There once was a time when reaching a highly targeted audience required significant investment. When building credibility within a community required a workforce and proprietary content. There was a high cost of entry to build a conference which minimized options for those seeking relevant education and networking.
There has been a movement for years now towards communities of like-minded individuals organizing, congregating and networking online. As members understand the needs, wants and desires of their community, non-traditional alternatives to conferences have exploded. There has never been a time in history where we’ve had more accessibility to choice than we do now. Webinars, unconferences, e-books, online communities, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, hybrid events, and the list goes on.
Large conferences need to beware of the growing number of alternatives to their event. Conferences are fighting for share of wallet and time – not just with other large conferences, but with the exponentially increasing group of options that fall under networking and education for their target.
What are you doing to stay relevant?
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Lara:
You've articulated something that is important to conference attendees – community. Today, if the large conference is not providing opportunities for people to experience their community, those people will go somewhere else. Who wants to go to a large event where no one knows their name?
It's time for conference organizers to start seeing themsleves as community managers if they want to retain their share of wallet and time.
As usual, Jeff, beautifully articulated! I've experienced 3 things missing from large conferences of late:
1. Intimacy – I think there's an opportunity for large events to create 'small' experiences – allowing attendees to feel connected and, as you said, give them a sense of community.
2. Filtering – Old model is multiple tracks and an overwhelming amount of education options. I think the belief is choice is good. Often it is, but it can also leave people feeling overwhelmed by choice and underwhelmed by quality. Better filters need to be in place to select education.
3. Relevancy – Many large conferences have rested on their laurels and have lost a true understanding of their attendees' real-time needs. Programming is determined by a remote group of people not connected to the community.
Thank you, Jeff for your thoughts. I value them as I see you as a leader on this subject.
Terrific post, This is a fascinating time to be connected to the meetings and conventions industry. I wrote a story for Convene about TED, and one thing that really stood out for me was their super-sized nametags. They're huge! So you don't have that awkward moment when you're trying to read a name while making eye contact. That's a small thing, but it speaks to Jeff's point: it's all about the community.