Is there anything that boosts serotonin levels more than a social feed filled with photos of happy dogs? Naturally, the correct answer is no. While you’re pondering that, let’s take a moment to see how dvm360® is creating a sense of community by leveraging social walls at the Fetch Kansas City Conference and on the company website.
dvm360® is a leading multimedia provider of animal healthcare communications, education, and research for veterinary professionals. In addition to offering these resources, they host multiple regional veterinary conferences each year and help veterinarians earn their continuing education credits.
For their 2024 Fetch Conference in Kansas City, the event team at dvm360® introduced a social wall that collected content from various social media platforms and Direct Posts to increase attendee engagement and foster a sense of community. With over seven hundred posts collected during the event, it’s safe to say the social campaign was a hit.
Additionally, dvm360® set up a second social wall intended for a website embed. This second wall features a mix of brand—and user-generated content about the company and its events and is prominently displayed on multiple dvm360® website pages.
We spoke with Isabella Aiello, Marketing Coordinator at MJH Life Sciences®, who was responsible for setting up the social walls. She shared how her team utilized different Walls.io sources and features to achieve their goals and make their engagement campaign a success.
We implemented the social wall at Fetch Kansas City as a dynamic, real-time display of social media posts and direct attendee contributions. The main challenges we were addressing were enhancing attendee engagement and creating a sense of community during the conference.
By integrating a social wall, we provided a platform where attendees could see their posts featured prominently, which encouraged more participation. This tool also helped amplify the conference’s reach by showcasing content shared by attendees, creating a more vibrant and interactive environment.
The social media wall was displayed in our exhibit hall and during the keynote presentation every morning of the conference.
We activated the social wall well before the event started, building excitement and encouraging early engagement from attendees. We also uploaded it to our Cvent home page prior to the conference to drum up excitement.
On site at the conference, we had sweepstakes. Those who participated in the social media wall were entered to win a gift card to our Wag Shop, a dvm360® apparel store.
Our team promoted the social wall through various channels, including pre-event emails, social media campaigns, and on-site announcements.
We pulled content from various social media platforms and Direct Posts, ensuring that a wide range of voices and perspectives were represented on the wall. We pulled from LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), using hashtags and keywords.
(Editor’s note: Fetch Kansas City social wall collected over 700 posts from eight social media sources and Direct Posts).
Another key factor in the success of our social wall was the incredible dvm360 marketing team, which I’m proud to be a part of. Huge thanks to Kelly Ellwanger, Director of Marketing, Jenna Rosania, Marketing Manager, Nicholas Cusumano, Marketing Coordinator, and Alexis Kervan, Intern. They were instrumental in promoting the wall onsite at Fetch Kansas City.
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The audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Attendees enjoyed seeing their posts featured on the big screen, which created a sense of inclusion and excitement.
It became a talking point during the conference, with many attendees actively seeking to have their content displayed.
This engagement not only made the event more interactive but also fostered a stronger sense of community among the participants.
How did you find Walls.io integration with Cvent?
The integration between Walls.io and Cvent was seamless and straightforward. I liked that we were able to make adjustments to the social wall and it would automatically update on Cvent without having to reintegrate it. We will be including it on the rest of our conference Cvent pages.
The strategy behind the dvm360® wall is more focused on long-term brand engagement, unlike the Fetch Kansas City wall, which was primarily centered on real-time event interaction.
The dvm360® wall curates both brand-created and user-generated content, creating a balanced mix that showcases our expertise and community involvement. It serves as an ongoing platform to engage our audience, keep them informed, and encourage continuous interaction with our content, even outside of specific events.
While the Fetch Kansas City wall was event specific the dvm360® wall showcases the whole brand and is displayed on our website. It allows us to engage with our community and showcase our other video programs, articles and partnerships.
Moving forward, we plan to continue using social walls to enhance engagement at our events and in our ongoing content strategy. We’re exploring the possibility of getting our exhibitors involved through sponsored posts.
Additionally, we aim to leverage the social walls in our post-event marketing by sharing highlights and extending the conversation beyond the event itself. This will help us maintain momentum and keep our audience engaged year-round.
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Our takeaways
Strategy drives success
While an event social wall is an easy-to-use tool, it delivers the best results when guided by a strategic approach. For dvm360®, this meant early and thoughtful activation and promotion. They placed their social wall at the center of both physical venues and digital environments, effectively engaging their audience across various channels, and fostering the sense of community.
Their dedication to maintaining community engagement between conferences and keeping website visitors updated with the latest dvm360® news led to the creation of a second social wall. Tailored to match the website design, this new wall blends brand and event content, extending the engagement sparked at the conference across multiple website pages.
⭐ Related: 8 Epic Experiential Events Ideas Using Social Walls
Power up your Cvent platform
Our continued partnership with Cvent makes integrating Walls.io into Cvent products simple and seamless. More importantly, it delivers results.
By incorporating social walls into your Attendee Hub setup, you can elevate your event experience with engaging, user-generated content. This not only boosts attendee interaction but also creates a vibrant, real-time showcase of your event’s social buzz.
