Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an internet marketing firm. She blogs at The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and teaches marketing courses at Marketing EggSchool. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.

We all know about Tweetups and online events, but what about events that you didn’t specifically invite the Twitterati to attend? Conferences, meetings and parties are all events that might not have started online, but which can definitely benefit from online promotion and mention.

Leverage your offline event with some smart social media marketing. Here are seven ways you can maximize exposure of your event using online tools.

1. Blog About It

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Before, during and after your event, blog about it. Blogging beforehand can alert others about your event and encourage them to learn more or register to attend. Live blogging during your event can create buzz and excitement for those who were unable to attend (and provide them a snippet of what they missed, which will encourage them to look for your next event). Blogging after can provide a recap, as well as info on upcoming events.

SXSW attendee Allen Stern liveblogged several sessions at the 2009 event. His blog posts are little more than notes from the presentation, but they do a good job of relaying the highlights to readers quickly.

2. Post Photos on Flickr

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Everyone loves seeing photos of themselves (as long as they’re flattering). By posting photos of your event on Flickr and tagging them with people’s names, you can generate interest in your event from the people who attended and those who follow them on various social media channels.

BlogHer posts photos from its conferences and events both in the header on its website and in its Flickr stream. It invites participants to upload their own photos from the events into the Flickr stream, which encourages interaction.

3. Put it on Facebook

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You can also post the photos and tag them on Facebook. The added benefit of doing so on Facebook is that when you tag someone, it appears on their wall. Anyone who is a friend of someone you tagged can see the photo. The idea is that it will lead them to want to learn more about the event (because hey, they want their photo put on Facebook from a cool local event too). Note that you’ll only be able to tag people that you’re connected to.

If your event or company has a Facebook Page, you can include highlights from the event, like quotes from keynotes, activities, awards or even faux pas from speakers.

For even more interaction, visit the profiles of those that attended and leave custom comments: “Hope you got that wine stain out of your blouse. Sorry about that!” “Great comment you made at the keynote presentation!” Etc.

The Wine Conference, an annual event held in Houston, posts updates on the conference to its Facebook Page. Here the event posts logos for its sponsors, photos from events, and blog links about the conference.

4. Post Photos to Twitpic

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Twitpic is a great tool that allows you to take a photo with your phone or camera and upload it directly (via a shortened URL) to Twitter. Anyone following you on Twitter will see your tweet and the link to the photo, and can click to view it.

During your event, what better way to show those not in attendance what they’re missing than by taking photos and sending them in real time? Save your hi-resolution photos to be processed later, but upload snapshots from your phone instantly to create a sense of visual livestreaming as the event is underway.

5. Tweet the Event

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Don’t overlook the best real-time tool in social media for your event. Sending tweets out to your followers is a great way to keep everyone updated on what’s happening. Whether it’s an awards show where you can share the winners before journalists write about them, or a conference where you can tweet soundbites, Twitter is a great tool for connecting people online and offline to your event.

Make sure your organization or business doesn’t have legal objections to you tweeting from the event. If the event covers trade secrets or other sensitive stuff, you may be entangled in more legal issues than you can shake a stick at if you’re not careful. The NFL banned tweeting from football events this season, for example, and is imposing fines for those that violate the ban.

6. Use Hashtags

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The easiest way to track tweets and other mentions of your events on social media platforms is to ask all participants to use a # with a designated keyword or phrase when discussing it.

For example, in 2009, BlogWorld New Media Expo used the hashtag #bwe09 on Twitter to track all mentions of it. Many presentations used this hashtag or one relating to a particular topic as a way to field questions and comments during the presentations. For those unable to attend, following the hashtag was a great way to stay updated on soundbites from the conference.

7. Livestream Your Event

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If your event is a conference or educational platform, consider livestreaming it via web video. Using services like Justin.tv or Ustream.tv, you can broadcast your event live over the Internet. This helps expand your audience and interact with them, even if they are not present in person at your event.

Wrapping it Up

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Remember that you can get the most out of online promotion if you start long before the event. Map out a strategy that includes what you will do prior to the event, during, and after. Ask employees and attendees to assist you by posting their own take on the event through their blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr accounts. Make it as easy as possible for anyone to share their content and photos of your event online.

More social media resources from Mashable:

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- 5 Levels of Effective Communication in the Social Media Age
– Zen and the Art of Twitter: 4 Tips for Productive Tweeting
– The Tao of Tweeting
– How Social Media Has Changed Us
– 5 Tips for Building Lasting Online Friendships
– 4 Steps for Effective Online Networking

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, sjlocke

Tags: blogging, BLOGS, business, event planning, Events, facebook, flickr, justin.tv, List, Lists, live blogging, livestream, livestreaming, MARKETING, small business, social media, social networks, twitter, ustream

Gather ’round, social media lovers, for ’tis time for this week’s Lunchtime Poll! As you may know by now, the way it works is simple. We’ll throw out a poll question, start off with some responses from the staff here at Mashable, and let you fine folks have at it in the comments.

Last week we looked at your favorite Facebook applications — stay tuned later today for a recap of those results. Today we’re curious about what Twitter photo sharing service wins your heart, mind, and pics. Ready to have your say? Head on after the break and let us know!

What’s your favorite Twitter photo sharing service?

Mashable Faves

Adam Ostrow: yfrog … love the new webcam integration.

Jennifer Van Grove: Posterous: I use it in lieu of anything else for Twitter photo sharing, because I can also share all media types – video, music, text – with Twitter (and Facebook/YouTube/Flickr), and it’s all collected in one place. It’s the perfect extension of my Twitter account and it’s become a content repository/livestream that gets really great traffic.

Ben Parr: Posterous also.

Barb Dybwad: As an old skool Flickr user I use the Flickr2Twitter feature to automagically post pics to both when the need strikes.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ericsphotography

Tags: flickr, Photos, posterous, twitter, twitter photo sharing, yfrog

Según Allovay las interacciones entre amigos, comentarios, etc que realizamos en Facebook tiene un efecto positivo en la memoria y el aprendizaje; mientras que el modo en que interactuamos en Twitter (con mensajes breves a modo de sms) o en Youtube (con visualizaciones rápidas de videos) son tan breves que no estimulan el cerebro y tienen un efecto negativo en la “memoria de trabajo”

“Twitter se reduce la concentración y el usuario no usa el cerebro al manejar la información que está recibiendo“

Y la científica va incluso más allá afirmando por sus investigaciones que el uso de mensajes de texto, sms, y la exposición prolongada y continua a la TV pueden reducir la inteligencia, atontarnos vaya…, tal y como siempre han afirmado nuestras abuelas cuando nos veían horas delante de “la caja tonta”.

Así que si aún tienes dudas sobre qué red social usar, quizás te interese seguir desarrollando tu “memoria de trabajo” en Facebook, que atontarte en Twitter… ahora cabe preguntarse ¿y si usamos las dos redes, somos más listos, más tontos o compensamos una cosa por otra…?

[Vía DiarioTi: Facebook incrementa la inteligencia pero Twitter y YouTube la reducen]

ACTUALIZACIÓN:

Mario Núñez comentó en su momento la noticia y amplia en su post algunos comentarios de la investigadora, los argumentos de ésta cuando le preguntan por los datos que corroboran su teoría no tienen desperdicio.

Las redes sociales electrónicas se han ido apoderando del uso que se le da a la red; accediendo a mercados de forma selectiva, automática y eficaz; y haciendo obsoletos los mecanismos de publicidad tradicional. Los mismos mercados son los que se involucran en estos medios y a los analistas les puede interesar la forma, el momento y el lugar en que estos participan.

A continuación se describe una clasificación sobre  el envolvimiento que los usuarios pueden tener en las redes sociales, teniendo en cuenta el nivel de participación y compromiso  para mantenerse activo en éstas. Los ejemplos son aplicables a distintas categorías pero el uso que le das es lo que determina la forma en que te involucras, además no todos son propiamente redes sociales, pero el uso que le dan los usuarios es lo que permite definirlas como tal.

Imagen por fredcavazza

• Involucrate

Conéctate a las redes sociales
Regístrate, se parte del proceso. El primer paso, evidentemente, es unirse a las redes sociales. Podrías comenzar con las más masivas, con las que más te idéntificas, las que pueden ser útiles. Aquellas que prefiera tu grupo de amigos, las que te dan visibilidad en la red y que pueden servir como ruta de referencia hacia ti.
Facebook, Orkut, Myspace, hi5, Friendster, Bebo, LinkedIn, Naymz.

SuscríbeteMantente pendiente de las notificaciones, de las noticias y de todo aquellos que te interesa. Suscríbete a los feeds de tus lugares favoritos, de los perfiles de tus conocidos o de las personas que admiras. Puede ser usando servicios web, aplicaciones y widgets.
Google Reader

• Comparte
  

  Comparte el contenido
  Ahora distribuye por la red lo que has encontrado, los lugares que visitas, las noticias, da la oportunidad a los demás que conozcan lo que ya has conocido.
  Delicious,Digg.

  Comparte contenido de forma breve y rápida
  Es muy común el contenido que se esparce por la red comportándose de manera viral. Si eres de los que todavía reenvía cadenas de correo, ya es la hora de que dejes de inundar las bandejas de entradas de otros y distribuyas ese contenido corto pero masivo en un servicio más efectivo a personas que de verdad le interesan.
  Tumblr, Meme.

  Comparte que te gusta, lo que haces y lo que usas
  A veces quieres compartir tus gustos, por lo que los perfiles que registran tus actividades pueden ser útiles para encontrar personas con intereses en común, o simplemente compartir automáticamente estos gustos con aquellos a los no tiene tiempo para decircelo.
  Last.fm, iLike, Hexagon, Wakoopa, Blip.fm, Grooveshark.

• Discute

Opina y califica contenidos
Algunos sitios tienen  la opción de calificar y comentar el contenido publicado. Otros se encargan de generar una discusiones para que los mismos usuarios resuelvan sus dudas, den recomendaciones o hagan cualquier comentario que sirva de retroalimentación a los mismos sitios y a los otros usuarios.
Marcasocial, Google Answers, Yahoo! Answers.

• Crea y promueve

Elige las restricciones del contenido que generas, como licencias Creative Commons para que los demás se sientan libres de usar el contenido.

Genera contenido textual
Cuando tienes algo que escribir, los Blogs son la solución ideal para publicar ese articulo que quieres aportar.
Blogger, Wordpress.

Genera contenido visual
Carga en la red fotografías, imágenes y presentaciones.
Flickr, Picasa, SlideShare

Genera contenido audiovisual
Crea cortos, animaciones y películas, postéalos en un tu propio canal en la red, ya sea en mismo sitio del servicio o en forma de videoblogs.
YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv, Dialymotion.

Genera contenido audiovisual en tiempo real
¡Ahora tu canal es en vivo!, tu público quiere ver tu show en tiempo real.
Ustream.tv, Justin.tv.

Genera contenido de manera colaborativa
Uno no es suficiente. El contenido generado en equipo brinda resultados de mayor calidad. Cuando las partes entran en acuerdo un proyecto o un artículo tiene una entrega más sólida.
Wikipedia, Google Code.

• Integra

Integra sitios
Ahora unifica los sitios en los que participas y la novedades de lo que generas y compartes.
Hi.im, Vcardfile, Friendfeed.

However GeoImpress does indeed impress, thanks to its wonderful design. Flickr photographs are shown below the map in an animated slide panel that can be lowered or raised as you need to use the map. Clicking on a photo thumbnail will open that picture in a lightbox.

Another really nice feature is the precision slidebar that lets the user define how close to the set location they wish to search. So, for example, if you set the location to Times Square you can get the map to display photos and Tweets from Times Square, or widen the search to get results from the outlying district or widen out further to include the whole city or state.

Yep, I’m impressed.

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