Once the event is over and the hall is cleaned up, the marketing and PR value of that event doesn’t have to fade. Chris Brogan wrote about how social media and internet marketing can act as hamburger helper for the event. It’s an apt metaphor for these two reasons:

1. It’s inexpensive to use online marketing
2. It stretches everything!

Chris’s post describes how online social network tools can improve event outcomes by helping with all five of its phases:

• Awareness
• Attention
• Engagement
• Execution
• Extension

Are social media efforts the meat? No way. But they can be used throughout to maximize effectiveness.

This morning I contributed to TweetsGiving, and I urge you to as well. It’s an excellent cause, and it can give you a first-hand experience in the power of social media. As the name implies, what is propeling this two-day fundraising effort is the micro-blogging platform Twitter.

As of this post, the total raised is $5,182. Here is what the TweetsGiving web site has to say about the effort:

Giving Thanks

Follow @TweetsGiving on Twitter. Then, as the site suggests, you can “Tweet thanks. Share something you’re thankful for with all your twitter followers. Your tweets can be touching or silly, poignant or fun. Just tweet from the heart and be sure to include the #TweetsGiving tag and a link to http://tinyurl.com/4thanks.”

And of course, be sure to give!