You know a thing or two about content overload. You think of it in terms of how to get your content to stand out and be consumed by your target audience.
But when you’re a conference attendee, the script is flipped. You’re the one bombarded with content – trends, slideshows, tips, graphics, and inspiring stories from multiple speakers and fellow participants. Your notebook is filled with ideas, your pockets are stuffed with business cards, and your brain is happy.
“Embrace the high of the magical week being around like-minded individuals who have visions of great things … until you slam into the wall that is your day to day,” says Skyler Moss, director of digital marketing, HCSS. “What you thought would change your company last week becomes a secondary thought come Monday.
“Like Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade, you must choose wisely” what to do with your conference content to transform those educational moments into actionable steps for you and your brand.
To help, we asked the presenters at Content Marketing World 2017 what they recommend you do to sift through the content overload and create a realistic action plan. Their advice encompasses how to think about the conference, take and use your notes, be practical and strategic, and make the connections and impact go far after you return to the office.
Begin before you go
Schedule time on calendar
Block off one hour the week you return to think strategically. Get out of the weeds and reflect on the things that will make the biggest impact in your life, career, content, and work. Schedule another hour on your calendar a month or two later to review your notes or even re-watch their favorite sessions to be reminded of the things you wanted to accomplish on your return.
Andrew Davis, author and CEO, Monumental Shift
Create a ‘contract’
Develop a simple template with no more than 10 empty fields. Print the template (yes, print it). Each day of the conference fill the fields of your template with specific actions. Writing down actions in this template is like a contract with yourself and you’ll commit to following through on them. The things you write down should be one-item actions – not projects or ideas containing several tasks.
After your return to the office, go through the list and decide which action to complete that day, next week, or next month. And then go and do it. Don’t overcomplicate what you learned.
Frank Thomas, director of content strategy and content marketing, adidas
Start during the conference
Turn notes into action
First, take a mountain of notes. Then write takeaways to share under two headers: “things we don’t do but might want to” and “things we already are doing that speakers encouraged.”
A month or two later, approach your team and ask: “What of this do we want to commit to doing, and how do we do it over the next half year or year?” That way, compelling and innovative ideas you gather don’t sit unused in a file somewhere.
Michelle Park Lazette, writer, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Pick one for one
With any session, it’s important to write down one thing – just one thing – to act on. If you act on nothing else from that session, what one thing would move the needle the most in your business?
Start with those ideas and then select one to three actions from the entire conference. Set one- or three-month reminders on your calendar to check in on the progress of your action items.
Donna Moritz, visual content strategist and founder, Socially Sorted
Make a relevancy list
At the conference, make a list of resources and ideas that intrigue you or relate to your work. When you get back to the office, review the list. Do any of them make you think you need to change direction on your current work? Explore those first. Later, come back to the list and pick out others that still seem relevant, and schedule time to explore those.
Laura Creekmore, president, Creek Content
Use the power of Twitter
Use the conference hashtag to tweet your notes and retweet highlights from others. Each evening at the conference, look through your collection and find themes you’ll want to revisit. Back in the office, build a Storify collection from the conference and share it with coworkers. Some of the best insights may come from the questions they ask or thoughts they add beyond what was shared at the conference. Make sure the learning turns into action – or at least experimentation – back in the real world.
Amanda Changuris, associate director of corporate communications, BNY Mellon
Don’t overload unnecessarily
Don’t feel like you have to go to every session. If you find…
