Guest post by Kate Buck

We all travel to conferences and seminars throughout the year. Of course, the learning element is important, but oftentimes the most beneficial (and profitable, action-taking) part of attending an event is the networking.  No matter how genuine our social networking efforts are, nothing beats a face-to-face connection.

That being said, there are some things you can do before, during and after an event to make the most of the few days (hours, even) that you spend at an event. Here’s a few suggestions to jump-start your efforts!

Do your homework

Do some research on the speakers at the event ahead of time. Start by following them on Twitter, then check out their website and blog.  If you’re unsure how to find them, a simple Google search should do the trick.

This will help you get a feel for the speaker’s content and style, which in my opinion, helps you figure out which sessions (if there are breakout panels) you really want to attend – and which ones you will pass on in favor of others (or networking). Of course, this also helps you get a jump-start on creating relationships ahead of time.

Use the Tools

Find out if there is a conference hashtag. For instance, the Boss 2010 event hashtag is #boss2010. You can do a twitter search for this hashtag to find others who are using it. Follow these folks, put them in a Twitter list (or group or column in an application like Tweetdeck) so you can get to know other attendees. Don’t forget to include the speakers in your list!

Ahem, ACTUALLY connect online ahead of time. This is not the time to be a social media lurker.  Warren Whitlock makes a great point in his post about networking — see what else these folks are interested in BESIDES the event and start a conversation with them about that. Keep in mind that a speakers’ time is always on demand at conferences, so when you do get a few minutes of face time, you want to make the most of it. If the person already knows who you are (via social media channels), you can jump past introductions, and get to the important stuff.

Be Intentional

Create a spreadsheet or document of people that are “must meets”. This is your hit list of people that you will make it a point to connect with. It helps if you’ve created a Twitter list (or group), Facebook Friend list or if you are friends with them on Foursquare so you can stalk, er follow, them at the event and create serendipitous (or not!) opportunities to “bump” into them. You may think this is over the top, but conference time is brief and there’s so much to do, it’s easy to miss out on key introductions.

If you find a connection that mutually would like to meet at the event, make plans if you can. The action of saying, “Let’s shoot for lunch on Friday!” and putting it in your calendar will likely land you a lunch date far better than, “Yes – let’s totally meet up!” Keep your eye out on Facebook invitations, Eventbrite.com, and Plancast.com for additional social events & networking opportunities at the event.  When a fellow attendee or speaker is RSVP’d, kill two birds with one stone and offer to connect with them there. (These invitations are also great ways to connect by commenting and following others attending!)

What else?

Business cards, Business cards, business cards. Did I mention Business cards? For me, there are two rules of thumb with business cards:

1) Put your social profile information (at least one of them, please!) P.S. I don’t need your phone number if it all doesn’t fit!

2) Be creative. No really, your card needs to remind me both who you are and (possibly) what we talked about. (More on that in another post later.)

Is there anyone else in the nearby area that may not be attending the event that you’d like to connect with? Plan ahead of time and cushion in some extra travel time if you can. A breakfast before heading to the airport the day after is an excellent idea! Don’t miss the opportunity to connect just because someone isn’t attending the event.

We’ve covered how to get prepared for an event! Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below and we’ll chat about actually being at the event and following up in a subsequent post!

BIO:

Kate Buck, (otherwise known as @katebuckjr on Twitter) is the CEO of KBJOnline, a Social Media management and consulting agency in Austin, TX. Her company has worked with some of the top names in Internet Marketing. She is also the Co-founder of Pinqued, an interactive events production & marketing company, and has hosted wildly popular events at the top social media conferences around the country.

Follow Kate on Twitter at http://twitter.com/katebuckjr

This is part one of a guest post I wrote for Carrie Wilkerson's Blog on networking at live events. Part two coming up!