Expert insights. Personalized for you.
When the pandemic started causing conferences to cancel at the last minute, those that quickly went virtual saw a high number of attendees. Some of us sit on video conference calls the better part of the day. MORE
Why would only a small fraction of registrants attend the live virtual conference? When attendees assume the conference is a compilation of passively viewed webinar-like sessions, there’s little reason to participate live. MORE
But when it gets to “go time,” does that culture manifest at your conferences and meetings? Her boss apparently thought she should spend all her time out “doing meeting planning” and not hanging out in a hotel conference room. Make colleagues and vendors feel welcome and involved in conference operations. Conference staff are not able to do everything! How can you make your conference culture more open and transparent? MORE
Following are the five books that most piqued his interest this conference season MORE
206 
Who says conferences or chapter meetings have to be in traditional meeting spaces? Conference rooms tend to be dark, and participants may find themselves fighting post-lunch naps. Recently, I got a conference promotion with the subject line, “Have you ever had a meeting in a kayak?” Sample your association’s conference for prospective participants. The post Conference Rooms Are Freezing! MORE
Not every effort was a rousing success but attempting to inject new conference elements made us more nimble, creative and smarter as a team. What should we expect for hybrid or virtual conference attendance? Navigating change during a crisis is not for the faint of heart. MORE
Whether a virtual conference is driven by the current virus COVID-19 virus, financial considerations, member outreach, or beneficial global dialogue, the fundamental process for planning and implementation remains the same. At the heart of a conference’s success is audience participation. MORE
Although I didn’t participate in today’s #assnchat about ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference , it still inspired a blog post. Perhaps playing with toys shifts our mindset from serious office mode to relaxed engaged conference mode. The association professionals in today’s Twitter chat had plenty of great ideas (heh heh) for conference creativity rooms and I even have a few of my own. F&B : The Canadians also served poutine at one point during the conference. MORE
To help you plan your next virtual conference, we’ve compiled a list of 11 expert tips to guide you from the planning stages to the event post-mortem While restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19 are beginning to wind down, the popularity of virtual events is only increasing. According to one recent report , more than half (55%) of organizers plan to invest even more in virtual events. Another survey shows that the virtual event market is expected to be worth $504.76 billion by 2028. MORE
However, a conference at rest, tends to die. The enemy of most conferences is the way it’s always been. When inertia influences your conference, it’s planned by the way you’ve always done it, programmed full of (past) best practices and destined to become average, slowly suffocating on its own status quo. Cognitive and organizational inertia keeps an association on its current conference course even when facing disruptive or rapid external changes. MORE
The program at a recent conference was nearly perfect. After a long conference day, one night, I fell in with a crowd walking to the reception, and I learned they were some of the conference staff. The conference was beautiful on the outside, but it seemed very broken inside. MORE
Kip and Jenn share how they approach to online events and operations to level up their virtual conference game and make logging on something you WANT to do. The post What We’ve Learned from a Year of Virtual Conferences appeared first on Association Adviser. MORE
80 
There’s never been a better time than right now to reimagine your education programming for your first in-person conference in some time, for many—in over two years. Conference education sessions have long been considered the main course of the event, yet typically they reek of status quo. MORE
A big part of planning the conferences is selecting tracks, speakers, topics, and presentations. The post A New Session Model for Conferences appeared first on Smooth The Path. Conference attendee engagement attendee experience conference solving members' problems virtual conference MORE
Where are young professionals during the breaks at your conference? Young professional pre-conference workshops – invite young professionals for learning opportunities before the conference starts. Are they enjoying quiet time back in their rooms? MORE
After a long time apart, CAI is excited to welcome more than 1,000 registered attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors to the 2021 Annual Conference and Exposition: Community NOW, Aug. During conference, we will present 16 thought-provoking education sessions. MORE
Associations, companies and other organizations have been using conference and video calling to meet and conduct business for many years. Check out these videos of what some of your calls may be like: A conference call in real life: [link]. Association Management Companies CM Services Conference Calls Leadership Meetings Video Calls Virtual Meetings Volunteerism meeting etiquette MORE
In 2020, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors were more forgiving of our virtual conferences than they will be in 2021. Use this opportunity to beta test changes that can be carried over to the next in-person conference. MORE
Over the past nine months, many industry experts have proclaimed that meetings and conferences are forever changed and hybrid is here to stay. Conference content product management requires a good deal of business acumen. MORE
Over the next year or so, conference organizers will need to define their responsibilities for duty of care, as well as what is expected of those who choose to attend your conference in person. How will they help ensure duty of care throughout the conference? MORE
In physics, the second law of thermodynamics says all things—bodies, businesses, conferences, energy, organizations, relationships—move toward chaos and disorder. As your conference matures, it experiences entropy. As a conference professional, you know this to be true. It is also the natural law of evolution for any conference. Working to create a great conference experience for your customers is no longer a good baseline for success to paraphrase Conrad. MORE
While things have changed, these tenets will hold true and the principles can be applied to other D&I conferences and events. The six attributes of women’s leadership conferences that have stood out for me: [1] Movement. Women’s conferences are often shorter one or two-day programs. MORE
In spite of all the bad, there is also much that is positive for the next phase of association conferences. The post Get Conference Inspiration from Trusted Peer Connections appeared first on Velvet Chainsaw. Conference Planning Hybrid & Virtual MORE
Engagement is the next big hurdle for virtual conferences. We are starting to see that all the conventions we learned while hosting our in-person conferences might not work online. The post In-Person Conference Conventions Don’t Work Online appeared first on Smooth The Path. MORE
As it becomes more apparent that face-to-face events will return in some form this year, conference organizers have an opportunity to make changes that would have been more difficult to sell up the ladder in the past. Long-term traditions can deter next-generation conference participants. MORE
The same thing happened with virtual conferences. The first virtual conferences looked like in-person conferences because the schedules, timing, duration, formats, and speakers were similar. The first conferences were great and met a need, and now it’s time for a change. MORE
Who wants to attend a common, ordinary, ho-hum, everyday , I’m-just-like-all-the-others traditional conference? Your conference growth and revenue depends upon repeat paying attendees year after year. And your customer loyalty is built upon making your common conference uncommon. Routine Been-There-Done-That Conferences. When your conference experience is no-frills run-of-the-mill…. And when your conference content can be found on the web for free…. MORE
The North Star is the perfect metaphor for your annual conference purpose. When your conference purpose serves as a North Star, it guides all decisions, tasks, behaviors and strategy. Uncovering Your North Star Conviction To Find Conference True Target Market. Before your conference can find its true target market, you as the conference organizer must find your conviction. What’s your conference conviction? What’s your conference North Star? MORE
At this point, you may have attended a virtual conference, and you’ve probably attended a webinar or two. When you’re at a conference in-person, you attend sessions at a dedicated location and dedicated room leaving (most) of the distractions behind. MORE
According to the Community Brands Member Engagement and Loyalty Study, meetings and conferences, which traditionally have emphasized training and continuing education, are one area where association professionals (Pros) are very focused. MORE
Related: In-person conference conventions don’t work online. Will members really want to go back to in-person conferences? Your speakers want training before their next virtual conference performance. What happens if we build it, and no one comes? MORE
Leading learning firm Tagoras has launched another round of its virtual conferences survey , the results of which will be compared to its last round, conducted near the beginning of the pandemic. The post How Much Has Covid Affected the World of Virtual Conferences? MORE
She is responsible for ensuring that the conference’s objectives are met and that the audience is engaged from beginning to end. The post Does Your Conference Need an Emcee? Having an emcee at your event was a nice-to-have prior to 2020. Now it’s a must-have. MORE
Great Slideshare from Jeff Hurt proposing radical change for conferences and events: We Need A Conference Revolution from Jeff Hurt. conferences innovation presentations Jeff Hurt I particularly like everything he has to say about the changing role of speakers (as facilitators of learning experiences) and attendees (as co-creators rather than passive consumers). Of course, the question then becomes: how do we get from here to there? MORE
Putting on an in-person conference can be like putting on a show. Remember what it feels like to have people coming into the main session room during the conference opening and finding their seats? Organizations are coding their conference platforms. MORE
Are you missing in-person conferences? Vendor-sponsored happy hours, conference chicken, and lost lanyards…. COLUMNS advice conference bacon conferences events fun at home in-person events twitterWant to recreate that same experience for yourself or a loved one? MORE
People from afar like virtual conferences. Young professionals like virtual conferences. Parents and care-givers like virtual conferences. Time-pressed professionals like virtual conferences. When budgets are tight, people like virtual conferences. MORE
Fortunately, 85% of Americans own a smartphone (a 50% rise since 2011), and by giving your attendees the option to download a conference app, you can reduce overwhelm and increase their overall event satisfaction. conference conference event appEvent days can be overwhelming: your attendees need to figure out how to best spend their time, where they need to be when, and how to access constantly-shifting event information. MORE
The days after a major conference are filled with busy work, attending to all of the things you pushed off leading to the conference. I have 50,000 vendors calling me (yes they call me too, I know how you feel) some from conference and others I politely deferred before conference. The post Turning Post-Conference Euphoria into Action appeared first on YourMembership.com. Membership Management conference social media MORE
Increasing conference attendance can be a seriously arduous task. conference marketingYou must convince your audience to commit not only their money, but also their time. And we all know, time is money.) MORE
Conference Related Topics Blue Sky eLearn
AUGUST 19, 2020
At this point, you may have attended a virtual conference, and you’ve probably attended a webinar or two. When you’re at a conference in-person, you attend sessions at a dedicated location and dedicated room leaving (most) of the distractions behind.
Smooth The Path
NOVEMBER 9, 2021
The same thing happened with virtual conferences. The first virtual conferences looked like in-person conferences because the schedules, timing, duration, formats, and speakers were similar. The first conferences were great and met a need, and now it’s time for a change.
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Blue Sky eLearn
JULY 14, 2020
When the pandemic started causing conferences to cancel at the last minute, those that quickly went virtual saw a high number of attendees. Some of us sit on video conference calls the better part of the day.
Velvet Chainsaw
NOVEMBER 11, 2021
There’s never been a better time than right now to reimagine your education programming for your first in-person conference in some time, for many—in over two years. Conference education sessions have long been considered the main course of the event, yet typically they reek of status quo.
With conferences being canceled due to COVID-19, associations need to be nimble by implementing alternative strategies and tactics that can continue to bring value to their members, keep sponsors/exhibitors, generate revenues for the Association.
Velvet Chainsaw
MAY 20, 2021
As it becomes more apparent that face-to-face events will return in some form this year, conference organizers have an opportunity to make changes that would have been more difficult to sell up the ladder in the past. Long-term traditions can deter next-generation conference participants.
Association Leaders
MARCH 22, 2020
Associations, companies and other organizations have been using conference and video calling to meet and conduct business for many years. Check out these videos of what some of your calls may be like: A conference call in real life: [link]. Association Management Companies CM Services Conference Calls Leadership Meetings Video Calls Virtual Meetings Volunteerism meeting etiquette
Velvet Chainsaw
DECEMBER 3, 2020
In 2020, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors were more forgiving of our virtual conferences than they will be in 2021. Use this opportunity to beta test changes that can be carried over to the next in-person conference.
Velvet Chainsaw
JULY 23, 2020
Not every effort was a rousing success but attempting to inject new conference elements made us more nimble, creative and smarter as a team. What should we expect for hybrid or virtual conference attendance? Navigating change during a crisis is not for the faint of heart.
YourMembership Blog
DECEMBER 17, 2019
According to the Community Brands Member Engagement and Loyalty Study, meetings and conferences, which traditionally have emphasized training and continuing education, are one area where association professionals (Pros) are very focused.
Smooth The Path
JANUARY 19, 2021
People from afar like virtual conferences. Young professionals like virtual conferences. Parents and care-givers like virtual conferences. Time-pressed professionals like virtual conferences. When budgets are tight, people like virtual conferences.
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Velvet Chainsaw
AUGUST 31, 2021
Over the next year or so, conference organizers will need to define their responsibilities for duty of care, as well as what is expected of those who choose to attend your conference in person. How will they help ensure duty of care throughout the conference?
Smooth The Path
OCTOBER 6, 2020
Why would only a small fraction of registrants attend the live virtual conference? When attendees assume the conference is a compilation of passively viewed webinar-like sessions, there’s little reason to participate live.
Reid All About it
MARCH 19, 2013
Although I didn’t participate in today’s #assnchat about ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference , it still inspired a blog post. Perhaps playing with toys shifts our mindset from serious office mode to relaxed engaged conference mode. The association professionals in today’s Twitter chat had plenty of great ideas (heh heh) for conference creativity rooms and I even have a few of my own. F&B : The Canadians also served poutine at one point during the conference.
Velvet Chainsaw
JANUARY 21, 2019
In physics, the second law of thermodynamics says all things—bodies, businesses, conferences, energy, organizations, relationships—move toward chaos and disorder. As your conference matures, it experiences entropy. As a conference professional, you know this to be true. It is also the natural law of evolution for any conference. Working to create a great conference experience for your customers is no longer a good baseline for success to paraphrase Conrad.
Ungrated
JULY 29, 2021
After a long time apart, CAI is excited to welcome more than 1,000 registered attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors to the 2021 Annual Conference and Exposition: Community NOW, Aug. During conference, we will present 16 thought-provoking education sessions.
Velvet Chainsaw
JUNE 17, 2019
But when it gets to “go time,” does that culture manifest at your conferences and meetings? Her boss apparently thought she should spend all her time out “doing meeting planning” and not hanging out in a hotel conference room. Make colleagues and vendors feel welcome and involved in conference operations. Conference staff are not able to do everything! How can you make your conference culture more open and transparent?
Smooth The Path
NOVEMBER 11, 2021
A big part of planning the conferences is selecting tracks, speakers, topics, and presentations. The post A New Session Model for Conferences appeared first on Smooth The Path. Conference attendee engagement attendee experience conference solving members' problems virtual conference
Aaron Wolowiec
NOVEMBER 5, 2021
Following are the five books that most piqued his interest this conference season
Velvet Chainsaw
FEBRUARY 8, 2021
Over the past nine months, many industry experts have proclaimed that meetings and conferences are forever changed and hybrid is here to stay. Conference content product management requires a good deal of business acumen.
Smooth The Path
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
Related: In-person conference conventions don’t work online. Will members really want to go back to in-person conferences? Your speakers want training before their next virtual conference performance. What happens if we build it, and no one comes?
Velvet Chainsaw
AUGUST 18, 2021
Leading learning firm Tagoras has launched another round of its virtual conferences survey , the results of which will be compared to its last round, conducted near the beginning of the pandemic. The post How Much Has Covid Affected the World of Virtual Conferences?
AssociationChat
JUNE 21, 2020
Are you missing in-person conferences? Vendor-sponsored happy hours, conference chicken, and lost lanyards…. COLUMNS advice conference bacon conferences events fun at home in-person events twitterWant to recreate that same experience for yourself or a loved one?
Smooth The Path
OCTOBER 8, 2019
Who says conferences or chapter meetings have to be in traditional meeting spaces? Conference rooms tend to be dark, and participants may find themselves fighting post-lunch naps. Recently, I got a conference promotion with the subject line, “Have you ever had a meeting in a kayak?” Sample your association’s conference for prospective participants. The post Conference Rooms Are Freezing!
Velvet Chainsaw
DECEMBER 23, 2020
In spite of all the bad, there is also much that is positive for the next phase of association conferences. The post Get Conference Inspiration from Trusted Peer Connections appeared first on Velvet Chainsaw. Conference Planning Hybrid & Virtual
Velvet Chainsaw
JULY 27, 2018
Who wants to attend a common, ordinary, ho-hum, everyday , I’m-just-like-all-the-others traditional conference? Your conference growth and revenue depends upon repeat paying attendees year after year. And your customer loyalty is built upon making your common conference uncommon. Routine Been-There-Done-That Conferences. When your conference experience is no-frills run-of-the-mill…. And when your conference content can be found on the web for free….
Velvet Chainsaw
MARCH 30, 2021
She is responsible for ensuring that the conference’s objectives are met and that the audience is engaged from beginning to end. The post Does Your Conference Need an Emcee? Having an emcee at your event was a nice-to-have prior to 2020. Now it’s a must-have.
YourMembership Blog
AUGUST 7, 2013
The days after a major conference are filled with busy work, attending to all of the things you pushed off leading to the conference. I have 50,000 vendors calling me (yes they call me too, I know how you feel) some from conference and others I politely deferred before conference. The post Turning Post-Conference Euphoria into Action appeared first on YourMembership.com. Membership Management conference social media
MembersClicks
OCTOBER 15, 2021
To help you plan your next virtual conference, we’ve compiled a list of 11 expert tips to guide you from the planning stages to the event post-mortem While restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19 are beginning to wind down, the popularity of virtual events is only increasing. According to one recent report , more than half (55%) of organizers plan to invest even more in virtual events. Another survey shows that the virtual event market is expected to be worth $504.76 billion by 2028.
Velvet Chainsaw
OCTOBER 20, 2020
While things have changed, these tenets will hold true and the principles can be applied to other D&I conferences and events. The six attributes of women’s leadership conferences that have stood out for me: [1] Movement. Women’s conferences are often shorter one or two-day programs.
Velvet Chainsaw
JANUARY 31, 2019
However, a conference at rest, tends to die. The enemy of most conferences is the way it’s always been. When inertia influences your conference, it’s planned by the way you’ve always done it, programmed full of (past) best practices and destined to become average, slowly suffocating on its own status quo. Cognitive and organizational inertia keeps an association on its current conference course even when facing disruptive or rapid external changes.
MembersClicks
JULY 1, 2021
Fortunately, 85% of Americans own a smartphone (a 50% rise since 2011), and by giving your attendees the option to download a conference app, you can reduce overwhelm and increase their overall event satisfaction. conference conference event appEvent days can be overwhelming: your attendees need to figure out how to best spend their time, where they need to be when, and how to access constantly-shifting event information.
ePly
FEBRUARY 3, 2021
Increasing conference attendance can be a seriously arduous task. conference marketingYou must convince your audience to commit not only their money, but also their time. And we all know, time is money.)
Smooth The Path
OCTOBER 1, 2020
Putting on an in-person conference can be like putting on a show. Remember what it feels like to have people coming into the main session room during the conference opening and finding their seats? Organizations are coding their conference platforms.
Smooth The Path
FEBRUARY 4, 2020
Where are young professionals during the breaks at your conference? Young professional pre-conference workshops – invite young professionals for learning opportunities before the conference starts. Are they enjoying quiet time back in their rooms?
Association Adviser
APRIL 7, 2021
Kip and Jenn share how they approach to online events and operations to level up their virtual conference game and make logging on something you WANT to do. The post What We’ve Learned from a Year of Virtual Conferences appeared first on Association Adviser.
Smooth The Path
FEBRUARY 6, 2020
The program at a recent conference was nearly perfect. After a long conference day, one night, I fell in with a crowd walking to the reception, and I learned they were some of the conference staff. The conference was beautiful on the outside, but it seemed very broken inside.
Velvet Chainsaw
JUNE 21, 2018
The North Star is the perfect metaphor for your annual conference purpose. When your conference purpose serves as a North Star, it guides all decisions, tasks, behaviors and strategy. Uncovering Your North Star Conviction To Find Conference True Target Market. Before your conference can find its true target market, you as the conference organizer must find your conviction. What’s your conference conviction? What’s your conference North Star?
Smooth The Path
OCTOBER 15, 2020
Engagement is the next big hurdle for virtual conferences. We are starting to see that all the conventions we learned while hosting our in-person conferences might not work online. The post In-Person Conference Conventions Don’t Work Online appeared first on Smooth The Path.
Spark Consulting
JANUARY 9, 2014
Great Slideshare from Jeff Hurt proposing radical change for conferences and events: We Need A Conference Revolution from Jeff Hurt. conferences innovation presentations Jeff Hurt I particularly like everything he has to say about the changing role of speakers (as facilitators of learning experiences) and attendees (as co-creators rather than passive consumers). Of course, the question then becomes: how do we get from here to there?
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