Positive Conversations

A saidWot Case Study 25th – 27th July 2012

Disclaimer

This Case Study is based on comments from around the world regarding the AIDS 2012 Conference.

This case study was not compiled for a specific brand, but purely out of curiosity and a burning passion to showcase

the impact of Online Reputation Management. If you would like more information about saidWot, please

contact us: www.saidwot.com/contact-us

Background

The International AIDS Conference (IAC) is an annual event which aims at evaluating developments regarding efforts to

eradicate the HIV pandemic.

Every year, policy makers as well as those affected and infected by the pandemic, gather and collectively chart a

course forward towards the common goal of creating positive conversations and outcomes around the issue.

Positive Conversations

The AIDS 2012 programme ran from 22 July - 27 July in Washington, DC.

The Hashtags #HIV, #AIDS, and #IAC were abundantly used on twitter towards creating a positive conversation.

Activists propelled Tweeters to assist in making HIV/AIDS a trending topic.

Case study objective

The purpose of the study is to see if positive online conversations stemmed from the conference.

Conversations captured in this case study are of the period between the 25th and the 27th of July.

Where did the conversation take place?

130 Tweets were posted on Twitter during the study

period

88 Feeds were on

Friend Feed during the

study period

Two updates were on

Facebook during the

study period

Said What?

Sentiment

Majority of the conversations online were positive. The #HIV/#AIDS hashtag drive also received a positive response from the general public.

The conference coincided with the build up towards the Olympics thus now and then #olympics and #HIV/#AIDS shared the online spotlight.

What did they say?

The outcome

The outcome

Not all conversations were positive with some points raised regarding the reach of the conference as well as protests.

Conclusion The conversations surrounding the conference were informative and somewhat educational. The main objective of creating positive conversations online was reached and everyone – including celebrities, formed part of the conversation.

The outcome

Though the main objective was to have #HIV, #AIDS, and #IAC trending on twitter, conversations did not lead to that.

However, the hashtags were kept alive and there were on-

going conversations surrounding the conference.

One particular reason behind the failure to trend was because of the build-up towards the Olympics.

What could have worked? If your goal is to trend on Twitter, here are a few tips and suggestions:

Utilize your brand ambassadors to create a buzz. In this case, Alicia Keys, Bill Gates

and Annie Lennox should have

mentioned the event.

Promote your handle and hashtag on invitations,

banners and presentations.

Start and keep the conversation

alive by @ the guests. Tweeting

live updates from the event and

displaying this on screens at the event will also motivate your

audience.

Hosing a tweet chat for Q&A

after the event will allow non-attendees to

interact with your speakers and

other audience members.

BUT wait

Although trending on Twitter will lead to a larger audience exposed to your brand or event, this should not be the only or

main goal.

Remember to also measure your success according to the interaction taking place on Twitter, new followers gained,

transition of those followers into loyalists and insights gained into audience behaviour and opinions.

More Information

We have all the data and analysis available that went into writing this case study. If you are interested in receiving this, please

contact us on the details below.

If you want to know what is being said online about your brand, then contact us on the details below and we will gladly set up a

demo account for you.

For more information on the International Aids Conference please visit www.aids2012.org