Our third set of internet marketing conference tips come on day one of the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose and are appropriately from Kevin M. Ryan, Vice President, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch.
Kevin Ryan has been involved with numerous conferences over the years working for various interactive and internet marketing agencies before starting his own and now as head of the SES conferences in the U.S. and abroad for Incisive Media.
1. Events are a great place to meet with clients, vendors and potential partners.
a. If you have a relationship with who you’re meeting with, begin scheduling meetings about a month prior to the event. Less time than that and your choices will be limited. More time than that, and they are going to forget you.
b. If you are trying to meet with a new client, member of the press or someone who is otherwise unknown to you, keep it short and concise. Be polite and don’t fall in love with your own press in trying to build yourself up. Less is more, less is more, less is more.
2. When you arrive at the event, seek out the guidebook or in our case, SES Magazine.
You can play with the goody bag toys anytime, this is your time to plan your week and get the most out of the experience. Most conference companies post the agenda ahead of time, so you can plan your day pretty far in advance. I can’t tell you the number of people who say, “Why don’t you have a session on X topic” when 9 times out of 10, we already do have a session on that topic. Whether you choose to plan ahead or plan the first day, knowing the events topics and agenda are a must.
Thanks Kevin, planning in advance seems to be the thing people plan for least – great advice.
Next up in our series of tips on how to get more out of internet marketing conferences, is Rebecca Lieb, Editorial Consultant to the ClickZ network.
Kevin’s smart and everything and we appreciate his insight, but what, dear readers are YOUR conference tips? We know you have them, tucked in all snug and safe. Just let them out,share and set them free. Best tips win the admirtion of your peers and something fairly cool from TopRank,
