Upon attending my first post-COVID conference, I noticed a significant shift from pre-2020 conferences. The venue and scale were enormous, bringing 200 corporations and 4000+ attendees into one place. Women ditched stilettos for comfort and people were hardly exchanging business cards.
Instead, they were happier making convenient digital connections on LinkedIn or using a QR code. Once you scan the code it opens a vCard (virtual contact card) that you can instantly store in your contacts. Gone are the worries about losing business cards or having to scan them after a conference!
If you are planning to attend a conference soon, being digitally prepared is a must. Having business cards and capability statements ready to go, along with an updated website and social media page will put you ahead of the game.
Here’s a checklist of things you can prepare in advance for smooth sailing at your events:
- Create your own vCard using Gmail or Outlook. You can embed the file as part of a QR code or save it on your phone.
- Update your LinkedIn profile – your picture, headline, and introduction.
- Know how to connect with others instantly – use your LinkedIn mobile app < tap into the search bar < locate an icon for QR code (right corner). Share your QR code or scan a code to send a connection request.
- Build a landing page on your website. Use this to upload your Capability Statement, your key services, and a Calendly or appointment scheduler.
- Add the landing page link to your vCard or QR code to share easily.
- Post an engaging LinkedIn announcement in advance with details of how people can easily connect with you at the live event.
- Embrace the “social” in “social media” to engage and keep up with event updates – post, share, and comment.
- Download the Event App – most conferences will have an app to help you with planning, booking, and enjoying the event.
- Download a card scanner on your phone. I use Zoho CardScanner, which is connected to my Zoho CRM. I scan the cards and save the data into my CRM right away.
Conference experiences can be exhilarating! There is so much opportunity to make connections with other business owners and get inspired by their work. It’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and grow together.
The power of live events can never be replaced, but taking connections you find live into the digital world enhances the impact of those connections for long-term business relationships.
Please connect with me whenever you want help with this or have questions about anything in digital marketing.
