There are few things I love better than seeing techniques we hone in the nonprofit sector adapted by the for-profit sector. Even better is when I have the privilege of developing and implementing such a technique myself! Last year, PhilanthroMedia led the Gorilla Engagement Team for the Communications Network’s 2009 Annual Conference in NYC — a team of volunteers who broadened dialogue by Twittering, blogging and “capturing” video interviews with more than 50% (125) of the conference attendees. These were summarized thematically in 12 video compilations as well as a membership recruiting video.
Recently we had the chance to implement this approach — I call it Conference Engagement 2.0 — with our very first corporate client: Working Mother Media (WMM) and Diversity Best Practices (DBP.) WMM produces a wide-array on conferences including the one we covered called Network and Affinity Leadership Conference.
In the day before the conference, I co-taught a half-day “Social Media Engagement” Workshop with Jennifer Brown, CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting. Workshop participants — who came from major corporations like Toyota and Dayton Hudson — then gained hands-on experience capturing more than 100 interviews the following day. One of the resulting video summaries was finished and ready for its premier at the closing plenary. (Don’t expect to learn what affinity groups are or do from this video — it is intended for audiences already acquainted with the purpose of affinity groups in corporate America.)
Based on the success of this effort at NALC, PhilanthroMedia is developing a partnership with Jennifer Brown Consulting to focus these services in conferences dealing with workforce leadership and diversity issues.
I expect to see a great deal of growth in this cost-effective approach to both expanding conference engagement and crowdsourcing conference content. Here’s why…
Old School: Experts are those who spoke behind podiums or sat on panels. Conference Engagement 2.0: The collective wisdom of conference attendees far exceeds that of designated presenters.
Old School: Attendees pay for the privilege of hearing experts. Conference Engagement 2.0: Attendees are eager for opportunities to position themselves as experts.
Old School: Writers, photographers and videographers are paid to create content. Conference Engagement 2.0: Conference attendees are willing to pay for opportunities to hone their new media skills and the privilege of creating content that is broadly distributed.
Old School: There is little reason to check back with the organizers website until next year. Conference Engagement 2.0: Content captured during the conference drives traffic to the organizers website for viral content that can be shared attendees to extend learnings.
Old School: Competition for sponsor dollars is tough. Conference Engagement 2.0: Sponsors are more demanding than ever – including opportunities to be positioned next to compelling and credible content and conversations.
If this sort of approach seems of interest for your next conference, let’s engage!
