Picture this. Your company sends you to a conference for work. You’re super excited for the opportunity to meet other industry professionals, compare notes + make connections. Once you get there, the days are spent in long sessions followed by long dinners with keynote speakers talking from a stage the whole time. Tight timelines allowed you to leave the conference without any meaningful connections or event networking.

This is NOT how conferences, fundraising dinners, or any other type of event should be! Of course, education, event content + explaining an organization’s mission are all important aspects of any event. We get that. But…

We, at The Event Company, specialize in putting people first! Networking should be a priority — not a happy accident! This is a trend that is gaining popularity in the event world + will likely propel throughout 2024. In fact, prioritizing networking over event content is the third biggest event trend of 2024, according to Bizzabo.

So how do you build out an event to encourage time to network? Here are a few examples:

Social hours

This is probably the most common type of networking opportunity at an event. An hour built into the conference schedule, to chat with people over cocktails + hors d’oeuvres. This is a great way to learn more about the people in the room + connect with them before the program starts. We recommend adding in a fun activity (think: photo booths + interactive games) to entertain attendees + give them more to talk about during a social hour. At a recent agriculture-related event, we had live sheep + hayrides during social hour. Who knows… your next big business connection can start next to a sheep pin!

Social hour at The Harvest Night 2023, a benefit for Stockyards Ag Experience in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

VIP parties

Think of VIP parties as a pre-party to your event’s cocktail hour. We incorporate a VIP social hour at some of our non-profit events. These are invite-only for the event’s biggest sponsors + donors. It serves as a giveback + if planned far enough in advance, can also serve as an incentive to secure potential sponsors.

These VIP parties can be hosted the hour before social hour, or even the day before the event as people arrive in town. As a high dollar donor, the chance to be in a smaller room of people who work for companies of similar caliber to yours is a huge networking opportunity.

Event volunteers + guests outside of the VIP Lounge at Calling All Coyotes 2023, a benefit for the University of South Dakota Foundation.

We’ve even spiced up VIP parties with a celebrity guest, like NFL Hall of Famer John Randle, to entice + entertain event guests.

Connect lounges

Connect lounges are a dedicated space to network at an event. Giving event attendees the opportunity to have a comfy seat to listen to a presentation or during a break is a game-changer! We draw inspiration from living rooms in these spaces + we even put phone chargers + plenty of outlet options to change tablets + computers there. This set-up offers a laid-back approach to starting a conversation.

They’re called connect lounges for a reason — the conversations + connections that come out of this simple space are one-of-a-kind! This is something we get great feedback on post-event surveys year over year.

Event attendees in the Connect Lounge at the 2023 Faith & Business Conference.

After parties + post-event social hours

Ain’t no party like an after party! If you’re able to build time after your event’s program for people to connect, this provides an awesome opportunity for your event guests. If a guest is running late, they will likely miss most of cocktail hour. Offering up a time after the event is the perfect solution to that problem. This also allows guests to chat with each other about what they just learned + if your speakers are open to it, this also allows guests the chance to meet the speaker + ask follow-up questions. A win-win! We love bringing in live music to encourage guests to stick around!

Extracurriculars

Events outside of your main event are great options for multi-day conferences (think wine tastings or golf tournaments). This allows your guests to bond over new experiences + a change of scenery together!

Real estate industry professionals at a golf tournament during the Rewriting the REALTOR® Playbook | Convention of the Dakotas in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

No matter how you choose to incorporate networking time into your event, our biggest tip is to schedule multiple opportunities for people to meet. ROI for most event guests isn’t about how much information was crammed into a keynote session. When they’re considering registering for next year’s conference, chances are, they’re thinking about the connections they made last year + how valuable those conversations were to business.

Check out more of our work on our website + follow us on Instagram to see the latest from our events!