The internet has made world-class content front, center, mobile and affordable—often free.
Anyone can hear the best experts for free (or nearly free) on almost any device they own. Anyone can get thought leadership at their fingertips.
And your conference audience does. They have access to the same information you do. They can hear, watch and read the greatest speakers anytime.

Technology Disrupts Traditional Content-Driven Conferences

So why should someone pay a registration fee, book a flight and hotel rooms, and take a couple of days off from their normal work to attend your conference?
The conferences of the 80s, 90s and 2000s built their attendance by offering excellent speakers, slick productions, amazing networking and access to professional tribes. They often had fantastic closing parties with great entertainment and music as well. Content, entertainment and production ruled!
The challenge today is that the internet, technology and mobile devices have disrupted that model. What conferences had that were exclusive and something to be experienced, is now portable, affordable and everywhere.

Conference Experience Trumps Delivery Of Content

Ultimately, your conference experience will have to trump content.
So we need to use curated content to attract the right target market. We need to leverage the best thought leadership to appeal to conference customers. We should secure the best professional speakers that entice the right registrant.
However, don’t stop there. Content will attract. But your experience will keep them coming back for more…or not. You’ve got to focus on designing great participant experiences!
You can no longer afford to just deliver content at your event. You can no longer afford to distribute content in two or three days and expect it to turn a profit.
Why?
More people are asking, “If I can watch and listen to this on my phone or tablet, why would I attend?”
If you don’t have a good answer to this question as a conference professional, you lose!
Conferences that cultivate great experiences win.

Great Conference Experiences

So what makes for a great experience?
Using content as a tool for active peer to peer and small group discussions. (Not large audience discussions!)
Focusing on audiences as learners and asking speakers to facilitate learning experiences not listening sponges.
Allowing audiences the chance to share and contribute what the content means to them and their work.
Leveraging content to serve as a catalyst where audiences co-create knowledge, solutions and new ideas.
Community experiences with like-minded tribes and outside influencers all discussing the same content and topics.

Sifting Through Online And Face To Face Experiences

Conference organizers will have to sift through what can happen in person and what can be duplicated online.
Those that focus on designing conference experience will continue to grow. Those who continue to follow the old model of spray and pray, sit and get, schedule and deliver, secure and distribute won’t.
You’ve got to offer something in person that you can never get online.
The future belongs to the innovative conference professionals who get better at uncovering and leveraging the differences between online content, online experiences and face to face conference experiences.
What happens to a conference that continues to focus on the traditional school model of experts lecturing to audiences to for a fee? Where do we start when designing a conference experience?