Technology

How Nokia used social to become the talk of the world’s largest mobile tech event

• Leverage their awards by announcing them in advance and celebrating them on the day

• Promote their speakers in advance to make them shine on social media before, during, and after the event

• Showcase their products by identifying the key message in each of their demos and focusing on that to cut through the noise

"We posted images of our Nokia speakers during their presentations with key quotes, so that their thought leadership lives longer on social media.", said Head of corporate social Päivi Kalske.

At the conference, Nokia used Hootsuite to monitor what people were saying online in real time and generate two-way conversations. They also increased engagement by creating “tweetable demos”—focusing on the most noteworthy aspect of each demo—to cut through the noise and encourage more interaction with their brand.Nokia also made effective use of video, hosting three streamed Facebook Live events where they showed “behind the scenes” footage of the venue and interviewed their speakers at the conference.

Nokia’s innovative use of social media helped them achieve outstanding results. They received nine million impressions and 48 thousand followers in five days—and became the most talked about brand at the conference, according to Brandwatch. 

However, this isn’t just a success story about one event. With the right tools and strategies firmly in place, Nokia has successfully integrated social across the organization since MWC17, including all business groups, innovation teams, and human resources.Just as importantly, Nokia’s social media efforts are now more highly valued internally after executives saw the results firsthand at MWC17.

Instead of having to push for inclusion in high-level meetings with other departments, the social team is now being invited to participate. This helps them to engage internally with important audiences who see that social can have a business impact. All of which should help Nokia take advantage of other social opportunities in future—from digital marketing transformation to employee advocacy—and enable the team to make an even bigger splash at Mobile World Congress 2018.