Benefits of Going to Conferences
I really enjoy having the opportunity to assist marketing or technology conferences. I have created very solid relationships when I have visited conferences in the last two years. I have been able to assist the following conferences:
- Chirp (Twitter Developer Conference)
- CM Summit (Conversational Marketing Summit)
- Inbound Marketing Summit
- South by SouthWest Interactive (SXSW)
At Chirp I was able to establish a relationship with my friends at Followfriday.com. I met individuals from all over the world and I have stayed in touch with many. I also had the opportunity to talk with twitter’s management at the time and current twitter CEO Dick Costolo. This also opened the door for me to collaborate on the Followfriday.com as a moderator for Puerto Rico, which has put me in touch with meeting some awesome people online.
My experience at the CM Summit was a different one since it was more for learning about the experiences of individuals like Arianna Huffington, Tony Hsieh, Dennis Crowley and a few other individuals which are at the top of their game in their industries. It did help me understand how some of these large companies see online interactions and communications at a very high level.
My trip to the Inbound Marketing Summit was one that had the most impact last year. Not only did I get to talk with Chris Brogan in person, I also had the opportunity to see and listen to a few people I admire. I was able to relate to Scott Stratten, John Janstch, C.C. Chapman, Tim Washer, and Robbie Vorhaus. Out of all the conferences I have attended, I have to say this one turned many of the speakers into people that have influenced the way I do business for the past year. I have had the opportunity to continue the conversation with most of them. I really enjoyed the Inbound Marketing Summit because it spoke to the small businessperson and to the larger companies, which I found very useful.
Today I am in route to the Inbound Marketing summit. I am sure that along with @robhatch COO of Human Business Works we can identify new opportunities as I am a strategic partner of Human Business Works.
As for SXSW I really don’t need to give an explanation of my experience there since it is so different for the over 20,000 people that went this March 2011. I really got value out of meeting so many people that were doing new and impressive things.
I get a lot of information when I go to conferences, meet many great individuals, and learn new things. For me a conference has been mainly a place for me to create relationships and change perspective.
So many people go to conferences and their main focus is selling. I go to conferences to create relationships that will open the door to continue the conversation going with individuals who in the future might have a need.
What benefits do you get out a conference?
I will be posting update on the conference as I get a chance.