By: Monica Peña (@MUNDUmedia)
With South by Southwest (SXSW), a set of film, interactive, and music festivals and conferences that take place in the spring in Austin, TX and other conferences that are on my list to attend this year, I thought I’d share my top six ways to make sure to benefit from attending such events:
- Strategize to create the best experience. Take time to research the event prior to attending. Have clear goals on why you are there and what you are going to accomplish.
- Be prepared with appropriate clothing and comfortable shoes if applicable.
- Think networking karma. Be supportive. Collaborate. Align yourself with industry leaders. Seek decision makers if required to accomplish goals.
- Be open minded. It is always helpful to get others perspective on information you may already know. Leave with a few action items from what was learned from the conference. Remember that opportunities come in various forms.
- Be visible online during the event. Use event hashtags and connect with persons of interest. Comment on event invitations.
- The key is in the follow up. Connect with offline connections online. Have a short conversation on how to proceed after the initial conversation, and do it.
