Creating Networking Opportunities In Virtual Conferences

27 cold emails... That is how many I have received in the past 2 weeks from vendors after attending Inbound. Pretty ironic to receive awful outbound from a conference literally named Inbound. All sound the same: "Hope you enjoyed Inbound. Have you explored our amazing AI widget? Here is a free coffee mug. Since you have a pulse, I thought you would benefit from helping me reach my meeting set quota. Here is my calendar link." NOTHING valuable to me at all. Here is the main problem: attendees go to events to learn and network not to buy things. When you try to sell things, it is incongruent with the mindset they are in while there. So your outreach misses. Answer: Align with WHY THEY WENT THERE. Education, networking, content etc. ================================================= Here are some ideas on what you could do differently. 1) Recap the best sessions. Have someone attend the relevant sessions in your industry. Come up with summary of the best ideas/tactics highlights from those sessions and put into some kind of resource. Then reach out to your prospects offering it with NO ASK. "Hey Kim, Inbound - what a whirlwind! Looked like your RevOps team attended but if you were like most of us, there were too many great session and not enough time. We put together a summary and cheat sheet from every RevOps session including clips and highlights. Happy to pass along if you team would like" 2) Connect them and facilitate networking Figure out who the top thought leaders were in your space and reach out to co-create with them. Setup a virtual meetup or offer to make introductions. "Erin, Did you get a chance to catch Kelly Smith's session on [ICP topic] at Inbound? Holy s*$%... we thought it was so valuable that we asked her to do another virtual workshop with us to recap and dive deeper. Happy to invite you in if interested" -OR something like this on LinkedIn message: "Michelle - did you get a chance to meet Amy Johnston @ ABC. She's doing some pretty amazing things in [ICP topic]. Saw you and your GTM team were at Inbound - would be happy to connect you guys if interested." ============================================= See the difference? A conference ending is not a trigger for a prospect to be in a buying cycle. You need to engage with additional value off the back of the momentum of the event and why they attended in the first place. Add value with connections and content. We all have plenty of coffee mugs. PS: Has anyone actually received quality outbound after attending an event? Would love to hear examples....

Designing a conference? Please rethink the traditional format where attendees passively sit through hours of expert panels and fireside chats. There is a better way and it doesn't take much effort or thought. A few things you might consider: + Every 30-60 minutes, pause to encourage attendees to introduce themselves to someone new and discuss a key takeaway from the latest session. + Place Q&A cards on tables for participants to submit questions throughout the session. Invite those who submit questions to share their context, creating a richer dialogue. + Don't just celebrate the sponsors — celebrate the people in the room. Study the list of attendees and find interesting facts about who's joining. Highlight the range of backgrounds, demographics, etc. + During breaks, set up zones for different affinity groups, helping people connect with others who share their interests and expertise. You'll probably think of even better things. But you get the picture. It's nice to hear how a few experts are thinking about current issues — but it's transformative if you can foster connections that go far beyond your event. #learning #development #workplace #growth

Networking at B2B events FAILS constantly. Let’s fix it, learn from TikTok The #1 goal of B2B event attendees is networking, but most people are disappointed with the outcome. Attending B2B Events is super expensive- the event registration, booth fees, airfare, the hotels, time away from work etc etc. Spray and Pray Networking: Most attendees go with a “spray and pray” strategy, hoping to meet some relevant people among the thousands of attendees. But of the 50-100 business cards / LinkedIn connections you make, how many actually lead to a actual business relationship, post event? Solution: Pre-event networking The “Pre-Event” phase is where all this can be fixed. It’s the event owner's job to provide a robust virtual networking and matchmaking experience for the attendees. Tik-Tokify Networking: Short introductory / Hello World videos that can be sorted with hashtags and areas of interest. Identify and Connect with relevant people, do a few introductory video calls, maybe even a demo or two. Shortlist and schedule 15-20 actual meetings for the IRL event. Leave the event with a deal not just a business card(s). #eventmarketing #b2bmarketing #eventprofs