03.15.16 | By Jill Sherman —

In a social feed filled with a glut of panel announcements, empty quotes, and grandiose self promotion, standing out in the SXSW social conversation sounds easy. But in reality, the difficulty of attracting and maintaining the interest of some of the world’s most digitally-savvy people is lost on many of the brands attending the event. Here are some of my Do’s & Don’ts for winning in social during this week-long event. Because keeping the social buzz going for an extended period time is actually really, really hard. And even if you didn’t have a brand attending SXSW, this is good intel for the future.

DO brand your events with things like custom hashtags or Snapchat filters. But offer more than one filter option, because nobody over the age of 21 should be “turnt.” (Bonus points if you can get a social influencer to cover the event. More eyeballs + new perspectives = more interesting than talking about yourself for the umpteenth time.)

DO make your swag sharable. If you’re going to spend the money to shove stickers and bags in people’s faces, milk all possible social lift.

DO turn your event/space into an unfolding story people will want to follow. It encourages repeat visits, social coverage, and makes your brand look really cool.

DO create niche, curated experiences for your fans that align to your brand’s view of the world. Create something that makes them feel like an insider and/or gets them out of the SXSW grind. Because those lines are waaaaay too long for cool people. Am I right?

DON’T Periscope horizontally — vertical only. Well, unless you’re drunk or streaming live from the Space Station. Twitter still hasn’t fixed the thumbnail and video that sticks around for 24 hours after your livestream is over. So, you’ll be lopsided and just look weird.

DON’T let your handle or employees post empty pics. No empty spaces, empty parties, empty rooms, or empty events. Unless you want people to think you’re #winningatnothing, always have people in the pics that appear to be enjoying themselves. Even if it’s just emoji crazed employees. Remember, you’re trying to get people excited about being part of something.

DON’T post a bunch of @ symbols and #hashtags. Just don’t. Unless you’re a boring robot that has nothing to say. Then go for it, because people have low expectations of boring robots.

DON’T be cute or annoying (unless your brand is cute and/or annoying). Resist the urge to give random shout outs or push empty, non-insightful quotes that only serve the purpose of making it look like you’re at SXSW. We get it. You’re there. #fistpump. Now stop.

Jill Sherman is SVP, Social Strategy, DigitasLBi Boston

Check out some of Jill’s other social insights here