How to Shine as a Thought Leader as a Virtual Conference Attendee
There’s no doubt the pandemic shifted how we work, including how we participate in professional events and conferences. In-person events either got cancelled or organizers did their best to be offered virtually, with a big cheer from those of us who are more comfortable networking behind a screen.
We attend conferences to learn, promote ourselves (and our causes), and grow our networks.
The opportunities to make all three career-building moves spans before, during, and after the event. Not just at the event.
Below I’m giving you some tips on how to stand out, get people to know, like, and trust you and how to get the max promotion out of any conference experience - as an attendee.
First, you need to find a professional event to attend.
If you don’t already have a few events identified, then it’s time to do some research on what events are going to help build your professional skills and network.
Ask your network about their favorite events they’ve attended.
Who are the people you respect, inside and outside of your organization? Make a list and send them an email to inquire about their favorite events and why.
You can also post on social media to ask the same question. You’ll start getting ideas immediately!
Research your favorite speakers/presenters/teachers to see what events they’re speaking next.
That person you’ve been following for a while, the one that always has the best ideas and advice - check out where they’re speaking next.
Google your topic + “conference.”
This one is pretty straightforward. Google your interest and the word “conference” to see what opportunities pop up.
Listen to relevant career and industry podcasts.
Podcasts are a valuable resource for meeting new thought leaders in your industry. They may mention they run their own events or ones they have attended.
Head to Meet.com and Eventbrite.com to find career building events.
More and more both Meet.com and Eventbrite.com have in-person and virtual events for personal and professional development. I advertise my #IamRemarkable trainings and other workshops I host on Eventbrite and I’ve met interesting people from all around the world this way.
How to stand out as an event attendee before the event.
An event gives you the opportunity to build your professional credibility. You gain credibility when you click that “register” button by associating yourself with the event’s topic/mission, the other professionals who attend, and its organizers.
This is especially beneficial for people who are transitioning into a new career/industry where they have little experience.
To get credit for your registration, you need to let people know you’ll be attending. Don’t keep it a secret.
Post on social media that you’re attending the conference.
Most conferences have an online presence - on social media and an event website. In fact, some registration confirmations will prompt you to share the event with your network, so in one click, you can post to LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. that you’ll be attending.
If you’re not prompted, you’ll need to share it on your social media. Caption ideas:
What is it about this particular conference/topic that interests you? Share why you’re looking forward to the event.
Is there a speaker and workshop you’re excited to learn from? Include this information in your post and tag the person. If you’re complimentary, they may even share their post to build their credibility.
Invite others to the event and tag them. If you’re able to, tag the event organizers to make sure they see you promoting their event. Win win!
Let your boss know you’re attending the conference.
Your boss may already know you’re attending the event if you asked to have the conference fee covered. If they approved it, it’s clear they support your growth. Go you! Here’s how to convince your boss to pay for the conference.
If that’s not the case, you paid for the conference, and it relates to your career growth, let them know about it. Tell them how excited you are to be attending, what you hope to learn, who you’ll meet, and the value this experience will bring to your role. Not only will you get bonus points for prioritizing your professional growth, this conversation gives you the opportunity to talk about your career goals with your boss. Remember, they are not a mind reader. If you want to advance or have a new challenge, you need to let them know.
Connect with other attendees before the conference.
Virtual conferences often use an app like Hopin, Whova, Cvent, etc. to create community before, during, and after the event. Take the opportunity to create a profile in the app. These profiles give you and other attendees the ability to know who else is attending and to send invites for virtual coffee and lunch networking chats. Some event platforms have a function where you can schedule calls with people right through the app. If that’s not the case, don’t be afraid to reach out with a message like:
“Hey! We’re both attending X event and I see you work in… I’m so curious to learn more! Let me know if you have 20 mins. to meet up virtually. I’m available X, Y, and Z times.”
How to stand out as an event attendee during the event.
All the work you do ahead of time to make connections with other event attendees and speakers will pay off during the event. Since you’ve already made acquaintances, be sure to say “hello” in the chat!
As someone who does a lot of speaking, believe me when I say it makes a difference when people make an effort to connect with me before, during, and after the event. It is very rare for people to do this, so you will stand out if you do!
Rename yourself.
If you’re able to rename yourself, add your organization/business and/or your geographic region/city for easy connections.
Introduce yourself in the chat and ask questions during the event.
During the actual event, introduce yourself in the chat by saying how excited you are to be there. Share your LinkedIn URL (or wherever you are on the web) with an invite to connect. Don’t wait for the host or facilitator to invite you to do so. They may forget. Take the lead by being active in the chat.
You will also see the Q&A box. Challenge yourself to ask at least one question. Not only will you feel more engaged during the session, it gves your name stage time. It will leave people thinking “Wow, Lindsey is really into this! I’d like to get to know her!” (And if they don’t, they’re missing out). It may even leave the conference organizers saying “Let’s invite Lindsey to be a speaker the next time! She clearly has an interesting perspective to share!”
Want to speak at the event next year?
If you are looking for an opportunity to speak at the event, message the organizers and tell them how much you’re enjoying the event, with specifics. Don’t be vague. Ask them when they will be accepting workshop proposals for the next conference!
How to stand out as a thought leader after you attend the event.
After you attend an event, it’s easy to forget all of the information and the new connections you just built. Busy work schedules lure us back into our everyday. To ensure you have time to reflect on the event and everything you’ve learned, a good practice is to immediately block 1-3 hours when you register for the event.
Here are a few prompts to get you reflecting on your experience at the event:
What session/topic discussion stands out the most to you and why?
What is a new tool you learned about and why are you excited to use it?
What is a conversation you’re still thinking about? What impact did it make to you?
What’s a perspective you have that was challenged? How did that feel to you?
Who is someone you made a connection with and why?
If you could propose a session at the next event, what would it be about? Why is that important to you?
Write about what you learned at the event - and publish it.
One of the most credibility building actions you can take after an event is to write about your experience. You have a perspective and by sharing it, you can begin establishing yourself as a thought leader. Since I’ve already given you prompts above, you already have everything you need to get started.
Where will you be sharing this piece of writing? Wherever your “career influencers” are. These are the people who are important to you achieving your career goals. For many of us, LinkedIn is a good choice since our professional network tends to be there. They have an option to write a short post or a longer-form article that you can then post.
Write and publish a LinkedIn article about your event experience.
You’ll need a headline for your LinkedIn article. Avoid using “What I learned at [event name].” Instead, make it engaging by starting it with something like: “How to…” or “What to do when…” or “What will make you…” or “The app that will…”
Weave in a personal story and how it connects you to the mission of your work / organization. Talk about the impact you’re making on the lives you serve.
When it comes to content creation, I have one rule: Don’t overthink it. Overthinking it is a guaranteed way to shut yourself down. It feels vulnerable to put ourselves out there – I get that – and so we try to find the perfect words. That’s a perfectionistic trap. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in it because there is someone out there that will benefit from what you’re saying. (Side note: If you know when conference registration happens again – include that in your article).
From there, I want you to open LinkedIn, take what you’ve written and publish it as a LinkedIn article. If you’ve never done this, here is how to publish a LinkedIn article.
Beyond a headline, you’ll also need a photo. I personally use Unsplash for royalty-free photos. Make sure to credit the photographer in your post.
When you publish the post, a LinkedIn post will pop up asking you if you want to share to your feed. YOU DO. Make sure to tag the event, your organization, anyone you referenced in the post, and anyone you want to read the post. Use relevant hashtags. If you need ideas, look at the posts by the people you follow and see what they’re using (just make sure it’s relevant to your content).
You can also use this same strategy on Medium. Anyone can publish articles there. Just make sure to also post them on LinkedIn to help build your professional network, too
Now you can go back to your other social media channels and post your content again and tag all the people and organizations you’re looking to engage with. Make sure to use the event’s hashtag.
You can also DM specific contacts a link to your post and ask to have a conversation and/or thank them for the inspiration from their session.
Keep in touch with speakers and attendees after the event.
If the event uses an app like WHOVA, you can message speakers and attendees there to keep conversations alive after the conference. I can’t tell you how many new connections I’ve made this way after an event is over. In fact, doing this a few weeks out is a great strategy because it gives folks time to catch up on work they’ve missed post event.
Continue to build your professional credibility by attending virtual events.
I hope I’ve left you feeling inspired to share your perspective and grow your network through the professional events you’re attending. And if you’re not regularly attending events, I hope you consider this a valuable way to gain confidence and position yourself as a thought leader.
If you enjoyed this guide, consider reading my post on Borrowed Credibility.
You can also join my 7 Day Self-Promotion Challenge to get baby-step training and nudges to build your confidence of tooting your own horn.
