Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right.
If you’re a classic gamer, you’ll recognize the Konami Code used in popular games as a way to uncover gaming cheats or special effects.And if you attendedContent Marketing Worldlast week, you’ll recognize that sequence from trying to find your way through Huntington Convention Center to find your speaker sessions.
And even if you’re not a gamer and weren’t able to attend the conference this year, you’re in luck. The team at TopRank Marketing has compiled some top tips for powering up your event attendance and our coverage of stellar content marketing sessions from the biggest content marketing conference of the year.
How Team TopRank Marketing Levels Up
Attending a conference like CMWorld requires an investment. Not only is there a monetary cost for gaining access to amazing sessions, it requires an investment of time. And if you really want to get the most out of events, it’s essential that you’re planning ahead how you’ll tackle the week (which is so much more than just showing up on Day 1).
#1 – Plan Your Sessions Ahead of Time
As soon as the agenda for a conference is released, our team begins the process of identifying which sessions we will attend and live blog. Having a plan makes navigating a large conference much easier and more successful.
#2 – Provide Valuable Insights for Attendees By Speaking
Our CEO Lee Odden has spoken at every single CMWorld to date. And I had the honor of speaking there for my very first time this year. Presenting at conferences provides a great opportunity to share the expertise of your team, and connect with attendees.
If you are presenting, the quality of your content and your engagement with the audience is key for success.
Here are a couple of attendees top takeaways and feedback from our presentations:
Workshop: Rocket Science Simplified: How to Optimize, Socialize and Publicize B2B Content
Follow a “Best Answer” strategy to make sure your customers find you. Know your customers’ questions . @leeodden#CMWorld
Follow a “Best Answer” strategy to make sure your customers find you. Know your customers’ questions . @leeodden#CMWorld
33 pages of handwritten notes and only one workshop in! Rocket Science Simplified was a spectacular crash course into B2B content distribution @leeodden#CMWorld
Solo Session: The Confluence Equation: How Content and Influencers Drive B2B Marketing Success
So many ideas coming out of @leeodden session on influencer marketing that I can hardly take notes fast enough. Good stuff. #CMWorld
Solo Session: Influencer Marketing is Only for B2C (and other lies your parents told you)
One of the most overlooked details in influencer marketing is this: does the influencer reflect well on your brand? Don’t chase reach and leads at the expense of a brand crisis. Really glad to see @azeckman and other presenters reminding marketing pros about this! #cmworldpic.twitter.com/XdCFF1LMew
Don’t dictate what your B2B influencers say, instead do topical alignment research for audience resonance. – @azeckman#CMWorld
#3 – Engage on Social Media
At large events like CMWorld, attendees spend just as much time looking at their phones as they do each other. In fact, when everyone was filing out of one of the keynotes, I noticed the crowd was moving exceptionally slow. Why? They were all furiously tweeting takeaways!
When an event has a hashtag, take advantage. You’ll have access to a very engaged audience (both those attending and those participating from afar).
Often at events, Chris Penn utilizes a data algorithm to identify the most talked about and engaging individuals or brands at an event. As you can see, TopRank Marketing and Lee Odden were strong contenders at this year’s CMWorld.
For our team, one of the amazing benefits to attending events is the opportunity to interact with clients like the team’s at LinkedIn and DivvyHQ, partners, prospects and influencers. On Wednesday at CMWorld, we had the pleasure of hosting a dinner for some of our favorite marketers includingBrock StechmanandBrody Dorlandof DivvyHQ (client),Carla Johnson,Michael Brenner,Dave Charest,Mark Boothe,Peter Krmpotic,Eli Schwartz,Tim WasherandJesper Laursen.
Event Coverage of Our Favorite Players
If you didn’t get to attend all of the sessions you’d planned to, or were following from home, we have a treat for you!
Below you’ll find our team’s event coverage of some of our favorite CMWorld sessions:
Bonus Level: Ultimate Guide to Conquering Content Marketing
For a number of years, the TopRank Marketing team has partnered with Content Marketing Institute (CMI) to help provide helpful insights from top speakers. And this year was no exception!
Thank You For Helping Us All Level Up!
It doesn’t matter if you were a veteran speaker or first-time attendee, the beauty of an event like CMWorld is that we can all connect and learn together.
If you were lucky enough to attend this great event, what was your top takeaway? Tells us in the comments section below.
This content was originally published here.