Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Why Does the Value of a Healthcare Conference Almost Always End When It’s Over?

Why must most all of the value of a healthcare conference essentially cease flowing late in the day on which the conference ends? Why don’t more conference organizers, speakers, exhibitors and conference attendees keep the information, insight and ideas generated by 100’s and 1000’s of conference participants - and their often million$ of combined investment dollars - flowing AFTER the event is over?

Read this post and learn how to keep the value generated by a healthcare conference going long AFTER it's over.

This is the fourth and final post recapping information, insight and ideas shared by participants of the Health Information Technology Social Media (#HITsm) chat on April 13th. You can check out the three previous posts here:

  1. BEFORE 
  2. DURING-1 
  3. DURING-2.

Note: To make it easy on the reader – and me – I’ve removed all the Twitter handles, hashtags and, in less than a handful of instances, corrected a few tweets to make them easier to read. You can read the entire, verbatim transcript here.


Keeping Engagement Going After the Healthcare Conference Ends



Agree that conference should be continuation of constant content and value. IMO, don't like one and done approaches.

They (conference organizers) could provide digital version of the sessions (videos and presentations) to attendees

A consolidated library of resources to include presentations, forums, captured Q&A from conference, and, dare I say, a library of IP that can be shared among #HCO. For instance, sharing Medical Logic Module code, RFP templates, #CDI approach documentation.

YES!! Love this idea! I was stoked that the good folks at #HITMC were able to get us almost all the slides from the event from each presenter. Can't be everywhere at once but so much great information provided in each session.

A follow-up Twitter chat could be interesting. People can share new things they learned, ask questions about anything they've been pondering since the conference, share new ideas influenced by the conference.

Encourage attendees and those who couldn't attend to host mini meet-ups in their geographic areas or when they're attending other conferences to reinforce your conference community.

If a topic takes off, live impromptu workshops/round tables can occur post talk incorporating ideas from virtual guests.

Additionally, they (organizers) can encourage networking, creating a list of emails of the attendees, but ONLY of those who would like their information to be shared among other attendees for business connecting purposes. No one likes too many emails either!


Conference Speakers & Presenters – and Exhibitors Too!



Provide a link to published slides, recorded sessions, and related artifacts (playbook, eBook, guide, documentation, source code). Organize a tweet-chat post-event to re-cap key insights and identify actionable next steps of collaboration.

Follow up with any slides and links that were referenced in the presentations, post video of the

As opposed to simply sharing slide-decks, what other artifacts or resources can be shared that the attendee can take away and use to implement at their organization.

Good stuff to share in the days after a conference event: Videos, Demos, Case, Studies, Infographics, Webinars. And slide decks, White papers or e-books. Articles or blog posts. Spec sheets. Special offers

Any way that you can push out information, without requiring much effort on attendees is key. Why make it complicated?



How Conference Attendees Can Extend Conference Value



I like to see "After Action" type content from attendees to get other's impressions of their experience. So much the better when that content is aggregated and curated by the conference organizer!

In the Twittersphere, of course! Or connect on LinkedIn and keep the conversations going in a group.

So/me is often a labor of love, and of the sweat equity variety. If peeps add value to your event via amplification and reach, recognize them via s/o. Follow their work, and share their content. It ain't only about YOU.

Follow up post conference with actionable information; no fluff, all stuff 



Post-Conference Summaries – In High Demand and Low Supply



Share a good recap of the event with all session artifacts - and supporting materials. On your website of course. This could be a huge attraction that provides value long after the conference is over. And be used for promoting the next event.

After conference, recaps can also be leveraged with writeups to be posted and shared on social media

Also, as @JulianaRuizCobo mentioned, they could also create a post-conference writeup covering main takeaways from the event and provide digital assets to compliment writeup

For @HealthITExpo, we're going to create an e-Book with an actionable takeaway slide from every

Brilliant. We are really looking forward to #HITExpo. Curated content is where it’s at. Distill the most salient insights to summarize, but also highlight novel approaches that deserve additional awareness.

I like social media recap emails. Pull some of the best tweets from the day and email for each day. Effective and easy.

To me, it's all about community and keeping in contact with people you connected with. Have a next step already planned out that you can announce at the end of the conference. Like - a recapapolooza tweet chat!


Healthcare Conference Feedback – Make it Easy & Bidirectional


Survey attendees to get additional feedback and work in recommendations to next year's planning; share recorded events with attendees so they have an opportunity to listen to any sessions they may have missed.

Use post conference survey data to drive content throughout the yr. Was there a conf session or panel everyone loved or that generated a ton of discussion? Maybe that speaker/those speakers should broaden the audience & continue the discussion with a Part 2 tweetchat!

Be cool if session surveys were available real-time and online during the session. No one wants to complete a survey when they have another session/event to run to. Or will remember the detailed nuances a week later.

Conference Surveys or BINGO Cards?




Instead of a post-session rating questionnaire, maybe just give each attendee a bingo card upon entrance? The attached are rather funny - and spot on!

Ok that’s really good! And give great prizes when someone yells BINGO!

Exactly! And Precisely why my completed survey is here at home in my conference folder 2 months later! OOPS.

I like that idea! Or a customer panel that can share their feedback on a new product or service

Respond to feedback & incorporate it on an ongoing basis. Deliver an amazing experience, but always strive to be better & seek for where you're missing the mark. Be candid, be honest, be open to creating something with your attendees, not just what you think they want.

After conference FEEDBACK to speakers on their prezo

Agreed! Did you see this, too? https://t.co/7Hq1uT7SxP @StudioNorthUSA's take on the survey data.

One of the most valuable items from #HITMC this year was the "State of HITMC" survey. Benchmarking data driven by surveying is critical to understand how your organization compares and what adjustments you may consider

Bonus: At #HIMSS18 last month, a moderator went on and on about being respectful, silencing your phone and not tweeting. Then his phone went off 5 minutes later and he had a hard time turning it off.

Bonus: Once I overheard a conference leader scold one of their own sponsors for something that didn’t even matter. I walked away as fast as I could once I discovered what it was about. 


Those Were the Thoughts of 66 People, What Do You Think?


This post and the previous three posts summarized the information, insight and ideas 66 participants shared in over 500 tweets during the HITsm chat on April 13th. What information, insight and ideas do you have to share?