The Art of Connection: Building Micro Experiences at Macro Events
Finally- you are on the flight home from a week-long conference. Exhausted from being “on” all day and evening, but exhilarated by the content and people you met over the week. Your excitement goes above just collecting contacts. You connected with people beyond their job title, and you genuinely want to speak with them again. Imagine feeling like this after every conference. Wow!
Give yourself credit for maximizing your time during the trip by planning impactful meetings. Chances are, a dedicated team of event organizers invested significant effort to curate experiences that foster genuine connections among participants at large events. As an attendee, your focus is on learning from the speakers, expanding your knowledge, and making new connections. As an organizer, you have the power to shape the event’s content, atmosphere, and programming. But how can you create that magical space for attendees to engage meaningfully among hundreds, or even thousands, of strangers?
1. Collect Singles
Companies often send multiple representatives to a conference, and they become their own cliques during meals and free time. To counter this, reach out to attendees from organizations sending only one or two people. Consider hosting an opening night dinner with tables of eight, allowing attendees to mingle and get to know one another. Assign a host to facilitate discussion when the group gets quiet. Complement this with a special access group chat that offers a neutral space for attendees to connect during the event.
2. Embrace Special Interests
Identify special interests that subsets of attendees may share, particularly those that align with your company’s mission. Flexible workshops that support charitable organizations can provide opportunities for attendees to connect while contributing to a meaningful cause. Fitness and wellness activities before and after event hours offer additional opportunities to connect in a relaxed environment.
3. Focus on Skill Building
While tech conferences are known for certification testing and hackathons, you can also analyze your audience and provide breakouts to job functions. For example, you may have a concentration of sales or marketing attendees. Consider offering sessions that enhance skills like public speaking, optimizing LinkedIn profiles, outbound sales prospecting, or preparing to become a speaker at next year’s conference.
4. Cater to Human Interests
Happy hours are popular, but what about attendees who don’t drink? This realization struck me during a Partner Summit I attended while pregnant. Many activities revolved around alcohol. I realized we were not serving an entire segment of our audience who may abstain from alcohol for health, religious, or personal reasons. Provide alternative activities that bring groups together where alcohol is not the focus. Everyone needs to eat, so consider interactive cooking classes that encourage collaboration. You can even incorporate your organization’s mission with a themed “recipe for success” to drive your message home.
5. Develop a Call to Action
At the end of the conference, this is where your follow-ups begin. What do you want attendees to do when they return to their offices? Go beyond the standard “thank you for attending” emails. Offer actionable engagement, such as free appointments with featured speakers or promotional consultations. Keep the conversation alive with group chats on LinkedIn or other social platforms.
Maintain the momentum with a comprehensive engagement plan to keep interactions flowing. Don’t just reach out to your attendees; also connect with your audience who may not have attended in person but caught the keynote via livestream. Your livestream audience this year could very well become in-person attendees next year.
Looking for customized solutions for an engaging conference or off-site? Let’s talk! Take advantage of 20+ years of experience with Grow Strategic Consulting, LLC and book a free consultation here. We are so excited to speak with you!