Attendees consistently rank networking as a top priority for event participation, according to Freeman research. But many people — younger audiences especially — experience social anxiety that prevents them from participating to the fullest. How should event organizers make networking feel less intimidating?
Give Networking Structure
Walking up to a stranger at a cocktail reception can be awkward and, for some people, downright scary. Experiential networking takes the pressure off by giving attendees an activity to focus on. When networking feels intentional, interactions happen organically.
This year’s Car Wash Show built intentional networking into its offerings, with s’mores kits and fire pit tables that allowed attendees to meet while roasting marshmallows. Digestive Disease Week also served up a conversation-starting experience on the pickleball court.
Rethink Your Messaging
mdg Account Director Sierra Hollinden recommends highlighting connections as a key part of an event’s brand identity. When helping New Hope Network launch the new conscious CPG event Newtopia Now, intentional networking was touted as a value proposition from the outset. Participants were encouraged to be a part of the conversation, make meaningful connections and co-create the future of the space. “Intentional networking activations were planned in advance and communicated throughout the campaign.” Sierra notes, “not just tacked on as an afterthought.”
Newtopia Now’s unique floor plan featuring four “neighborhoods” grouping products and content by theme, were marketed heavily, giving participants with similar interests built-in starting points and destinations for conversation. The show’s organizers even branded networking as “Conscious Connections” with the steps to participate explained in a video on the website — transforming networking from a vague concept into a tangible “happening” attendees could visualize.
Make It Easier to Find Community
We know attendees are looking for more curated experiences. Segmenting an email campaign, providing customized networking agendas and creating audience-specific paths online are just some of the ways personalization can begin in pre-show marketing.
Recent Freeman research shows that attendees ideally want to bond with peers over shared professional challenges at meetups that focus on a common interest, topic or role, and in environments where informal networking can occur.
AI-powered matchmaking technology can help facilitate more meaningful peer-to-peer connections or meetings between exhibitors and attendees. Grip uses over 16 algorithms to make strategic matches and increase in-person meetings with exhibitors based on attendee preferences and behaviors. Platforms like Braindate that can get attendees talking before the show even starts can also be leveraged. Attendees can post anything they’re hoping to discuss with peers before (or during) the show on Braindate’s “topic market,” and people with similar interests or challenges can “book” the discussion. This is a great way to build engagement and find out what’s really on attendees’ minds.
Dine-Around and Find Out
Which is easier for a nervous networker: Asking a nearly perfect stranger out for dinner or dining out in an unfamiliar city alone? It’s a trick question because they’re both hard. Informal gatherings known as “Dine-Arounds” offer an attractive alternative. These meals can be topical in nature, with conversation led by a host, or open for general discussion. Either way, they take the effort (and potential stress) out of making dinner arrangements and meeting peers.
While networking events are ultimately the domain of show organizers, a larger conversation that includes marketing can ensure they’re a registration driver. Event marketers have a bird’s-eye view of the trends gaining traction — and those fizzling out — enabling us to provide strategic insight on shaping an experience that attracts and engages all attendees.
A version of this article originally appeared in PCMA Convene.
