Conference season is almost upon us. The opportunity to share ideas and connect with colleagues in the sector who “get it”? It’s too good to pass up. But with all of the great nonprofit and foundation conferences how will you choose where to spend your time and resources?
Like it or not, attending most conferences comes with a hefty price tag — making it almost impossible for staff to take part in all of the events the pique their interests. But choosing to participate virtually can be gratifying in its own right. We’re sharing ways to get started so you don’t have to miss out on professional opportunities.
Participate in nonprofit and foundation conferences online:
- Add it to the schedule — Just because you aren’t hopping on a plane to attend the philanthropy conference live doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add it to your calendar. Carve out time in your day while the conference is in session to follow presentations and plenaries.
- Connect ahead of time – Note the conference hashtag (if you can’t find one on the conference website or host organization’s Twitter account, contact the organizers) and follow any publicized speakers on Twitter ahead of time, too. Some conference offer up attendee lists online — comb through the lists and connect with people via Twitter or LinkedIn who you would have wanted to meet in person.
- Share your perspective – If you were at the conference in person you would be sharing your thoughts and ideas inside and outside of sessions. There’s no reason you can’t do that from your office. Tweet about your thoughts on topics being discussed. Consider using TweetChat to participate in hashtag conversations as they happen. Blog about areas where you have encountered success and challenges — adding value to the conversation already happening.
- Be curious – Most presenters don’t even know you’re not in the room. Ask questions like you would if you were there. Many session leaders build in time to answer questions they receive on Twitter — you’ll strike up a conversation in the process.
- Add value – Many times conference presenters will reference resources, books, clips on YouTube and more — you can be the person who tweets out links to those resources so the other attendees don’t have to go digging for them. Has your organization produced a white paper or blog post about a session topic? Share it with others in the session. Are you familiar with the city where the conference is being held? Tweet tips about where to find the best cup of coffee, things to do outside of the conference and more. Create wrap-up content on the last day of the conference that will be valuable for others who are attending in person or virtually.
Any other pro-tips out there? Let us know!
Do you find that a good number of conferences offer virtual participation? I am not finding streaming as an option but would learn to love what conferences do offer this as an option. Are there any you can recommend or point me to that offer this as an unpaid option or at a reduced cost?
Hi Candace!
We’ve found that every year more and more conferences are offering options for virtual participation. Most recently, I believe frank included online elements and they will be posting videos from the conference on their website. Coming up, Cause Camp will have an online streamable option available to remote attendees, so will the 2018 Nonprofit Storytelling Conference. Even if the conference doesn’t offer streaming, you can still learn key insights and join the conversation by following the conference hashtag on Twitter. Attendees often tweet interesting takeaways from presentations. Check out this blog to see how a member of our team attended a conference virtually via Twitter. Hope this helps!