Attending a Health IT Conference, such as the recent HIMSS Conference in Orlando offers a tremendous opportunity to connect and engage.
You can target industry influencers, connect with potential marketing partners, and engage and open relationships with .prospects.
Social Media provides the tool to scale and amplify your in-person efforts- Before, During, and After the event.
Before the Event
Put together a game plan. Do some research on the speakers, the exhibitors, the topics being covered, and sponsors of the event. Identify your target of Influencers you want to connect with, potential marketing partners to make sure you meet, and top prospects.
Reach out to them before the conference with email, a phone call, or even a mailed piece.
Plant the seeds and join the conversation about the event. Use the hashtags for the event in Twitter.
During the Event
Follow a Daily Plan and schedule to make the best use of your time. Large conferences such as HIMSS can be overwhelming. You can easily waste two or three days checking out everything without accomplishing your key objectives for attending the event.
Use Social Media during the event to share the excitement of the event. Share Tweets, photos, videos of people you meet. Encourage them to also share and comment. Pull in associates and members of your team, even if they aren’t in attendance to help you.
After the Conference
Use Social Media to keep in touch. Follow those Influencers, Marketing Partners, and Prospects you meet on the various Social Media platforms. Offer something of value back to them. The best value you can offer is to promote them.
A quick Tweet such as @mHealthMarker Great to meet at #HIMSS. Though you might like this: (link to a recent post on your blog) Then, turn around and Re-Tweet and share a recent post or Tweet from their site.
Social Media in addition to email, the telephone, mail, and in-person meeting is one more tool you can use to build and nurture your network of valuable business relationships. When done right with a plan, it can greatly amplify your reach and networking effectiveness.
