7 Tips for Finding High-Quality Conferences to Attend in 2016

Like with anything else, you have to do your research to find conferences worth traveling for/spending money on.

If you are looking to increase your business next year, chances are you will be looking into attending a few conferences. However, with new conferences popping up each year (and each one claiming to be the “industry’s best”), how do you know which one is right for you?

I attend a lot of conferences each year (at least one major conference every other week, not including local meetups and networking events). That’s why it’s essential I prioritize my time and only going to the conferences where I’ll get the biggest bang for my buck.

To help make your decision a little easier, here are seven methods I use to help filter out promotional noise and find a conference worthy of attention.

Use third-party verification. Choosing a conference to attend based on conference websites, recommendations from colleagues or from various marketing collateral that hits your inbox is one route. However, as with any big purchase, listening to an independent voice is also a good idea because it will help you get unbiased feedback. Before you plan your attendance, do a quick search for some of the many lists of must-attend conferences in 2016 by independent third parties. Usually unbiased (though some may be conference sponsors), sources like “The top 35 Must Attend B2B Sales Conferences of 2016” from Docurated.com are a great starting point to begin your research. They usually provide a quick snapshot of a conference.
Set goals. Unless you work in an extremely niche field, there are probably more conferences to attend than you can fit into your schedule and/or budget. Therefore, before you dive deep into conference research, take a few minutes to plan out exactly what you are looking for in a conference. Conferences range from one-on-one educational events to gigantic festivals. Need training? Looking to connect with higher levels execs? Want to work with clients directly? Knowing what you want to get out of attending a conference will allow you to zero in on key elements when evaluating them.
Look at how many people are going. Once you know your goals for attending your next conference, you will probably notice that the large, most well-known conference in your industry may not always be your best choice. Large conferences may not be a fit if you are looking for an intensive day of individual skills training. From intimate meetups to large expo halls with A-list speakers, every conference serves a difference purpose. Make sure not to overlook smaller conferences if they align with your needs. I personally go for conferences that have 500-700 people attending. I find that I can interact with a lot of good people, but don’t feel like I have to network with thousands of attendees.
Call conference organizers. It seems crazy, but you can actually use your phone to talk to people. Having a quick chat with a conference organizer allows you to get a better sense of what a conference is about, as phone calls allow for more open and honest communication than email. A call will also save you time. This helps you network with the one person who knows almost everyone else going, can make introductions to whomever you need to meet, and can help get you speaking engagements in the coming years.
Get data. When evaluating conference websites, skip the rhetoric on the first few pages and look for sponsorship information and media kits. These items will most often have valuable insights into a conference, including attendee profile data (reasons for attending, position level and industry type), historical attendance numbers and conference history. Make sure they match your goals.
Avoid inaugural conferences. Like television show pilots and soft openings at restaurants, most new events don’t turn out too well. You probably want to avoid spending money to attend a show that may end up with logistical issues such as long registration lines, sessions running over time and extremely under- or over-attended networking events. It takes time for a conference to find its “voice” and for the attendee profile to develop. Avoiding inaugural conferences increases the chances that you are attending a show that will meet your needs (and probably won’t run out of coffee during the first day of the expo).
Dig through old hashtags. Most conferences use slightly different hashtag variations for each conference edition, only changing the year and location. Therefore, it’s easy to take the current hashtag that is listed on most conference websites and alter it to see exactly what conference participants thought of previous conference editions. Doing a quick scan of past hashtags can help you spot key indicators of conference value, including session takeaways, attendees profiles, as well as size and nature of networking events.

As you can see from the list above, it will only take a little bit of research and preparation to find a quality conference to attend in 2016. Pick a conference that can truly help your business grow in 2016 and beyond.

Murray Newlands

Founder
ChattyPeople

@murraynewlands

Murray Newlands is an entrepreneur, investor, business advisor and a contributor at Forbes.com and Entrepreneur.com. Founder of ChattyPeople.

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7 Tips for Finding High-Quality Conferences to Attend in 2016

Like with anything else, you have to do your research to find conferences worth traveling for/spending money on.

To help make your decision a little easier, here are seven methods I use to help filter out promotional noise and find a conference worthy of attention.

Use third-party verification. Choosing a conference to attend based on conference websites, recommendations from colleagues or from various marketing collateral that hits your inbox is one route. However, as with any big purchase, listening to an independent voice is also a good idea because it will help you get unbiased feedback. Before you plan your attendance, do a quick search for some of the many lists of must-attend conferences in 2016 by independent third parties. Usually unbiased (though some may be conference sponsors), sources like “The top 35 Must Attend B2B Sales Conferences of 2016” from Docurated.com are a great starting point to begin your research. They usually provide a quick snapshot of a conference.
Set goals. Unless you work in an extremely niche field, there are probably more conferences to attend than you can fit into your schedule and/or budget. Therefore, before you dive deep into conference research, take a few minutes to plan out exactly what you are looking for in a conference. Conferences range from one-on-one educational events to gigantic festivals. Need training? Looking to connect with higher levels execs? Want to work with clients directly? Knowing what you want to get out of attending a conference will allow you to zero in on key elements when evaluating them.
Look at how many people are going. Once you know your goals for attending your next conference, you will probably notice that the large, most well-known conference in your industry may not always be your best choice. Large conferences may not be a fit if you are looking for an intensive day of individual skills training. From intimate meetups to large expo halls with A-list speakers, every conference serves a difference purpose. Make sure not to overlook smaller conferences if they align with your needs. I personally go for conferences that have 500-700 people attending. I find that I can interact with a lot of good people, but don’t feel like I have to network with thousands of attendees.
Call conference organizers. It seems crazy, but you can actually use your phone to talk to people. Having a quick chat with a conference organizer allows you to get a better sense of what a conference is about, as phone calls allow for more open and honest communication than email. A call will also save you time. This helps you network with the one person who knows almost everyone else going, can make introductions to whomever you need to meet, and can help get you speaking engagements in the coming years.
Get data. When evaluating conference websites, skip the rhetoric on the first few pages and look for sponsorship information and media kits. These items will most often have valuable insights into a conference, including attendee profile data (reasons for attending, position level and industry type), historical attendance numbers and conference history. Make sure they match your goals.
Avoid inaugural conferences. Like television show pilots and soft openings at restaurants, most new events don’t turn out too well. You probably want to avoid spending money to attend a show that may end up with logistical issues such as long registration lines, sessions running over time and extremely under- or over-attended networking events. It takes time for a conference to find its “voice” and for the attendee profile to develop. Avoiding inaugural conferences increases the chances that you are attending a show that will meet your needs (and probably won’t run out of coffee during the first day of the expo).
Dig through old hashtags. Most conferences use slightly different hashtag variations for each conference edition, only changing the year and location. Therefore, it’s easy to take the current hashtag that is listed on most conference websites and alter it to see exactly what conference participants thought of previous conference editions. Doing a quick scan of past hashtags can help you spot key indicators of conference value, including session takeaways, attendees profiles, as well as size and nature of networking events.