After you’ve defined your social networking strategy (EXPO, October 2009, page 20) and selected your platform (EXPO, November/December 2009, page 24), this last installment of EXPO’s social networking series will focus on the final — yet perhaps most important — step: audience engagement. Unfortunately, the “if you build it, they will come” mantra doesn’t apply here. Simply launching your social network won’t automatically garner a loyal following. But by applying these tips from industry experts, you can create a successful engagement strategy that will keep users coming back for more.

Promote your efforts

Make sure to promote your social media efforts in as many different outlets as possible.Whether you’re using public networks like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter or a proprietary system, you have to repeatedly tell people it’s out there and what it offers. “You have to really aggressively promote your social networking strategy, just like you would promote anything else to do with your event,” says Richard Norby, Vice President of Creative Services at event marketing agency Live Marketing.

Emphasize value

One of the keys to social networking engagement is providing value on a regular basis. “People have to perceive that when they go to the site and participate, they’ll get something that’s valuable to them,” Norby says. “There may be some sort of incentive initially, like a contest or drawing, but ultimately, it’s about the value you offer — something that’s valuable to their job, educates them or helps them work more effectively.”

It’s also helpful to simply listen to your community to hone in on what’s most important to them. “You have to know what’s important to your community and insert yourself as another resource for them,” says Mark Sylvester, CEO of social network provider introNetworks. “People go to events to learn about things they can’t Google. Or they might want to talk to a particular speaker who’s hard to connect with. If you can provide that kind of access with an online community — access to information, people, colleagues, etc. — you’ll be successful.”

Content is king

Content is essential to keeping users involved with your online community. After you’ve identified the type of content that’s valuable to your audience, it’s helpful to create some type of content plan outlining what should be posted and when. “The worst thing you can do is create a site and have users go to it and see that nothing’s there,” says Paul Schneider, Senior Vice President of Business Development and cofounder of social networking provider Socious. “You should create a list of content that will be posted every single week. You’ll always need something new for users to comment on.”

Releasing information in pieces can be a good way to get more mileage out of your content. Frequently changing the type of content you’re posting is another way to keep users involved. “We make sure we’re not always talking about discounts, specials or deadlines related to our shows, but content that’s relevant to our industry,” says Nicole Buraglio, Director of e- Media at Hanley Wood Exhibitions. “With our remodeling shows, our conference manager is on Twitter every day and tweets about things that keep his followers engaged because it’s not all preachy industry information. It helps to get some humor and non-industry stuff in there.”

It’s also important to constantly refresh the content you’re providing. “It’s like starting any new business; initially, you need promotion to get people to window shop, but over the long-haul you need satisfied customers to create a good community,” says Philip Burke, Senior Vice President, GLM, a dmg world media business. “The network needs to be dynamic, changing and evolving — in a word: fresh.”

Timing is everything

Before the show, reward your online community by posting important news updates (such as releasing speaker and keynote announcements before they’re sent to the press) and special offers (such as early bird discounts or student passes) that people can’t get elsewhere. “If people know they should check the site to find out about special events or offers, that will help attract people to the site as well as promote traffic to certain parts of the event,”Norby says.

During the event, it’s helpful to post useful show-related information and updates (such as room or speaker changes, events taking place in an hour, show or booth specials, etc.) in addition to uploading show photos, video or audio clips or even live-streaming important events to keep users engaged. Another idea: “You can do some targeted promotion during the show, such as if exhibitors complain that attendees aren’t coming to the show floor, an organizer could offer gift certificates to the bookstore for the first 50 attendees to get to the show floor,” says Kristin Veach, Vice President of Marketing at Live Marketing.

After the event, you should archive materials from your show, such as keynotes, education sessions, booth highlights, etc., so attendees — as well as those who couldn’t make it — can see anything they missed. “It’s also great if you can make the post-show have a payoff from the live event, such as a promotion where 50 people win admission to the next conference and winners are later announced on the site,”Norby says.

Focus on tone

The tone of your online communications is another key factor to consider.With social media, a more casual, conversational tone is often most effective. “Communication should be very genuine, authentic and personal,” Norby says. “It can’t be marketing-speak. Sometimes it’s helpful to see who’s already blogging or is into social media within your company and ask them to get involved, so people who are already motivated in using social media are doing it.”

A change in mindset might also be in order, says Rick Calvert, CEO and cofounder, BlogWorld & New Media Expo. “It’s important to view yourself as part of the group instead of as customers and sellers,” he says. “Talk about things that interest your community. Ask what people want to see in terms of sessions, exhibitors, products or solutions to their problems. If you can give them that value, you’ll get people who are actively engaged and who come back to your site frequently.”

Reach out to active community members

Because you can’t manage your online community 24/7, it’s also a good idea to reach out to others you trust and respect to help with your efforts and build a larger sense of community. “You should work hard to build the foundation of community interaction through your own activity, but also find those who are receptive and want to talk and get them to reach out to others and involve them as well,” Calvert says. “Try to get these active community members to act as your moderators.”