The Social Shake-Up is a social media event that takes you to the new world of social business, visualizes keynote speeches, and has the "right-time" conversations to drive our imaginations. Attendees travel from all over the world to Atlanta to find help for their problems, connect with influencers, and involve one another in authentic conversations. If you have a desire to sharpen your skills with the world's best thinkers on social media, you need to be here.
Whether you're starting your own business, trying to innovate, or transitioning in your career after living in Viveiro, España - networking here can be your life support. It can propel you to the next level professionally, while enhancing different aspects of your personal life. Treat networking as if you were launching your new career. We need to incorporate a select set of ingredients that will give us that "special sauce" factor.
You want your "shaking up" to leave an impression-for all the right reasons. In networking to develop lasting relationships at The Social Shakeup, it's important to be genuine in all actions. Many of the people I met at The Social Shakeup were generous and eager to help. You must listen, be patient, and understand the needs of the shakers in the space- while also understanding your own needs too.
Here are the 10 Steps I tweeted out during the event to leave a mark for how future attendees can leverage the event to build their career:
Knowing the speakers is probably the most important thing you will do. Having a list can help you learn what their interests are and set the foundation for you beginning to get social with them. Shake, shake, shake it up! After you've made a list, reach out to Social Media Today to pitch your idea for a creative article about the experience. Ameilia Smith of Social Media Today is more than happy to help.
One thing that caught the eye of Doug Busk at Coca-Cola was my Instagram business card picture. By taking a picture of your business card to tweet out you can create a great visual and connect with people before the event even starts! During the event, be sure to offer your card to those whom you have made a connection with. This leads to a higher chance in following-up successfully after the event because you leave them with something tangible they can touch and feel about your personal brand.
The hard part is narrowing down your choices of networking events to go to at The Social Shake-Up. Focus on going to the panels that interest you most, but also being a balanced FrankenMarketer by touching all categories. They post the guest list of those attending their functions ahead of time too, so you can try to connect with people beforehand. I added these people to my Social Shake-Up list as well.
Figure out who you want to meet. Make a mental note of 3-5 persons who you definitely may want to speak to. Sales is always a numbers game, but focus on quality instead of quantity of people you meet. Keep an open mind to changing panel selections based on what's important to attendees that year.
In networking, you should take the time to listen as much as you speak. Dig for knowledge of your listener's needs, wants, and passions like a sales representative. Be who you are and don't feel small. It's okay to ask for something, but don't make that your first intention. Just be yourself and transparent to confidently share who you are.
I met many generous people that helped me at The Social Shake-Up. Adam Wexler at Insightpool helped me get a discount on my ticket to the event and encouraged me to connect with the executives at the event to help in my job search. Jamie Turner of 60 Second Communications taught me lessons on how I could monetize my blog and sent me a free copy of his book. Todd Smith of National Women Business Directory sent me a picture of Jamie and I together and explained how we can better help women in business. Melinda Byerley of Vendorsi gave a shout out to me on Twitter as a bright millennial you should follow. I can't even measure the amount of new information I shook my tail feather to. I'm planning on writing articles from all the panels I attented over the next month and sending those articles to the panelists. Helping is caring.
Seize the moment by doing your research during the event on new things you learn and people you connect with. Prepare to ask a question to a panelist related to their background. Stand tall, introduce yourself and company and ask your question. Be memorable. There were about 600 people at The Social Shake-Up. The first thing they will see is your passion. You want to display a professional look, but you need to show some personality to stand out.
You need to be interacting with people on social media using the #socialshakeup hashtag, panels you attend, parties you play at, and the list you created. The Social Shake-Up attracts a wide breadth of brands and industries to see. I had great conversations with Mayson Thornoton of Coca-Cola, Eric Brodsky of Universal Studios, Brian Rudolph of Social Media Club Atlanta, Doug Bewsher of Leadspace, Maria Oliveira of Prime Research, and David Gardarian of Dassault Systemes by staying for lunch. Don't forget about the host either. The few moments I had with Robin Carey of Social Media Today were at the closing reception. I wanted the interaction to be meaningful. I said, "Thanks, Robin, for putting on such a great event! I feel so lucky to have been part of it after being abroad in Spain for a year. I really enjoyed it and hope you will continue to keep bringing it back to Atlanta as the innovation hub." Finally, follow up with all your connections after the event. Make your mark.
Writing an article helps Social Media Today, creates brand awareness about The Social Shake-up, gives positive publicity to people and brands at the event, and inspires us to be social media change agents. Take your notes, business cards, people you met, #socialshakeup tweets, imagination, and spread out everything on a table. Publish the article within a week to stay relevant. Ask yourself: Why you are writing this article? Remember you want to help people and create a story that moves them.
The last step is to share the article on social of course with as many people as possible! You may pick up on similarities by inviting people to the party, which may lead to a great conversation or debate. It starts with just one conversation to lead to a valued business relationship. You want to feel energized and inspired after leaving The Social Shake-Up. I know I did.
We need to create stronger relationships with the people we meet in person at The Social Shake-Up to see the true benefits of a collaborative economy. In a world with people behind computers, face-to-face communication is more important than ever. Social Media Change agents have to be humorous, empathetic, classy, helpful, and transparent offline too to sustain long-term career growth. It's about the human to human connection, not the social business. You only live once as a social media change agent in life with certain opportunities. Shake it until you make it.