the principal at Topaz Consulting, is a relationship marketing professional, with a passion for utilizing social technology for building B2B/B2C relationships, sharing information, networking and advancing the greater good. She has over 20 years of public relations, marketing and community building experience. Her combination of political, nonprofit, higher ed and corporate experience has afforded her opportunities to build communities where none existed, develop and launch innovative programming and bridge generational, economic and racial divides.
Shannon serves on the board of directors for the In Series, a Washington, DC performing arts organization. She is a regular contributor to Women Grow Business and Discover Exceptionalism, and her blog, Shannon Sez So, examines life's joys, pains and idiosyncrasies. Shannon is the founder of Topaz Consulting, a DC based marketing consultancy with a nationwide portfolio of clients. She graduated from Mount Vernon College (now part of The George Washington University) and is a proud native Washingtonian.
TwitterFacebookLinkedInPlurkTumblrEvents are a great way to network, learn and share information; however, they can be expensive, time consuming and unproductive if you don't plan properly. You want to make the most of your experience and get the biggest bang for your precious resources. FutureSimple has put together a great infographic on leveraging your time while there.
Provided by FutureSimple.com
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Most Americans begin driving in their teen years. They are woefully inexperienced and highly enthusiastic. They tend to drive too fast, take too many chances and not give the road their full attention.
Just as driving has become ubiquitous, the regular use of social technology is quickly becoming mainstream. This begs the question, if everyone is doing it, how can you be an expert at it?The answer is quite simple, everyone can be a social technology expert; however, only a few will be social technology professionals. In the same vein that everyone can be an expert driver; however, only a few will be professional drivers. This is where the activity of driving isn't a way to get to work, it is the work. When you hear the phrase professional drivers, what comes to mind...race car drivers, truck drivers and bus drivers. These men and women take the simple act of driving to the next level. Professional drivers take extra classes, earn additional credentials and participate in their profession. This scenario should sound familiar because it is how the majority of professionals are made, with training (education), credentialing (certification) and participating in the profession (publish, speak, mentor). This is true for social technology professionals as well, as you take blogging, tweeting, connecting and engaging to the next level. You attend webinars, unconferences and tweet-ups; you share your knowledge via tweet chats, meet-ups and conferences and your experience level is beyond par because you are power-user with a body of work behind you.Yes, everyone can be a social technology expert, YOU are a social technology professional.
This is the first in the new professionalism series.
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Time is your most valuable and only non-renewable resource. Today is fleeting with every tick of the clock and, well, tomorrow may not get here. Attending professional conferences, conventions and meetings are good ways to connect with clients, vendors and potential new clients among other things.
To make the most out of conference experiences, you need to be strategic, just as you are in every other aspect of your business. Conferences are typically packed with sessions, workshops, receptions, panels, keynote speakers, banquets, happy hours and so on. Pre-planning is a necessity if you want to get the most out your time there. 1. Figure out your objectives for attending Conferences are expensive. You have to pay registration, hotel, travel, food and other associated costs such as a dog walker or kennel, extra childcare and trip preparation. You can’t afford to go there and come back empty-handed.
2. Make a plan "Reading is fundamental" is as true today as it was when the famous literacy campaign began in 1966. Many conferences email materials to attendees ahead of time, so if you don’t have the option to pre-register for sessions, be sure to make a schedule for yourself.
3. Take care of yourself Be sure to schedule time for on-your-own-meals, work you need to do, rest and exercise. There are only so many hours in a day and you need to eat, sleep, work, attend sessions, network, check on things at home and so on, don’t overdo it. Pace yourself. 4. Attend the social events The parties, happy hours, receptions, dinners and brunches are as valuable as any session if not more so. Go to the events, armed with your elevator pitch, business cards and a smile. Be prepared to start conversations with strangers and politely jump into group discussions.
5. Test ideas Conferences are meccas for the pioneers, innovators and rock stars of your field. Take a few extra minutes at a book-signing or after the workshop to bounce an idea off of someone. Get different perspectives on a idea by holding an informal focus group with colleagues during breakfast or a coffee break. 6. Do CASE studies If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then CASE studies are the best thing since sliced bread. Copy and steal everything is the premise of utilizing an organization’s or person’s best practices and infusing them into your enterprise.
7. Follow-up, follow-up and follow-up Email, call, tweet or write a letter. Use all of the business cards you collected to remind people who you are, where you met and how you two can work together. This is a post I wrote for Women Grow Business and was originally posted on April 8, 2010. |
