In today’s fast-paced professional landscape, members of trade associations are increasingly seeking opportunities to expand their networks and collaborate with peers across industries. Networking has long been a core benefit of joining professional organizations, but the traditional means of forming connections—through large conferences and mixers—are often inefficient and limited in scope. As a result, associations are exploring more structured, intentional networking platforms like SpeedNetworking.com, which offer a streamlined approach to meeting relevant contacts in a more focused, impactful way. These platforms not only meet the growing demands of members but also provide significant advantages for fostering deeper professional relationships.

SpeedNetworking.com, for example, facilitates both virtual and in-person events designed to maximize interactions between participants in a short period. Unlike general meet-and-greet sessions, these events match individuals based on their professional needs, areas of expertise, and goals, making every interaction purposeful. For trade associations, this structure ensures that members can quickly find and connect with the right people, whether it’s to form business partnerships, share industry insights, or mentor others. These curated networking opportunities are highly effective in providing value to members, leading to higher engagement rates and deeper professional connections.

Incorporating a platform like SpeedNetworking.com into association events or as part of a regular membership benefit also helps improve member retention. When members feel they are gaining valuable business relationships and networking opportunities that are directly related to their goals, they are more likely to remain active participants. This proactive networking approach can also lead to new business collaborations, fostering a more dynamic and engaged community within the association. Structured networking sessions remove the guesswork from events, allowing members to focus on meaningful interactions rather than the often overwhelming task of approaching new contacts in less structured environments.

Overall, platforms like www.SpeedNetworking.com are reshaping how professional associations approach networking, offering solutions that cater to the evolving needs of their members. These tools provide more than just an introduction—they facilitate the kind of targeted, relevant connections that lead to real business outcomes. Whether through virtual events that break geographical barriers or in-person sessions that create face-to-face interactions, structured networking has become an essential tool for member engagement, retention, and collaboration in today’s professional world. By leveraging these platforms, trade associations can ensure their members receive ongoing value, solidifying their role as indispensable resources for professional growth.

The post Trade Associations Turn To Structured Networking Programs appeared first on Speed Networking.

• Matchmaking: Attendees provide their preferences and goals during registration. Our system leverages a proprietary predictive analytic algorithm that creates a participant’s connections based on shared interests and objectives for connecting.
• Speedy conversations: Participants are paired for brief, focused conversations, typically lasting 5–8 minutes. It’s a fun and efficient way to meet 6 to 8 relevant people in a short time.
• Higher engagement: Participants love the thrill of quick, purposeful interactions that keep them engaged throughout the event.
• Effortless networking: Encourages members to meet more people in less time, expanding their network and opportunities.
• Post-event connections: After the event, participants can continue building relationships with those they connected with by using our post event connection portal.
• Same Platform for both in person and virtual speed networking events: Regardless of the event type, organizers have the capability to ensure participants are matched with new contacts they did not meet in prior events. 
• Experienced Customer Success Manager for each event: An experienced coach helps guide the event organizer every step of the way to help ensure each event’s success and to maximize the efforts of the event organizer. 

A recent survey of association members uncovered a desire for more of these quick hitting networking events to foster meaningful new relationships.    

https://speednetworking.com/big-association-survey-reveals-member-engagement-trends/

Our 12 years of experience has culminated in a total solution of technology and coaching that is unique in this generation of speed networking solutions.  You and your members deserve the best!

The post Create an Exciting Member Engagement Event appeared first on Speed Networking.

User Profiles:

• • Participant profiles customized by the organizer with optional relevant information such as professional background, skills, and interests for participating in the event.

Intelligent Matching Algorithm:

• • An intelligent matching algorithm that pairs individuals based on their profiles, ensuring compatibility and relevance in networking sessions. You can modify this to do random matches for simple peer to peer events.
  • Customizable creation of matching factors such as industry, expertise, and goals etc. for the matching process.
  • The system has an option to eliminate matches with participants that have already met.

Time Management:

• • Built-in timers to ensure that each networking session has a predetermined duration, creating a sense of urgency and efficiency.
  • Customizable time intervals to accommodate different types of networking sessions.

Communication Tools:

• • Auto responders and bulk or individual email and text capabilities to enable event organizers to manage marketing, registrations, and participation up to and during the event through the Organizer Dashboard.
  • Integrated communication tools for participants to connect during virtual networking sessions, that incorporate video conferencing, chat, and screen sharing.
  • Real-time notifications and reminders to keep participants engaged and on schedule leading up to and during the event.

Feedback Mechanism:

• • A feedback system that allows participants to provide insights on the quality of their interactions.

Analytics and Reporting:

• • Tracking and reporting features to provide organizers with insights into participant engagement, successful connections, and overall platform usage.
  • Data analytics to identify trends, areas for improvement, and the success of networking events.

User-Friendly Interface:

• • Intuitive and user-friendly design to ensure ease of navigation and a positive user experience that works well on various devices and screen sizes.

Customization Options:

• • Customizable event settings to accommodate different industries, themes, or networking goals.
  • Branding options for event organizers and sponsors to incorporate their logos and colors.

Security and Privacy:

• • Robust security measures to protect user data and ensure the privacy of interactions.
  • Compliance with data protection regulations to build trust among users.

Post-Event Resources:

• • Access to post-event thumbnails of the people they met to enable easy follow up beyond the scheduled sessions.

Technical Support:

• • Realtime customer support to address any technical issues or concerns that participants may encounter during the networking event.

Success Coach:

• • Each event organizer works with our success coach to maximize the effectiveness of the SpeedNetworking.com platform from the event set up and marketing through the post event connections portal.

In-Person Event Option:

• • The same platform is used for in-person events to produce table numbers and printed meeting schedules to facilitate various room set ups.

Option to Exclude or Force Matches:

• • Event organizers can choose to exclude matching participants with people they should not meet or have already met in prior events. Organizers can also force matches to ensure critical connections happen during the event.

By enhancing these features with our 12 years of experience, the SpeedNetworking.com solution set creates a stellar event for participants and makes the networking process more efficient and enjoyable for the event organizer and participants.

The post The Important Features of the SpeedNetworking.com Solution Set appeared first on Speed Networking.

Freeman’s annual gauge of event participants reveals a few differences between attendees of different generations—but many important similarities too.

Rob Carey | Jan 22, 2024

Released in early January, the 2024 Trends Report: Attendee Intent and Behavior from trade-show, exhibit, and event-production agency Freeman addresses the key factors that influence people’s decisions to attend in-person events and their satisfaction with those events.

And while the report, based on responses from nearly 2,100 businesspeople, finds some event-related distinctions between the four generations represented in the work force—Boomers (born before 1965), Gen X (born 1965-1980), Millennial (born 1981-1996), and Gen Z (born 1997-2012)—the commonalities are striking, even as technology related to individual personalization of the business-event experience is quickly advancing.

In fact, technology is centrally related to one commonality, according to the report: “We all want to be seen, accommodated, and valued for our individuality.” That, in essence, is the definition of inclusion, and the leveraging of data can help events get there.”

Some examples of other common preferences among different generations of attendees, according to the survey results:

• With keynote and other general-session presentations, content comes first. “Attendees want substance, not celebrity,” says the report. “A relevant, thought-provoking topic will outweigh even the most prominent name” when it comes to driving attendee interest.

From a wider perspective, the four factors that are most important for driving interest in keynote and general-session presentations: The topic; the type of speaker (industry expertise and experience in innovation are most preferred), the session format (some attendee interaction is most preferred), and the duration (40 to 60 minutes is most preferred). “Striking a balance between informational and inspirational is key” to impactful main-stage presentations, says the report.

• Attendees want business events to offer activities with peer-to-peer interaction, including opportunities for both conversation and hands-on activities. “When it comes to networking, they are less interested in discovering new career opportunities or finding/providing mentoring,” the report says. “Instead, attendees view networking as most valuable when they can exchange ideas with peers regarding their shared challenges, meet new colleagues, and speak with industry experts who might otherwise be out of reach.”

• When it comes to the commercial aspect of business events, “attendees consider samples of products or service as well as hands-on demonstrations—seeing solutions and actions in real-life scenarios—as the most valuable” activities in exhibit and sponsor spaces, says the report.

• Attendees have a clear desire for immersive activations and personalization, but the “low-hanging fruit” of morning yoga sessions, group jogging events, and other wellness initiatives are not moving the needle, according to the report. Instead, focusing event-staff efforts on “business-related immersion and customization opportunities will yield higher returns for attendees and event hosts alike.”

However, there is at least one area where the youngest generation of businesspeople differs from the others: “Next-generation event-goers tend to care more about authentic connection and social causes than other generations,” says the report, “and it is imperative for event organizers to act upon this” in order to maintain an event’s momentum into the future.

The post 4 Takeaways from Big Attendee-Preferences Survey appeared first on Speed Networking.

MCI’s Association Engagement Index finds only a “moderate” engagement level overall, but also finds areas where engagement can be deepened—including meetings.

A survey by association-services firm MCI of more than 12,700 members and customers from 51 associations around the world shows that a sizable majority of associations—67 percent—are engaging their membership only to a moderate degree. Just 20 percent are engaging their membership strongly, while 13 percent are engaging their membership in a “weak” fashion.

Overall, the average engagement score between associations and the responding members and customers was 88 out of 150.

From these results, the authors of the post-survey report note that there is considerable room for associations to get better: “It’s clear that associations can improve their understanding of key drivers so as to enhance their relationship with members…To be future-proof, associations must consider the interests, preferred styles of engagement, and ease of access desired by the younger members of their communities.”

First, the report notes that more associations are now considering actively involving younger professionals in their governance structure, ensuring that their voices are heard in the boardroom. At the least, “each association’s strategy and vision require the input of this target audience.”

Across respondents of all ages, the report finds that subject-matter expertise and relevance of content are among the elements where associations are “excellent” in their performance. On the flip side, fostering innovation, “representation of my company’s interests,” and providing value for money were areas where no more than 30 percent said their association was “excellent” in its performance.

Let’s Get to Meetings
When it comes to an association’s learning and networking events, 56 percent said they prefer to engage with content and industry peers both in person and online, rather than exclusively in person (44 percent). Further, 73 percent say that virtual events are a good alternative and should complement in-person events. The report’s conclusion from these results: “Members and customers have shown that the ‘right’ way [for education] is omni-channel. It fits with customization and choice. The more an association can facilitate choice, the more it ensures the member/customer journey matches the needs of the individual or company and builds strength of relationship and engagement.”

Among Millennial and Gen Z and respondents in particular, “if associations focus on leveraging technology, such as artificial intelligence, machine-learning algorithms, and predictive analytics to understand member/customer preferences and personalize each member’s journey, they will increase members’ quick and seamless access to content and programs that are relevant to them,” which will encourage greater engagement.

Lastly, while members’ ages did not correlate with the strength of their relationship with their association, there is a clear variance between age groups when to comes to net promoter scores, which are a sign of an association’s future prospects. For example, members above age 60 had an average NPS of 42, while members under age 40 had an average NPS of only 30.

In conclusion, the report emphasizes that “associations must consciously seek to understand what drives and motivates Millennials and Gen Z in order to secure their active involvement and brand loyalty.”

The post Big Association Survey Reveals Member-Engagement Trends appeared first on Speed Networking.

A High-Level View of Association Meetings
Originally published in MeetingsNet, May 2023. Reprinted with permission
Rob Carey | May 03, 2023

ASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS AND EXPOS

Karin Soyster Fitzgerald, AMC Institute’s new chief operating officer, came up through the meetings department to arrive in the C-suite. Here’s what she sees happening with association meetings right now.

In mid-February, the AMC Institute appointed Karin Soyster Fitzgerald, CMP, CAE, as its chief operating officer. The organization represents 180 association management companies that manage more than 1,800 associations and provide project support to another 900 associations.

Fitzgerald brings more than 30 years of meetings, membership, and operations experience to AMCI from both trade associations and professional societies. In fact, the first half of her career was spent in meeting and education departments, where she rose from being a novice meetings manager to a vice president of education in less than 15 years. Then, after five years as a vice president of membership services, Fitzgerald has been a chief operations officer for two associations over the past decade.

Now, her executive role at AMC is focused on advancing the value of the AMC model to associations. “The AMC model has seen tremendous growth in the last few years—even through Covid—and I am thrilled to join an association that represents such a unique industry,” said Fitzgerald.

But throughout a career of escalating roles and responsibilities, Fitzgerald has always maintained her keen interest in the meetings function and its importance to associations’ future health. MeetingsNet caught up with her recently to ask about her observations of the meetings landscape.

MeetingsNet: Which aspects of your new role are you most looking forward to taking on?
Karin Soyster Fitzgerald: I have a much more hands-on role than I’ve had over the last 15 years, with responsibilities in many other areas other than strategic oversight. What I’m looking forward to the most is learning more about the association management company model. While it has been around my entire association career, I’ve never worked for one, so representing the entire industry is a new challenge. The AMC community has grown substantially since the start of the pandemic, as boards have looked for solutions to run their organizations more efficiently.

MeetingsNet: What’s a good way for association planners to find some new, innovative ideas for their events?
Fitzgerald: It is so valuable for planners to see first-hand what other organizations are doing. I’m hearing more and more about planners swapping out time at each other’s events, where they help with on-site duties in exchange for the opportunity to find new ideas for their own events. It’s a win-win for both groups.

MeetingsNet: After Covid, how should associations maintain their virtual-attendee components for annual meetings so that they get a wider audience but not cannibalize in-person attendance? And what’s your take on virtual-networking elements for those meetings?
Fitzgerald: Virtual is definitely here to stay, whether stand-alone or hybrid. As we learned during the pandemic, hybrid events are costly and require extensive coordination. Recording sessions for on-demand viewing afterwards seems to be the most economical approach. The recordings can be edited to focus on content, without the parts of a session that pertain only to the live audience.

As for virtual networking, people became “Zoomed out” in the pandemic and I’m hearing less and less about it. Virtual networking can still be valuable, but it must be done in small chat rooms. Some virtual platforms offer chat rooms that randomly change participants on a timer, and that seems pretty interesting.

MeetingsNet: What are the most important things that associations’ meetings departments should understand as they strategize with their executives about in-person meetings?
Fitzgerald: Follow the money! When I first started in the association world, dues were the largest revenue source. That changed drastically over the years, with meetings and sponsorships becoming a much bigger pieces of the pie. With the pandemic, though, many organizations have moved towards relying too heavily on meetings income. Understanding your organization’s bottom line is paramount, regardless of whether you work for a non-profit or a for-profit organization. Whatever your role in an association, you need to know the value of your work and how it fits into the big picture.

MeetingsNet: If you could get association executives to better understand one thing about the meetings function, what would it be?
Fitzgerald: Right now, the biggest concern is understanding that prices are not going down, ever. The costs of running an event—from flights to guest rooms to materials to AV to F&B—are way up across the board, and executives need to know that adjustments to the program simply must happen.

MeetingsNet: What else should associations’ planning departments take into consideration?
Fitzgerald: From a logistical perspective, with costs continuing to escalate at a rapid pace, I encourage planners to reach out to their venues ahead of time and see which other groups will be in-house at the same time. This way, the planners for overlapping events can share their food-and-beverage requirements as well as their specs for audiovisual and rigging, and maybe figure out where they can get better pricing or share some costs.

From a strategic perspective, sustainability and community service are areas that are becoming more and more important to younger generations, so offering on-site programs for attendees to give back to the host destination is a very attractive element to get them to attend events.

Also, I’m quite concerned about the growing sentiment for boycotting cities or states due to political issues. I hope this slows down, because such boycotts usually end up hurting the wrong people in a destination. A meeting boycott lands on the backs of the local hospitality workers who don’t have much influence politically, and their livelihood relies on our business. Organizing fundraising or other events for causes in a destination is a much better practice.

The post A High-Level View of Association Meetings appeared first on Speed Networking.

The workplace environment is constantly evolving and changing, and for younger employees like those in Gen X-Y-Z, traditional office politics are not something they care about. Here’s how you can capture their attention instead.

The post What Managers Should Understand About Workplace Expectations in 2023. appeared first on Speed Networking.

Employee retention is critical to business success. When your top performers leave, their valuable company knowledge is often lost. Your remaining workforce may feel disoriented and unproductive without the previous employee’s expertise. And your talent’s productivity will plummet further when they’re forced to pick up the slack as a position remains unfilled. All this can lead to burnout and future turnover. 

Moreover, it’s costly to replace a departing employee. The cost to replace an individual employee can range anywhere from one half to two times the employee’s annual salary. The recruiting, onboarding, and training costs associated with hiring new talent is outright expensive. 

The cost to replace an individual employee can range from one half to two times the employee’s annual salary.

To make things worse, it can take one to two years for a new employee to reach similar performance to their predecessor. It’s clear that if your employees are constantly turning over, it’s difficult to build an engaging, high-performing workplace.

How to calculate your employee retention rate:

Calculating your employee retention rate can be achieved easily with a simple formula. Just divide the number of retained employees throughout a given time period by the initial amount of employees in that time period, and multiply by 100. 

(Remaining headcount during set period/ Starting headcount during set period) x 100

It’s important that your remaining headcount number doesn’t include new hires. Your retention rate is about the number of tenured employees who stay, not the number of people you’re able to hire. If you include employees who joined your organization during the set period that you’re measuring, you’ll skew your numbers. 

The post Why Employee Retention is so Important appeared first on Speed Networking.

Virtual networking elements at in-person events are table stakes for companies.  In 2023, we will see the influx of virtual elements incorporated into in-person events to satisfy expectations and measure attendee engagement. Companies that fail to incorporate these elements into their event strategies will fall behind in collecting and optimizing attendee insights to better inform their marketing efforts.

According to a recent questionnaire of more than 3,000 respondents declare hybrid events are favored among B2B organizations. Specifically:

• 86% of B2B organizationssaw a positive ROI from their hybrid events seven months after the event date.
• 34% of event organizersexpect to invest more in hybrid events in the next few years.
• 21% of marketerssaid they are procuring a hybrid event platform.
• 57% of respondentssaid they would rather attend an in-person version of a hybrid event than the virtual networking version.
• 25% of respondentsstated they will host between five to 10 hybrid events per year.

Even though the lockdown is over, marketers aren’t throwing away their virtual networking event playbooks and only hosting live events. They learned to meet customers where they are by offering both methods to target and engage audiences.“Virtual networking events have certainly proven their ROI,” said Mike Slater, Founder of Speednetworking.com, the industry’s legacy premium preferred provider of virtual networking events.  As such, event leaders are looking to take the benefits of virtual networking events and translate them into physical ones. For example, attending events where the speaker or panelists are tuning in remotely from around the world, giving in-person attendees opportunity to connect with topic leaders globally. These hybrid events also extend to participants, helping to maximize event attendance and connection.

Marketers must leave behind binary thinking that pits physical and virtual networking against one another.  When it comes to event experiences, marketers must focus on matching personalized content and experiences with individual customers in the format they prefer — whether at a conference center, through a screen or a mix of the two. Moving forward, event strategies will focus on engagement and impact rather than format, reaching attendees where they prefer to interact.

The post Leveraging A Blend of Physical & Virtual Events To Reach Wider Audiences appeared first on Speed Networking.

In the last several years, virtual events have become a staple of society. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, nearly half the participants in the Impact of Video Conferencing Report noted that they were using videoconferencing more frequently than the prior two years. That trend was compounded by the global pandemic, resulting in more virtual events than ever before. Now, as folks look ahead to hybrid and remote work, it’s clear that virtual events are here to stay. And for good reason.

Virtual events (like speed networking) offer several benefits to traditional in-person gatherings, including:

• Increased accessibility and participation
• Reduced costs for hosts and attendees
• Enhanced flexibility

The rise of  virtual events has naturally increased the number of virtual event platforms. Of course, just like not every virtual event is created equal, not all virtual platforms are alike either. Some have certain advantages and disadvantages. Some are very solid overall, and others simply fall flat. Let’s take a look at the best virtual event platforms of 2022 and what factors you should consider when picking the right platform for your virtual or hybrid event. 

What Are the Factors to Consider When Choosing the Right Virtual Event Platform?

There are a handful of considerations to keep in mind when you are sorting through virtual event platforms. First and foremost, you need to determine what you want to get out of your virtual event. Assessing your needs is one way to determine which platform is right for you. 

For example, you may have a virtual meeting platform that works great for conference calls or weekly stand ups. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the best platform for hosting your virtual event. Imagine you want to host a virtual networking event. In order to ensure all stakeholders have an excellent experience from start to finish, you probably need more features than just videoconferencing. 

When determining your platform needs, you should also ask yourself:

• How many participants will you have?
• What kinds of activities will they engage in (one-on-one conversations, group activities, presentations, etc.)?
• How long will your entire event last?
• How long will each activity or session last?
• How many sessions or activities will there be?
• What is the ideal experience for everyone involved?

That last factor to consider, the “ideal experience,” is an incredibly important one. That will help you decide whether or not a platform has everything on your wish list. Beyond meeting just your basic needs, the best virtual event platforms will provide many (if not all) of your wants. For example, a great platform for your networking event will provide features like:

• Streamlined registration 
• Enhanced in-app communication
• Predictive matchmaking 
• On-demand support for host and participants
• A flexible user interface that is equally reliable on desktops and mobile devices
• In-depth, actionable analytics 

When you combine all of these features and factors, you get a truly amazing event for everybody. 

What Is the Best Platform for Your Virtual Event? 

Plain and simple, if you want to put on an incredible virtual networking event, SpeedNetworking.com is the best platform for you. Hosting a hybrid event? What platform will you use to hold the virtual part of your event? Good news, we can help with that, too. We are an in-person, virtual, and hybrid SaaS platform designed to help create and execute the best one-on-one networking experiences out there. 

With SpeedNetworking:

• Participants can expand their professional network through targeted and impactful connections in one-on-one meetings.
• Event hosts can use advanced reporting and analytics to ensure everyone has a meaningful and positive experience.
• Event sponsors are seamlessly incorporated into events to maximize their return on investment. 

With our combination of passion and experience, the results truly speak for themselves. With clients like Google, UKG, General Electric and more, we are confident that we can find the perfect event solution for you. If you are interested in learning more about our past work, be sure to check out our case studies.  

On the other hand, if you are ready to learn more about what we can do for you moving forward, it might be time to:

• Check out our resources page
• Schedule a demo
• Or contact us with any other thoughts or questions!

The post How Do You Select the Right Virtual Platform for an Event? appeared first on Speed Networking.