Digital Networking During Conferences

LinkedIn QR codes are cool, but I prefer Blinq - and here's why it's a game-changer for networking 🔗 At a recent event, someone shared their LinkedIn QR code with me. While LinkedIn's QR feature is handy, I've been using Blinq for years, and it solves a networking problem we've all experienced. The Problem: You scan 10+ QR codes at a conference, connect with everyone on LinkedIn, but three months later someone asks "Do you know anyone at Company X?" You see you're connected to someone there, but have absolutely no idea how you met them or what you talked about. Sound familiar? 🤔 How Blinq Works: ✅ Digital business card that connects to all your social profiles ✅ Tracks when and where you met each person ✅ Lets you add context notes about your conversation ✅ Multiple cards for different contexts (I have personal + work versions) The Real Value: Last week, I was looking through my Blinq connections and realized I met two potential leads at eLive (my company's conference) back in April, but I'd completely forgotten! Instead of a generic "Hey, we're connected" message, I could reach out with "Hey, I met you at eLive in April..." That context transforms a cold outreach into a warm conversation. 💡 Why This Matters for LinkedIn: Imagine if LinkedIn's QR code feature included location tracking and context notes. The networking follow-up game would be completely different. Instead of wondering "How do I know this person?" you'd have the full story of your connection. There are other digital business card tools out there (HiHello, CamCard, Dot, etc.), but Blinq's ability to capture the story behind each connection is what sets it apart for me. For fellow networkers: If you're going to conferences, events, or meetups, consider tools that help you remember not just WHO you met, but WHERE and WHAT you discussed. Your future self will thank you when it's time to follow up! 🚀 What's your go-to tool for staying organized with networking connections? I'll share my work version on Blinq for reference: https://lnkd.in/eSgNbkEA #Networking #DigitalBusinessCards #Blinq #ConferenceNetworking #LeadGeneration #LinkedIn #ProfessionalNetworking #TechTools #TechTips #WomeninTech #BlacksinTech

In a world where every executive has a firm handshake and a stack of business cards, how do you become the person everyone remembers after a conference? After attending dozens in the past decade, I've developed a strategy that transforms conferences from transactional meetups into relationship goldmines. ♟️Pre-Conference LinkedIn Strategy The real networking begins weeks before the event. Review the speaker and attendee lists, then connect with key individuals on LinkedIn with a personalized message: "I noticed we’re both attending the Stand & Deliver event. I'd love to connect. See you soon." This pre-conference connection creates a warm introduction and significantly increases your chances of meaningful engagement. 👗👔The Memorable Wardrobe Element In my early career, I blended in at conferences. Now? I'm known for wearing a little more color (often D&S Executive Career Management teal) or patterns that are professional yet distinctive. When someone says, "Oh, you're the one with the great dress," you've already won half the networking battle. 🤝Contribute Before You Collect** Instead of collecting business cards, focus on providing immediate value in conversations. Can you connect someone to a resource? Share relevant research? Offer a solution to a challenge they mentioned? The executives who stand out aren't those who take the most cards—they're the ones who solve problems on the spot. What networking approach has worked for you at recent conferences? Share in the comments below! #ExecutiveLeadership #NetworkingStrategy #ConferenceSuccess #ProfessionalDevelopment

Over the next 3 months, I’m hosting 4 major events in France, UK, USA and KSA. Beforehand, I want to share my top tips on how to get the best out of networking. 1. Set Clear Targets Action: Make a hit list of the top 10 companies or people you need to meet. Research what they care about—know their wins, pain points, & what they’re hunting for before you walk through the door. Outcome: These conversations won’t just happen by chance. By doing your homework, you’ll turn a five-minute chat into a deal-building moment. Schedule meetings in advance, & after the event, send a tailored follow-up email that shows you were listening. 2. Take the Stage (Literally) Action: Get on the agenda. Whether it’s a keynote, panel, or fireside chat, nothing says “I’m the one to watch” like holding the mic. Use this time to address the industry’s biggest challenges & position yourself—& your company—as the answer. Outcome: Speaking builds instant credibility. It’s not just exposure; it’s authority. Post-event, share the highlights on LinkedIn & invite attendees to continue the conversation, turning an audience into a lead pipeline. 3. Own the Floor Action: Don’t just lurk—work the room. Engage with key exhibitors, ask questions, & position yourself as a resource, not just another pitch. Be direct but curious: “What’s your biggest challenge this year?” and “How can I help?” are powerful openers. Outcome: You’ll stand out as someone who listens. Take notes during conversations, & follow up within 48 hours with a personalised message. Not a generic “great meeting you”—send actionable insights or specific ideas that move the ball forward. 4. Host the Inner Circle Action: People bond better in a more relaxed setting than over Wi-Fi. Organise an exclusive dinner, roundtable, or cocktail event for a curated group of heavy hitters. Keep it intimate—this is about building relationships, not just showing off. Go easy on the heavy sell. Outcome: People remember who brought them value & connections, not who handed out free pens. Post-event, share any key takeaways & book one-on-one follow-ups to solidify what you started over drinks. 5. Hack the Tech Action: Use every tool at your disposal—event apps, LinkedIn, QR codes. Pre-event, reach out to attendees & book meetings. At the event, swap contacts digitally to keep things seamless, & use a CRM to track every interaction. Outcome: You’ll leave the event with an organised roadmap of leads, not just a stack of business cards destined for a desk drawer. Follow up strategically with segmented, value-driven emails & keep the momentum alive. The Bottom Line: Trade fairs & exhibitions aren’t just networking. Preparation, presence, & follow-up separate those who close deals from those who just collect swag bags. Be human. Don’t think of this as just a branding exercise but an opportunity for long term partnerships. Be genuine - your new contacts will become close contacts, if not friends. Make it count! #revenuegrowth

How can our team adopt a recruiting mindset at conferences? 👷♀️Pre-Game. Glance at your current job openings & touch base with HR before the conference. If you are hiring Superintendents or Engineers en masse, know before you go. 🤝Work the meeting-before-the-meeting. Think beyond formal recruiting sessions. Every interaction - whether at presentations, coffee breaks, social events, or even waiting in line - is a potential opportunity to connect. 🚜Know that we're farming; not hunting. Focus on genuine relationship building rather than immediate hiring. Strike up natural conversations about shared professional interests, industry trends, and conference takeaways. This authentic approach makes people more receptive to future opportunities. 🤳Connect and collect. When you meet someone, exchange information and connect here on LinkedIn to keep in touch. LinkedIn connections stay with you while business cards don't. 💻Follow up & follow through. Send personalized messages referencing your conversations and stay in touch periodically. Even if they're not looking to move immediately, maintaining these relationships creates a talent pipeline for future openings. The real power of conference networking lies in its compound effect. As you build your network event by event, conversation by conversation, you create an ever-expanding web of talented professionals who know and trust your company. This not only helps fill current openings but positions your organization as an employer of choice. When employees embrace the recruiting mindset, they become ambassadors who can attract exceptional talent far beyond what traditional hiring channels can achieve. Get out there.

Attending a conference? To increase the ROI from your time, effort, and money - it's important to 1) prepare ahead of time, 2) craft a game plan, 3) stay engaged during the event, and 4) take proactive steps afterward to maximize professional growth and connections. Below and attached are some key tips and a roadmap of to dos to maximize results from conference attendance. ➡️ Prepare Before Your Go: - Define clear goals for attending the conference, such as networking, learning, or scouting new opportunities. - Review the event schedule and identify sessions, speakers, and networking events relevant to your objectives. - Research attendees and, if possible, reach out for pre-conference meetings or introductions. - Prepare an elevator pitch to describe yourself succinctly and bring business cards, or digital equivalents, for easy information exchange. ➡️ Be Ready to Maximize Your Experience: - To expand your network, attend both formal sessions and informal events, such as coffee breaks, dinners, or social activities. - Attend a variety of session formats to broaden your learning, from workshops to panels and lectures. - To cover more ground, consider distributing your team among parallel sessions and share notes afterward. - Throughout the event, take notes on key takeaways, interesting contacts, and actionable tips. - Use the conference app or social media to connect with other attendees and keep track of sessions and people you meet. ➡️ Network Effectively: - Approach new contacts genuinely and avoid overly sales-focused conversations. - Refer to name tags for personalized introductions and ask follow-up questions to foster meaningful dialogue. - Be a giver: offer assistance to others and share insights from sessions to start conversations. - Be ready to end conversations politely and move on as needed. ➡️ Post-Conference Actions: - As soon as possible after the event, review and organize your notes on sessions and contacts. - Summarize and share insights, key takeaways, and resources with your team or network to extend conference value. - Follow up with new contacts via LinkedIn ASAP, and later via email to continue professional relationships. - Take time to reflect on your original goals for attending and whether attending the conference helped you achieve them, then plan for improvements at future events. - Rest and recharge as needed: balance intense participation with self-care. When approached intentionally and actively, attending a conference is a valuable opportunity for professional development and networking. With solid preparation, engaged participation, and strategic follow-up, anyone can turn a single event into long-term benefits and connections! Please share other tips in the comments. Thx! #businessdevelopment #marketing

Your B2B Event Strategy is Broken (And It's Costing You Years of Progress) I've attended dozens of B2B ecommerce events, and I keep seeing the same pattern: Distributors and manufacturers walking the floor like they're browsing a museum. No conversations with exhibitors. No connecting with peers. No follow-ups with speakers. If this is you—you're leaving massive value on the table. Here's what I think is really happening: B2B companies are afraid of being "found out." They worry that engaging with others will expose how far behind they are in digital transformation. So they stay quiet. They observe from a distance. They take notes and leave. But this fear is exactly what's keeping you behind. Digital maturation isn't a solo journey. It's like trying to get dressed without a mirror—you might think you look fine, but you're missing the full picture. The fastest path to digital excellence? Engage with: - Teachers who've been there - Experts who know the pitfalls - Peers who share your challenges - Solution providers who've solved these problems 100 times What Great B2B Events Should Deliver The best events create an acceleration chamber for your digital journey. Here's the process every attendee should experience: - Discover a new problem that applies to your business - Understand why this problem is hurting your digital growth - Realize that proven solutions already exist - Connect with companies who've successfully solved this - Meet vendors and consultants with the expertise to help But this only works if you engage. Event organizers: You need to do better too. Curate rooms full of actual practitioners (not just vendors) Book speakers who genuinely understand B2B complexities—products, industries, applications, and purchasing processes Demand specific case studies and real examples, not generic "digital transformation" fluff Design networking that makes conversations inevitable, not optional Your Next Event is in 2025. What Will You Do Differently? Stop treating events like a spectator sport. Your competitors aren't waiting. Every conversation you avoid is a lesson unlearned, a connection unmade, a solution undiscovered. The digital maturity gap in B2B is real. But it's not permanent—unless you choose to make it so. Walk into your next event with intention. Talk to five new people. Ask one speaker a hard question. Visit three vendor booths with actual problems to solve. Your future digital self will thank you. #B2BEcommerce #DigitalTransformation #B2BEvents #DigitalMaturity #B2BMarketing

Too often, events and congresses are treated as standalone activations, disconnected from the larger engagement ecosystem. But in reality, they should be an integral part of a broader, data-driven engagement strategy, seamlessly integrated into systems like Veeva Systems, Salesforce, and omnichannel CRMs. How, you may ask: • If an HCP asks a specific question during a congress panel, that data should trigger tailored content recommendations in the CRM, instead of a generic post-event email. • Ensure that digestible short-form key learnings from live sessions flow into on-demand content libraries, allowing non-attendees to engage later. • A Veeva-integrated chatbot could automatically send relevant whitepapers, webinars, or advisory board invites based on what an HCP engaged with at the event. • A Salesforce-powered HCP journey map could ensure that a congress attendee automatically receives digital touchpoints (e.g., follow-up emails, LinkedIn discussions, or small-group webinars) aligned with their specific interests. • A company using Veeva Vault CRM (or other CRMs) + Events Management + Salesforce Einstein AI (or Copilot) can dynamically adjust post-event outreach strategy based on how an HCP interacted with content at the congress. • Sprinklr + Salesforce CDP for social listening enables Digital Opinion Leaders (DOL) Activation by tracking and analyzing post-event conversations across various social and digital platforms. The key takeaway is that events and congresses should be fully integrated within the CRM, digital engagement, and omnichannel ecosystem—ensuring that every interaction contributes to a seamless, long-term engagement strategy rather than just a single event touchpoint. Check the full episode with Pierre Metrailler at Onomi / SpotMe on demand: https://lnkd.in/dwg7BYiu And if you want to learn more about our expertise at The Palindromic across "Next-Gen CX Strategy" and "Expert Engagement & HCP360 Enablement" - drop me a note at claude.w@thepalindromic.com

Always go into an event with a strategy, and here's why ⤵️ Many companies are tightening budgets right now. And often, the first thing on the chopping block? Events. I may be biased, but events shouldn’t be seen as a “nice to attend’’ for a company... ...Done right, they’re a need to have, a goldmine for finding new clients and relationship building. But, you can’t just show up and hope for the best. You need a plan in order to get the most value out of it. Ask yourself: Why are we attending this event? → To build relationships and network? → To increase top-of-funnel leads? → To learn from industry experts? → To have a strong visual presence and brand recognition? Whatever the goal, define it clearly, set KPIs, and align the team before you get on-site. ⭐ Here are some of my top tips: → Sign up for the event networking app early. → Use LinkedIn to connect with others who are attending. → Research external events happening around the main event, brands are always hosting ‘unofficial’ parties. → Is there a hotel or bar next to the venue? Chances are, that’s where most attendees will be when they’re not at the conference. These areas are secret hotspots for networking. → Go to the event’s scheduled parties; they bring everyone together and are a great way to relax while doing casual networking. → If you’re slightly introverted and the idea of networking is your worst nightmare, take advantage of structured formats like speed networking; it’s a great way to meet and network with people in a more guided setting. When you know exactly what success looks like for you and your company, your event spend transforms from an expense… into an investment. Hope these tips help!! I'll be at VidSummit next month. If you're attending, let me know. It's always great to connect with people IRL.