The past 2 years have definitely showed us that virtual events and conferences are as valuable as the traditional ones – and have some benefits that you might not have considered!
At Scopism, we have worked hard to create a conference experience for you that will deliver great results in a virtual format.
Service North Conference 2022 is just 3 weeks away (6th and 7th April) – are you ready?
Although we must accept that virtual events do not provide the same experience as a physical event, they do bring many of the same benefits – plus some that physical events cannot deliver. That’s why we decided to share some Tips for you in order to get the most out of a virtual conference.
Block off your calendar
Just because your office is now your living room and you’ll be attending the conference from there doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put the same boundary on it. Having this in mind, it’s good to clear your schedule during the conference days and plan your time. Try to move all your meetings to another day and let others in your home or office know that you are “at an event”.
Familiarize yourself with the online conference platform
You’ll want to know how to navigate the online platform to get to the sessions you’ve chosen and to be ready to head into the conference days when the time comes, so check login details, passwords etc. ahead of time. If you’re missing anything, contact us.
Create a conference routine
What do you do when you attend a conference in-person? Re-create your normal conference routine, either that is getting up one hour before the event or looking through the sessions and speakers. Setting up your mind that this is a Conference Day not just another working from home day will help you get the most of the experience.
Take notes
Make sure you capture the information you are learning. Either that is writing them on your notebook or using social media to highlight your favourite takeaways.
The first thing that I packed when I was traveling for conferences was a notebook and a pen. At my first virtual conference I thought that putting my notes in a word document would be a good idea – it was not. I was blocking my screen with the word document and missing the chats. After that conference I made sure that a notebook and a pen are always next to my computer one hour before the start time,
says Ivana T, Marketing Executive, Scopism
And if social media is your way then please get involved online with #servicenorth and feature on our tweet wall.
Build in snack and meal breaks
Plan out your breakfast, lunch, snacks and coffee breaks. Our best advice on this subject is to prepare/plan the meals before the start of the conference. You do not want to waste your networking time on cooking 😊
Learn and interact
Now that you are attending remotely, you might be even more tempted to surf through the Internet during the sessions or the sponsor and networking time. Our recommendation is to turn off all distractions during the event and focus on learning and interacting. You can always pop up a question in the chat during the live session and get Tips from your favourite Service North speaker.
A good question or comment can spark conversations with others that lead to future collaborations.
Network. Network. Network
Coupling lower ticket prices with the ability to join from anywhere results in increased registration from all over the world! More attendees, and more diverse audiences, mean the standard of the networking experience is higher. Our event technology means you can talk to anyone and use our ‘tables’ to meet SIAM friends old and new. How much networking you do is up to you!
Make the most out of the sponsor and networking time which is scheduled between the sessions and make sure you say hello to our sponsors as well. We have got SIAM experts from all fields waiting to talk to you.
We encourage our Service North attendees to take advantage of the live chats, the sponsor’s booths and use our hashtag #ServiceNorth to feature on our tweet wall.
And as an extra motivation this year we are giving you awards – make sure you collect points by leaving a short description about yourself, attending a session and visiting our sponsor’s virtual booths during the Service North Conference Days and win 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th price.
Attend with colleagues or friends
Any colleagues attending Service North 2022? Conferences are better when you attend them with friends or coworkers. You can talk to each other, share ideas, and enjoy the sessions together. After the event, you can talk about how to make improvements in your own organization.
Have fun
Do not forget – conferences are fun! Make sure you get the best out of it by taking the rights steps to make the most of the experience. And while you are taking the steps – make sure you wear pants!
Re-watch on-demand
One of the benefits of our virtual Service North conference is that you can access the sessions on demand for 12 months after the conference. If there is a session you want to re-watch or you can’t attend – we got you!
See you at Service North 2022!