For the most part, I’ve had a great experience here in Austin at this year’s festival and will definitely seek to attend again next year. I’ve gotten closer to some fabulous thinkers and authors with whom I’d never interact with were it not for this festival, due to it’s unique culture. I’ve learned some insights from small but successful business owners about how they manage scale. And I strengthened relations with communications professionals (public relations, marketing, branding, internet technologists, social media) that previously I’d only known through Twitter or not even known at all.

All of these and more weigh out on the positive side of this trip investment for me and while don’t immediately net tangible value (like a new client signed or affiliate partnership), these take-aways will coalesce into building a smarter, more resourceful Heather (and if for some reason it doesn’t, it’s my fault and not a reflection on them).

As a newbie SXSW’er, I knew this was a good conference for me to attend, even without having pre-defined specific goals for my attendance.  I had an idea about what was possible here, even without having an idea about what to expect.

Being exposed to a great number of speakers, with different specializations and interests, educational backgrounds, and experiences, what I saw ran the gamut from smooth, planned, and controlled to downright disappointing and poorly delivered.

A few of my thoughts on offering the most to your audience, to really reach them and provide maximum value. Nothing earth-shattering here, but maybe a good general collection:

1. Write well-defined seminar/panel descriptions for the guide books. The quirky colloquilisms can be fun on one level, but what if people don’t get your humor or can’t decipher what your session is about because it’s too abstract? You run the risk of irritating those who *thought* they knew what to expect (but then don’t deliver), and missing fans who didn’t catch your drift and elected to attend something else instead.
2. Provide sufficient background and solid introductions. To fully appreciate the thought leaders on the panel, shouldn’t I be told some of the reasons why paying attention to them is important? How they earned their stripes? While I recognized at least a couple of the folks on panels I attended (which of course shaped my decision to sit in), some of them I didn’t know about and really wanted to.
3. Bring your administrative skills. Claim a hashtag at the onset of a meeting so that everyone who live twitters it is on the same page. Outline the purpose and goals for the panel in order to reinforce someone’s decision to sit in. Already have your presentation posted to Slideshare and announce the link. And share the twitter handle for all the panelists so people don’t have to search if they want to follow them.
4. Follow up with registered attendees. I didn’t experience this at all. And granted with a conference like SXSW, there was a lot of informal attending/departing that wasn’t on the books. But at least having a solid register list could provide panelists with a way to solicit constructive feedback, reiterate their main points, and provide a tangible take-away with pass-along potential (thereby reaching even more folks).

Shankman:  Yogurt, then informational yogurt. Meaning, if you are on Twitter, you represent your brand (if you’re a PR rep). Don’t tweet that you’re eating yogurt. Tweet that you just bought yogurt 1/2 off for one day only at YogurtWorld.

Solis:  Facebook opening up the API will bring Twitter into FB, sharing will explode

Shankman: Still put stuff out on the wire service, but it must be optimized for search and across social platforms so that reporters can find what they seek.

Solis:  Write a press release as a formality (use PitchEngine). WRite it well, not like a press release. Use keyword density for search optimization. SM tools aside, consider more what you share and less about how you share it.  These SM tools allow you to reach those customer bases directly. Figure out how they talk to one another, how they share, and then go out there.

Shankman: It’s more important than ever to know how to write, get your point across succinctly. Consider attention spans (in the 80′s, it was 3 min–now it’s 140 char).

Solis:  PR as they exist is dead. But the mechanisms remain true.  Write the story as though you want to read it in the NY times. Journalists still need background, still need info.

Shankman:  But just dropping out in the wire and hoping someone picks it up is like buckshot–broadly scattered.

Portman:  More folks use social networks more than they use email.

Solis: Launch stuff, crickets chirp. If your customers aren’t there, it’s poitless to place stuff out there.  Listen to conversations (your audiences) first. Empathize, listen, observe.  It will influence how you write, make you more compassionate.

Shankman:  PR firms should work hand-in-hand with their agencies. Be transparent and forward if PR agencies write for their clients. Transparency is huge — you will be caught, not if you’re caught ghost-blogging.

Shankman: Twitter makes sense for 99% of companies–if only for search tools, if not to Tweet.  What kind of stuff is being talked about associated with your brand.

Solis: There’s no threaded dialogue in Twitter. PeopleBrowsr is a better answer, covering FB and other platforms. There’s a different culture across each platform (Flickr, Facebook, etc.) Focus group by culture, by community.

Portman:  Managing a message vs. putting out a message:  Biz is constantly reacting, lack resources to manage all communications. Why most co’s use PR agencies to outsource.

Solis:  How measure success of SMM campaign?  Apply today’s metrics systems to these new ways of communicating (# followers, # friends, etc.). What is your objective? Your goal? Drive what it is you want to measure, create that first, then establish a campaign around that.  Created a unique URL for a specific Anheiser-Bush destination site/campaign, based on finding a way to measure the action for that campaign. Start backwards.

Shankman: McFail example–great McDonald’s example where Peter used Twitter to post an experience–the McD PR agency was listening.  Hardee’s, Florida Acquarium also listen and respond. Giving interesting info, embracing an audience that is searching for relevant keywords.

Solis: Create a personality around a brand, the new Facebook is going in the right direction. FB is just where people are; give them a reason to come hang out with you (regardless of the platform).

Portman: Skittles example got lots of negative tweets about their new move; Skittles was not monitoring, buzz got out of control.

Solis:  PR can be outsourced, or build your own infastructure. Community Management is listening to PR, as is HR, etc.

Shankman:  Before co’s start on Twitter, should own your name on all platforms. Then listen, find out about what people are saying about your brand, company, etc. Use a college student to monitor b/c chances are they’re already using those tools. Let them teach you.

Solis:  Rules of engagement are dictated by the communities themselves. Those people can blow up your story, or blow it out. Do the litmus test first to get a feel.

Portman:  Transparency and honesty is critical.

Shankman:  Interns can show you how to use the tools; you can show the interns what to write about.

Solis:  PR agencies have competition from sources they never had before. Interactive agencies, freelancers, community management companies. These companies are hiring blogger relations folks, etc. Not charging for media campaigns, etc. anymore.

Metrics matter. New scool, old school. Both have a place. Blasting out co info and not responding is dead.  Advertising is when you do it.  PR is when someone else does it for you.

But fortunately, I met up with some friends (whom I’d met via Twitter), made some new ones, and began having a blast.  Here’s a sample:

Amber Nausland and Elizabeth Hannan got me started right, looking for the Pepsi Podcast camp and the Tech Set Lounge where I got a glimpse of Brian Solis, whose writing and insights I’ve admired since easing into the social Web a year ago.

Sat next to Jason while chowing down at the Spaghetti Warehouse for a late dinner. I’m quite sure we inhaled the calamari before the others realized we’d even been delivered an appetizer.

At the Belmont for the Tech Set party, we ran into Hugh Macleod where he so generously lent his talent to whip out some personal illustrations for members of our group. Here, Beth Harte and Kellye Crane ooh and ahh over theirs (yes, that’s jealousy talking…I didn’t go get one <kicking self now>)

Funny guy David Alston had a great attitude despite the drizzle, puddles, circuitious route to the Belmont for the party. He broke out his camera to challenge mine to a duel. Ole!

More fun at Tech Set party, rubbing elbows with Matt Dickman and Doug Meacham. Truly an honor to meet the people behind great work.

Some of our conversations

Jason Falls helped navigate our evening with single-minded focus (that being good whisky) and ensured we found late-night sustenance.  Beth Harte and Jason Baer had a stimulating conversation about personal branding (vs. online personality). Geoff Livingston, Craig Wilson, Kevin Gawthrope, and I talked about Yellowtail Wine case study of blue ocean strategy. Kellye Crane, Leigh Duncan-Durst, and Liana Evans held down their end of the table conversation with lots of laughter and friendship.

Today, I’ve walked the trade show floor, watched Zappos CEO Tony Hsirch deliver a keynote about culture and its importance in the workplace, and listened to a panel by Patrick Okeffe on responding to customer feedback. Oh, and seen a late 50-ish woman in dyed hair, stillettos, tube top, and textured hose (with a seam up the back) sell Lazy-boy type chairs with cowhide slipcovers. For real.

Bring on the fun!