From ASHA membership meetings to SMASH events, there is a wide variety of conferences to choose from throughout the senior living industry. No matter your niche, there is likely a conference that meets your needs. Although showing up to conferences can be a great first step toward creating connections and boosting reach, just showing up isn’t enough. Here are 3 actions you need to take before and during every senior living conference.
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Planning your Calendar

Before you ever touch down on the conference floor, there’s a certain degree of planning that has to go into what conferences you attend and what you actually hope to accomplish while attending. There’s plenty to enjoy while simply being a guest at a conference, but we all know how much of an investment attending can be. From a business perspective, you want each investment to generate some form of return. This can range from new relationships to captured content. Here are preliminary steps you can take to ensure you are set up for success. 

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Do Your Research

A simple first step is to research each potential conference you and/or your team would like to attend for the year. As a brand, you should know your unfair advantage within the industry, which should help inform which conferences can best benefit you. Conference groups are often great at promoting their event, so it won’t be hard to gain access to who the speakers will be, what events will be held, and when you’ll have opportunities to connect. This research stage can help lead into step two of planning, which is strategy.

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Be Strategic

Once you do your research, you should have a better understanding of which conferences will maximize your ROI. Start by determining which conferences match your niche. If you are in architecture, then a sales and marketing conference likely wouldn’t produce ROI for you. Niching down not only puts you under keynote speakers that will benefit you the most, but it will also place you in conferences that can connect you with your target leads and other like minded individuals. This opens the door for future collaborations. 
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In regard to connecting with other professionals, using social media platforms like LinkedIn can be a great way to gauge interest. See where your digital connections are going, and let that help guide your decisions. In essence, you want to go where your leads are, so posting polls and joining different online groups can help you find them.

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Promote Your Conference Circuit 

Once you decide where you’ll be going for the year, let everyone know where to find you. Social media is a great space to let your followers/connections know that you are ready to connect with them in person. This is also a great way to utilize a newsletter to reach loyal followers of your brand. Once you have your calendar set – share it. Start seeing the response from your followers and allow that to inform targeted connections. A simple comment on a post may spark a conversation that can lead to a real-life connection at the conference. Let everyone know where you will be and how they can find you. This is especially important if you are hoping to capture content.

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Here are our tips for successful content shoots 
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Making the Most of Your Conference Experience

Keynote speakers and breakout sessions are incredible opportunities to gain insights that will help you and your team. However, the greatest thing you can take away from a conference is new connections. So here are your 3 actions to take to make connections and let them lead to new growth for your organization. 
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Connect

In the digital age, we have the opportunity to connect in ways we’ve never known before. Let’s say a conference has 1,000 attendees. Without the help of technology, making strategic connections in a short amount of time can be extremely difficult. However, utilizing social media can help pinpoint who is where and begin the conversation before you ever meet the person. Thankfully, conferences also create controlled environments designed to promote connection. Don’t skip out on these social networking events! In marketing, connections are a great way to start expanding your content because they lead to the next action – collaboration.

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Collaborate

Collaboration is an often overlooked key to success in your digital marketing. Consumers value an expert opinion. This can play out in multiple ways. Consider the following.
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• Invite your new connections to be guests on your content (podcasts, vlogs, etc.)
• Ask your new connections to be a guest contributor to your blog
• Work together on a brand new piece of content that both creators can promote
• Go live at the conference with your new connections 
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However this plays out, having an outsider publicly support and engage with your brand can speak volumes to consumers. As great as your brand is, having someone else acknowledge this can give your brand a level of validation that’s hard to achieve when the brand is speaking for itself.

Collaboration also gives your brand access to a brand new audience. As you collaborate with other faces within your niche, your fellow collaborator will be a recognizable face for their current brand advocates. In essence, if consumers already trust the brand/people you collaborate with, then they are more inclined to trust you and your brand. If their favorite brand and/or thought leader trusts you – then they trust you. Every brand is working to get their name out there, so don’t be afraid to reach out and work together towards that common goal. 

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Cultivate

The final action goes beyond the conferences you attend and carries on into your future marketing. Don’t let your connections and collaborations burn out once the conference ends. With your newly acquired connections, keep the conversation going by interacting on social media and inviting them to join you on more collaborative resources for your respective audiences. A key part of brand building is community, so stay active in finding ways to platform others in your niche. You’ll find that when you continue to platform others, they will be more open to platforming you and your brand as well.

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Review

From planning to execution, the key idea here is placing yourself in the company of other figures in your industry. Unity and collaboration can be huge contributors to the success of your marketing efforts. Even if the connection is strong enough for someone to share your posts, that is a brand new audience you weren’t reaching before. So as you close out your upcoming conferences and plan for your next circuit, keep these actions in mind and begin expanding your brand.

To maximize the value of attending senior living conferences, it's essential to go beyond just showing up—plan strategically, make meaningful connections, and cultivate lasting relationships. By following these three actions, you can ensure that each conference you attend becomes a powerful opportunity for growth and collaboration within your industry. Don't let these moments pass you by; instead, leverage them to build a stronger, more connected brand. If you’re still unsure on how to execute these steps. Contact us today to gain access to a team of marketing specialists who are ready to elevate your brand.