweets. The focus can be a big live event that everybody’s paying attention to (e.g. an award show) or it can be an event you create yourself (e.g. a Q&A session with your fans). Here’s how you can make live-tweeting work for you.

• Harness the Power of the Hashtag – One of the first things you’ll want to do is identify the hashtags associated with the event. For example, the Ohio State Fair uses #ohiostatefair and #osf15. Research what is being said about the event and by whom. You may even find others that you want to follow and re-tweet.
• Who’s Who – If there will be speakers, entertainers, music groups or other notable attendees, find them on Twitter and follow them. Engage them in conversation to help drive traffic to your Twitter account.
• Timing is Everything – Start tweeting before the event to generate interest and excitement. Remember you want to build up your followers leading up to the event. Have a plan for what you will tweet during the event. You may want to write and schedule some tweets in advance, while still having the option to add tweets spontaneously as well. Include tweets for after the event, reinforcing the experience.
• Tweet with a Purpose – Have a goal in mind when you are tweeting. Do you want to increase followers, drive sales at your booth, get leads via a contest or generate traffic on your website? Point them where you want them to go. As a food truck, you may want to tweet your daily route schedule to help drive customers to your location throughout the day.
• Make It Visual – Visuals are powerful motivators. Get photos and comments of those who visit your concession stand and share them on Twitter to create buzz. Make them compelling to help generate re-tweets.
• Invest in Interaction – Follow the event hashtag so you can re-tweet engaging posts and give shout-outs to your fellow Tweeters. Also, use questions to solicit feedback, like “What’s your favorite fair food?” Then respond to those who answer to encourage engagement.

Join us for our Q&A Session on Thursday, 7/23 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. On Twitter, use the hashtag #GMQA. (Click here for directions on how to join a Tweet Chat.) Or you may also visit our Facebook pageand post questions there. If you prefer to email, we can be reached at [email protected]. Or feel free to call us directly at 800-543-0862 and speak with a member of our marketing team.