These days, you are just as likely at a trade show, conference or major event to run into "a reporter" from a major company or organization as you are a beat journalist, with the former using a combination of blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to keep the growing number of followers at home up-to-date. Welcome to the new age of corporate reporting. This guide will show you how it's done.

1. Intel ligence in S o cial Media
Live-event reporting
using social media tools
W hether it's an indus t r y t r ade show, a big press conf erence or a public
e vent, organiz at ions and br ands are nding that the y need to co ver it
muc h like a jour nalist would. Using an assor t ment of so cial media to ols
and smar t de vices, here's how your co ver age c an b e heard ab o ve the noise.
1: C hoose you r device
Sma r tphone : Cam era : Vi d e o D i git al au d io :
a Ne t-re a dy p h o n e a d igital SLR that can
( i P h o n e , A n d ro id , c a pture the news -
recorder: reco rd er:
A handheld camera for podcast - r eady
B l a ck b e rry, Win d ows m a k e rs and atmos phere
that can capture s hort r epor t s
Mobile ), p re fe ra b ly with of an event
video interviews
a h ig h m e g a -p ix e l
c a m e ra a n d
vid e o re c o rd e r
2: C hoose yo ur app s / ch a nne l s
TWITTER FACEBOOK FLICKR YOUTUBE
f or t i m e l y upda t e s to keep your think like a photo- video
a nd phot os , fa ns involved j o u r n a l i st : a p i c t u r e interview s
be f or e dur i ng a nd t e l l s a t h o u sa n d
a f t e r a n e ve nt wo r d s
INSTAGRAM TWEETDECK TUMBLR/ FEEDBURNER
f or s ha r i ng i m a g e s to sync updates across POSTEROUS
on- t he - g o w i t h your m ultiple channels a b l o g t o p o st t h e R S S f e ed als o
c om m uni t y (i.e., Twitter, c r e a t e s Po d cas t-
l o n g e r- f o r m st o r i e s
Facebook, Posterous
sp e c i f i c feed s
b lo g) with a few taps
3: A ssem ble an ed itor ial t e a m : Assign each wit h specif ic t asks
A p h o to g ra p h e r (F lick r) to s n ap photos ;
A rov in g re p o rte r to p o s t u p d ates on the fly (Twitter,
Fa c e b o o k , Twe e td e ck ) Note: a s ingle person can handl e
multiple dut i es, but i t ' s
A rov in g re p o rte r wh o c a n c o nduct long-form interviews always bes t to have back- up
( b lo g ) o r v id e o in te rv ie ws (YouTube, Facebook) -- i.e., an edi t or who can
A n e d ito r to c o o rd in a te , e d it, overs ee all content created, s tep in when t echnol ogy
a n d p o s t o c c a s io n a l s u mma ri zing updates (Facebook), plus falters temporar i l y or who
r es p o n d to fo llowe rs , fa n s can cas t a second pai r of
eyes on all updat es or post s.

2. Intel ligence in S o cial Media
4: Decide on your Editorial Strategy
Assemble team to discuss what newsworthy
information you will need to cover.
Set up an editorial calendar.
5: P r e - e ve n t P l a n n i n g i s Ke y
H e r e a r e t h i n g s yo u'll n eed to d o b efo r eh an d :
Do an in-the-field test-run with your devices and social media channels
Big events come with their own Twitter hashtag. Is there one specific to
your event? If not, create one and let everyone know well in advance.
Tell your community in advance where they can find your reporting.
Remind them often
Get them involved early. Ask what they'd like to learn/see from the event
coverage
6: Live-rep or tin g
Impact: the most impactful reporting is timely, detailed, accurate and newsworthy.
Interview members of t h e p u b l i c . Don't confine your reportage to your "boss" or
company officials. Your readers will want to hear what people outside the company
think too.
Mix it up. Use Tweets for quick news updates, blog posts for more in-depth reporting,
plus videos and photo re portage to tell a complicated story (i.e., a new car launch)
Don't forget: have fun reporting! Your readers will notice and appreciate it, and will
be more likely to share your reportage with friends.
7: Post-even t follow-up
Write a comprehensive follow-up blog post summarizing the event. If there are
photos, create an album that you can share with your following. Lots of data? Think
infographic or charticle.
Did you meet interesting people, companies? Acknowledge them and their work pub-
licly on your Facebook, Twitter channels and, where applicable, in the bl og.
Post-event analysis. Call in the team to discuss what worked/what didn't.
Capitalize on the event coverage buzz. This is good momentum to grow your follower
ranks.
R e s e arc he d an d prod u ce d b y
S o ci al Me di a I n u e n ce o e rs work shops , b e s poke tr a ining a nd
S o c i al M e d i a In u e n ce
eL ear n i n g se ssi on s on soci a l me di a conte nt c re a tion. Fo r m o re
detai l, v i si t ht t p ://soci a l me di a i n u e n c e. c om / tr a in in g / @s oci ali n uen ce