Three Conference Tips you can take to the Bank
So Blogworld is over and I saw many of you there. Of course many of you I didn’t see, but thats fine because the conference season is just picking up steam and have a pretty mean travel schedule coming up. This year before BlogWorld I received a lot of emails, tweets, and questions about how to approach a conference where there is a ton of information being shared. I have attended a lot of these events and would like to share three tips you can take to the bank.
1. Create a Human Agenda ~ Panels, Keynotes and sessions are great, but the hallway conversations are often times where the real learning and connections happen. Don’t get blinded by the schedule and walk away feeling like you’ve just been to a day of school and haven’t connected with anyone. Have a human agenda.
2. Define what you want ~ If your a web developer and you want to learn the cutting edge improvements taking place in your industry be sure to meet the trend setters and attend the sessions that are relevant to that subject. If no one is speaking on the subject you are looking for send out a tweet inviting others too meet you in the hall and hold your own hallway summit. If it’s on your mind there is a pretty good chance it’s on the mind of others and you have just connected a like-minded group.
3. Don’t Chase the Tweets ~ The first year I went to SXSW I chased the tweets of my friends. When someone would tweet an after party location or diner at a restaurant I would try to get there to meet them. This rarely works. If your grabbing dinner or heading to a conference after party set these things up with others ahead of time. The amount you save in cab fares will be worth the preplanning.
What are your favorite conference tips?
Picture: Aaron Strout of Powered
Keith Burtis is a social media and digital marketing professional. If you or your company are looking to REV THE ENGINE on your digital efforts contact Keith today! Specialties include: Blog design/Integration, Custom Facebook Pages, Social, Digital and Interactive Content strategies.
Comments
Great tips – just would add don’t be afraid to talk to people. If you see someone you JUST have to talk to – go up to them, wait for a silent moment and say hi, join the conversation. Also – follow up with the people you met. A short tweet, email or even a card (if appropriate) is great.
@debworks (who just got back from a tourism conference, where I introduced myself to the speakers, got biz cards and took pics too)
Appreciate the tips, I would also add, keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to trust your instincts. While I always go with an objective, when I am at conferences, sometimes new things present themselves and some of my best experiences occur when I start to explore a new idea that occurs in the moment. Also, trust your gut, if a session isn’t doing it for you, it maybe time to make an adjustment. Don’t be rude, but politely look for alternate ways to get the best value for your time spent.
thanks for the tips, I was at bwe and got caught up in the information overload, towards the end I started networking, but should’ve done so in the beginning, the sessions were cool and informative, but like you said the hallway is the place to be to meet people in person.