You may or may not know, but on March 5th Inbound Marketing Day is coming to Atlanta. And that's a pretty big deal!
Why? Because if you're serious about using inbound marketing to grow your business online in 2015, then everything about Inbound Marketing Day is geared to help you do just that.
Last years event set records in attendance and packed out the Roam Dunwoody co-working space. This year is shaping up to be a whole lot bigger.
In this post I'm going to prepare you for the Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta 2015 by telling you everything you need to know in order to maximize this opportunity to learn, network, and connect with all that is Inbound Marketing.
So let’s jump in it!
INBOUND MARKETING DAY ATLANTA - AT A GLANCE
Here's a quick glance at what you can expect from Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta:
-
Stories, advice and testimony from 4 world renowned experts in LinkedIn, Word Of Mouth Marketing (WOM), Buyer Personas, and Digital Relevance
-
Workshops and breakout sessions designed to get your hands dirty, and learn specific strategies and tactics relating to using inbound marketing for your business
-
Speaker Panels where the experts are answering questions and providing direct feedback
-
A total of 10 hours of inbound marketing goodness
That's a lot of opportunity to learn and do inbound marketing. But, your number one focus at the event should be connecting and relationship building. There are going to be over 100 marketing-minded professionals in attendance, along with experts from all over the marketing map. The information they are going to be sharing is great, but the ability to shake hands and forge lasting relationships is where the real value lies.
THE WEEK BEFORE THE EVENT
Get your tickets
You cannot experience everything that Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta has to offer, if you're not there! Tickets are as cheap as they are going to get right now, and you can even get $10 off wth this discount code: IMDATL15-98toGo. Click here to grab your ticket.
Set specific goals
Attending an event like this has to be approached like any other marketing activity. You're spending money to be in attendance, you're putting forth energy to learn and participate, and you should have some goals for what you want to get out of the event when it's over.
The most successful attendees will have set achievable goals for the event. What is an achievable goal? Well it's all going to depend on your business. You may want to leave with quality leads for you and your sales team to follow up with. Or maybe you want to meet and swap info with at least a dozen CEO's that you can partner with. Or perhaps you want to line up your next round of podcast interviewees. Whatever your goals may be, write them down and get clear about them before you arrive.
Make sure you have business cards
This is kind of a no brainer, but trust me it happens. You're packing up your stuff to head out to a networking event, and you realize that you're down to your last business card. It sucks and you end up looking unprepared. Don't let that be you, so make sure that you order your business cards RIGHT NOW if you need a new batch. Moo business cards are my favorite because of the alternative sizes and quality card stock. But whatever your preference, having some business cards handy is a must.
Prepare your 10 second pitch
There are going to be a lot of people at Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta, all looking to connect with the folks in attendance. So you're 3 minute "elevator pitch" (not sure what kind of elevator that is), is not going to cut it. Work on developing your 10 second, "This is what I do and why we should keep talking" pitch. You'll have dozens of opportunities to refine and hone it, but not if you haven't thought through it beforehand.
A great way to work on simplifying your pitch is to pretend you're talking to a 10 year old. In 10 seconds, how can you describe what you do so that a 10 year old can understand? That means no jargon, no technical terms, and no rambling.
Taking the time to work on your ten second pitch will go a long way at Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta.
DURING THE EVENT
The agenda for Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta is jam packed, so you're going to want to make sure you're ready for a full day. Each portion of the day is going to offer something different.
During the speakers you're going to want to be equipped to write down notes and highlights. A well charged laptop or tablet is recommended here.
During the panel discussions you're going to have a chance to ask your questions to the experts, so you'll want to brush up on who they are and what you may want to ask them. Here are links to each expert's Twitter profiles so you can connect with them and do your research: Mark Schaefer, Ardath Albee, Ted Wright, Viveka Von Rosen.
During the workshops you'll be getting hands on with Atlanta-area agencies to work on your marketing. So come ready to think critically about your marketing activities, where you know your weak spots are, and be open for feedback.
AFTER THE EVENT
Even after you've left Roam Dunwoody, your work is not done! Now it's time to organize all of the contacts you made, and schedule your follow ups. If you use Salesforce, the HubSpot CRM, or something else, fire it up and enter your contacts in there before you lose those business cards. Nothing is worse than remembering a great conversation, only to lose their contact info. When you start following up, be sure to reference the conversation you had with each person (this is where note taking comes in handy). Showing that you were listening and paying attention to the conversation will go a long way during your follow up.
Next, digitize those notes of yours so that you can easily reference all of the information from the event. I like using Evernote and Google Drive to do this, but you can use whatever app you like best.
Can you create some content from your event experience? Sure you can! How about publishing a wrap up post on your blog, describing your experience and takeaways. Or maybe you can do a curated post of quotes and tips from the speakers. Or perhaps you can post your photos so that those not in attendance can experience the event from your eyes. There are tons of ways to leverage your experience into quality content for your blog and website.
Finally, take a look back at your goals for the event. Did you meet them? What goals were you able to accomplish, and what goals did you fall short in? Is there anything you can do after the event to give yourself a better chance of meeting your goals?
Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta is going to be an event to remember. The tips and tools outlined in this post are going to help you have an even more memorable and rewarding time.
Click on the button below to register for Inbound Marketing Day Atlanta.
And if you're ready to talk about your businesses inbound marketing strategy and how you can give it a boost, set up a free 15-minute inbound assessment with the experts at 98toGo.
