TIN #015 - How to network at conferences - part 1
Good Morning 👋 - Greg here.
Happy Saturday morning to everyone who changed their mindset about networking this week.
This morning’s issue is the first in a series I’m writing about networking at conferences. Today, I’ll focus on how to lay the foundation for a great networking experience at the next conference you attend!
This issue takes about 4 minutes to read.
Know Before You Go
I'm the guy who tells you to network without going to networking events.
But, there’s going to be times when you sign up for conferences and want to make the most of the networking opportunities at these events.
If you're like me and random conversations with strangers aren't your thing, there are strategies you can use to improve your networking experience at conferences.
The first strategy is to do most of the networking before the conference starts.
My Conference Networking Story
This past summer, I signed up for a conference in my industry. I don’t go to a lot of conferences due the time and energy it takes to attend, but this one was was local and was only one day.
When I signed up, I got access to the agenda which included the speakers. Sometimes you can see this info before you sign up which helps you decide if you want to go or not. Either way, once you sign up, the agenda is the key to your pre-conference networking.
The goal is to start having networking conversations before you go to the conference. Starting these conversations in advance will make it to continue them in-person at the conference.
Who Should You Connect With?
The first group of people to connect with is the conference organizers.
After you’ve registered, create a LinkedIn post saying you’re going. Sometimes the conference organizers will send you a post or link to share on your social media to let others know you’re attending. Use it! If there isn’t a link, simply create your own post and tag the industry group with a link to the conference website.
This promotes the conference for them and lets people in your network know you’re going. Who knows, someone in your network might be going as well.
Someone from the conference will likely respond to your post. If they do, work on connecting with them online or with the person/team of people who are organizing the conference.
Why?
Because when you get to the conference, you’ve already started a conversation with some of them.
By breaking the ice before the conference, you’re someone they know and someone who is already standing out from all the other attendees.
That way, you can ask them things like, “Who do you think I should talk to or who is interesting that you have met so far?”
These conversations in advance will help them connect you with other attendees.
At the conference I signed up for, they had a app with info about the conference which included a list of attendees, speakers, and events.
I downloaded it and connected with several of the people who looked like they were active on the app. There were ice breakers and message boards in the app. I used those as a measure of engagement for the other attendees. I commented on their responses and added my own answers to the icebreaker questions.
Before the start of the conference, I had connected with several people. We traded messages and had plans to meet in person at the conference.
This helped me feel comfortable walking into the room knowing that there were some people I could talk to since we had connected online.
Conference Speakers
The next group of people to connect with before the conference is the speakers. It’s easy to find out who these people are because they will be named in the agenda.
I'd start with the ones you are planning to hear speak.
Send them a LinkedIn connection request, if you aren't already connected.
In the Connection Request, tell them you signed up for the conference and are excited to hear their presentation.
That's it.
If they respond, great, if not, then leave them alone for now. They may be stressed out about their presentation.
When they respond, think of a good question.
What's a good question?
Something about their topic:
What's the first thing that came to mind when you saw their topic?
Will they be talking about X or Y?
How do they feel about a recent development related to their topic?
You are going to have to use your brain and think of a good question.
Bad questions are:
Are you nervous?
How is the presentation coming along?
How do you feel about speaking?
None of these are good questions. Be the person who stands out.
Another approach would be to give your perspective on the topic.
You're not trying to be controversial here. You're trying to advance the conversation.
You're trying to add value to this person's life.
If they don't respond, you can try again in a couple of weeks.
Do this each day.
Pick one speaker a day and repeat this until you get through the agenda.
Then start on the speakers you won't get to hear.
Tell them you’ll be at the conference and you'd love the opportunity to meet in person.
Another way to connect is the Commenting approach we talked about in TIN #010 - How To Network on LinkedIn - Part 2
Find the speakers’ posts on LinkedIn. See if they have posted anything recently. If they have, read it and comment on it.
A lot of times, speakers will post things like, "I'm excited to present at this conference."
If they do, comment on that post and tell them you're excited to hear them speak and you can't wait for the conference.
Your comments can lead to an online conversation with them. When you exchange messages with an organizer or speaker, suggest a certain time during the conference to meet.
Wrap Up
The goal for your pre-conference preparation is to make connections so you aren’t wandering around at the start of the conference looking for people to talk to.
Connecting with the speakers and organizers is a way to make sure you have someone to meet with as soon as you walk in the building.
Next week, I’ll share how to build on the foundation you’ve created with your pre-conference connecting and turn these online conversations into in-person networking connections.