Meetings and events are designed around learning from your peers. Whether you are attending an internal meeting or you're joining a global conference, you're in attendance to become educated on a topic. Along with that comes networking; everyone there may not be speaking publicly, but there is still something to learn from them.
In that case, event and meeting professionals need to get creative with environments that breed both natural and planned networking. As one of the top reasons people attend events, we cannot miss out on the opportunity to add value through networking!
You can't leave it up to your attendees to network because, even though as an industry we are fairly social, not every event professional naturally takes to talking with strangers. One of the best ways to ensure that your event is a networking machine is to work with technology that helps to facilitate the process.
Mobile Apps
This should be a no-brainer. A mobile app is an easy way to add engagement and communication to your event, while at the same time adding features for attendees to connect. Many event apps have social media built in so that attendees can follow hashtags online and get in the digital conversation. They also offer the opportunity to display the full attendee list to message any attendee through the app. This gives your attendees the option to see who else is in attendance that they may want to speak with, and they can then set up a meeting directly.
Wearables
Many events today are moving away from the traditional badge and opting for a digital badge of some sort that allows attendees to more easily connect with peers but also gives the event organizer more detailed data. Attendees are starting to enjoy the physical aspect of clicking a button to connect or touching their badges to simplify the passing of information. This offers attendees a reason to walk up to someone and breaks the ice.
Networking Based on Interests
This takes a few different technologies working together to come up with the best matches for networking. When your attendees register for your event, attend sessions, engage with your emails, and more, they are starting to create a profile of themselves. With that profile, you can use things like your mobile app to suggest the best people they should meet with based on common interests. Think of it like a dating app but for networking!
In the end, technology is your best option to assist with networking on site. Using a variety of technology tools helps create an attendee profile that can help to suggest the best people to meet with, or, on your end, you can set up specific requirements that people need to meet with others. For example, if you have an event with startups and investors, you can set up an algorithm to make matches with the best fit for them! Start your next event on a high note with networking at the core.
Learn more at etouches.com.
