Do you take notes during conferences so you can bring home helpful info?

I do, too, but I’m TERRIBLE about setting aside time after an event to review what I’ve written (or look through my phone’s photos of presentation slides) and then actually do something with it.

After this year’s Main Street Now economic and downtown development conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I vowed to do better.

One of the conference breakout sessions was Backlash Whiplash – Effective Communications Through the Noise by Austin Watters, the Downtown Development Coordinator for Downtown Florence, South Carolina.

He did an excellent job of walking us through some basic theories of communication, then case studies of social media posts that blew up with comments going off the rails, or going to someplace unexpected.

Many of his ideas and insights stuck with me:

• “People don’t react to the project itself. They react to change.”
• “Everyone doesn’t hear your message the same way, even though you’re saying the same words to all of them.”
• “Saying something early where possible / setting the stage can help a lot.”
• “Dialogue isn’t bad, but it can feel scary because it’s unpredictable.”
• “Know your audience(s), anticipate their concerns, name what they might feel, frame it before others do.”
• Austin reminded us that each social channel is different. Bring your data and impact statements to LinkedIn, your visual energy to Instagram, etc. That doesn’t mean ignore visuals on LinkedIn, for example, but understand who you’re talking to, and the general vibe, on each platform.

Tucked into the discussion was this additional advice:

Want to reduce drive-by troll comments on your Facebook Page, or take more control of spicy comments on a post that blows up?

Look for three dots at top right of a post once it is already live (I don’t see a way to do this before publishing) then turn on the option to restrict comments to those who have followed your Page for at least 24 hours.

Related post – Can colorful Facebook Page text posts get more engagement?

I’d heard of this, but discussing it in the context of the rest of Austin’s communications advice really stuck with me.

Do you use this setting? Let me know in the comments.

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