When it comes to brand name recognition, it’s tough to compete with the “verbs.” Like Google, the search engine that became so synonymous with surfing the web that the Oxford English Dictionary made the company’s name a bonafide verb in 2006.

Whether you’re activating a consumer event, a trade show or a conference, Twitter can be a highly effective way to generate excitement, increase awareness and keep in touch. But that’s hardly all the social media tool is capable of. Today, event marketers are pioneering ever more innovative ways to use the power of Twitter to broaden reach, boost consumer engagement, leverage strategic partnerships and drive trial.

Read on for seven fresh ways to transform Tweets into tactics.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all quickly becoming vital contributors to b-to-b event programs. As attendee communication tools, channels for fast and cost-effective content propagation and forums for feedback and real-time troubleshooting, mainstream social media is changing the way conferences and user events get planned and managed. But for many event marketers, the strategic value of LinkedIn still remains a mystery. Is it a pure networking tool for industry job seekers?

 Finnish tech brand Nokia brought its state-of-the-art research and development laboratory to the South by Southwest Interactive, Film and Music Festival (SXSW) last week in the form of the Nokia Lab. From the outside, the three-domed, otherworldly space evoked the brand’s Scandinavian roots, partly thanks to the very aggressive exterior bubble cannons that created a downpour of bubbles resembling snow over the long lines of eager SXSW attendees trying to get inside. Once through the doors, guests got hit with some hot music and two drink tickets for the in-house bar.

At this year’s Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona (Feb. 21-March 1), Intel executed a new engagement strategy in its booth that transformed its former b-to-b program into an immersive, high-tech b-to-c experience. The 40-foot by 100-foot booth featured three key experience zones created to connect with original equipment manufacturers like Motorola, Nokia and LG, service providers like AT&T and Verizon, as well as developers and press analysts.