The major conferences are over for the year. Hopefully, you made many connections and gained some knowledge from the ones you attended, but now what? There is more to a content marketing conference than free stuff and food. Leveraging the takeaways is how you make the most of the experience. The lights have dimmed and everyone’s gone home until next year, now it is time for you to put those conference tidbits to work.
Get Organized
No doubt you came home with a pile of stuff. Don’t let it sit in a corner gathering dusk. You probably picked up something from every booth you saw. Sort through and review each piece. Make summary notes of the items that you can use later or share with others. Discard the rest.
Go through the notes you made during panels and classes, too, and rewrite them in outline form, so they make sense. Make sure to jot down or highlight the contact information of the presenter for quick reference in case you have a comment or question.
Review the Program
Look at the sessions you wanted to attend and missed. Find the websites and blogs for the presenters to see if they posted videos or put up virtual copies of the handouts that you can read. If not, contact them and ask for copies. This gives you an opportunity to make that missed connection and learn even more.
Go Through the Business Cards
Chances are you brought home a bunch of them, too. Turn them over and make notes while the people are still fresh in your mind. Consider how networking with this person might benefit you and if expanding the relationship has any value. For example, maybe you met a freelance product description writer that would be an asset for a campaign you are planning next month.
Make It Actionable
Now that you are organized, figure out how you can make what you learned at the conference work for your business.
- Write a summary of the conference and hand it out to coworkers and employees
- Create a blog post about the event
- Develop ideas based on your experience
- Reconnect with the people you met at the conference to expand your network
- Put together a collage of photos to post on social media
- Consider giving classes or having a webinar to share what you learned with other people at the agency, customers and business partners
Look to the Future
It is never too early to develop your conference schedule for next year. Make a list of the ones you would like to attend and bookmark the websites. This way you can keep track of the presenters and create a budget for the trip. If you enjoyed your experience, maybe consider becoming a speaker yourself.
While you are at it, be sure to pencil in the Content marketing Conference hosted by WriterAccess. Next year, it will be in Las Vegas again and run from May 17th to the 19th. Hope to see you there.
Darla F is a full time freelance writer published internationally and an award-winning author.
