Given the investment required to attend industry conferences, it can be easy to feel dissuaded from partaking in these rewarding experiences, simply because you can’t clearly define the value of attending – but don’t let this be your story.
Whether you’re a marketer, filmmaker, accountant or actor – attending events can be invaluable to your professional and personal development, offering an incredible depth of knowledge and rewarding connections to be made.
Here are 3 Indicators that a Conference is Valuable
With these in place, defining what your return on investment is will be a snap.
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Attending Supports Your Professional Position as a Knowledge Expert
To modest professionals, it may seem boastful, but there’s no shame in recognizing that when you attend certain events, it can raise your professional profile. The good news is that you can leverage this clout in a modest way – by turning the experience into valuable content that you can share with your target audience.
The opportunities to generate great content from attendance are vast:
- Live tweet quotes from high-level industry speakers and cite them with an @ mention.
- Capture and share the experience via Instagram or Snapchat Stories.
- Recap the highlights or explore industry topics in greater depth through blog or Linkedin posts.
- Generate presentations containing key learnings and best practices gathered at the conference, for those who could not attend.
Not only will this content resonate with your audience, it will help build your authority as it subtly communicates that you and your company are not only invested in your industry, but also on the cutting edge of it.
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You Can Learn from or Speak to Thought Leaders Who Are Otherwise Inaccessible
Industry conferences provide incredible platforms to get close to thought leaders who are otherwise inaccessible or hard to reach.
If the list of speakers, sponsors or attendees sends a thrill through your heart, then you know you’ve found an event worth its weight in gold.
While having proximity or access to industry influencers can create a ‘wow’ effect, the content that you absorb can also help spark your own creativity, challenge your perceptions and entice you to think in ways that you wouldn’t otherwise.
Educational sessions, networking seminars and Q&A forums are great opportunities to glean knowledge straight from the source, ask questions and/or take once-in-a-lifetime selfies that you can use to support the first point above.
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You Can Build Your Network in a Meaningful Way
For some of us, networking events can be painfully awkward, but the shared experience you have with other conference attendees can help ease the process of starting great conversations.
Not only will most of your fellow attendees have traveled to gather with you, many will have similar interests and be open to sharing the thoughts they’ve gathered after watching the same speakers, attending the same workshops, or having the same curiosities and interests as yourself.
This presents a fantastic chance to dive past the small talk and ‘swim in the deep end’ of conversation with others – spurring authentic and meaningful connections. And isn’t that what networking is all about?
Events for Creatives and Voice Actors
Are you interested in finding creative conferences and events for voice actors?
Visit the Events page to discover exciting conferences, networking and professional development opportunities in and around your area.
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