HOW DID YOUR #websummit2022 GO?

While having plenty of time and inspiration on my way to Kyiv from Lisbon, I feel like sharing tips worth considering before and after the conference to maximize the business trip's success.

?? Web Summit is a buffet where you can find a prospect, business partner, or investor, shoot content for several months ahead, or just hang out. But if you ask me, it is worth going with a goal and primary KPIs for yourself and the team. For example, at least 50 EdTech leads directly and 5-6 interviews with innovative participating companies. Otherwise, there is a risk that both you and the team will get "lost" amid 70+ thousand different possibilities.

The SendPulse marketing team from Ukraine, Mexico, and Brazil and I had at least 3 previous internal meetings where we discussed our activities and personal KPIs for each.

?? Connect with conference participants immediately through the mobile app and on LinkedIn. Learn how to quickly find your personal LinkedIn QR code under any condition; It will come in handy not just at the summit.

Screenshot and note what you’ve agreed on. After the event, you will have at least 50 new contacts, even if you are the ultimate introvert, and remembering what you talked about afterward can be challenging ??

Many participants immediately wrote and sent voice messages this year with a short meeting summary. If it works, why not?

Connection at the venue was stable this year, so finding each other on social media was no problem. But previously, this was a bummer, so you’d better store a few paper business cards.

?? Did you take a photo near the booth or in the Ukrainian pavilion? Perfect! Add it to your email or a follow-up message. We do this every year, which increases the chances that you and your offers will jog in people’s memory. Otherwise — read the previous ?? point.

?? The Summit mobile app will be out of date in 1.5-2 weeks after the event. Without further ado, "save" the contacts you collected during the conference. See my screenshot below on how to do it.

?? Be active and join the Summit community if you haven't already. I know about ten Ukrainian groups in Telegram, where communication will continue until next year. I will leave helpful links to my favorite communities in the comments below. Also, remember to leave a message there after the event about how you and your company can assist other participants.

• Web Summit Ukrainians
• Web Summit
• Your first ever Web Summit

?? Sent an email, but no one answered? Make another two and send them gradually. Don’t hurry to give up on this "lead," the person is pretty likely surfing somewhere in Portugal until the end of the week, and then they will get in touch.

?? Received contacts of a general profile or simply didn’t have time to process the collected leads properly? Pass them on to your sales manager, but be sure to add comments on what was agreed upon and, if necessary, add yourself to the copy to direct the chat the right way.

?? Haven't posted about the Web Summit on social networks yet? It's high time. Add the hashtag and tag Web Summit. In this way, you can find interesting prospects.

?? Soon, the organizers will start emailing the "early birds" offers for Summit 2023. I recommend considering the booth and tickets for girls — Women in Tech at $45 per ticket.

Our booth was in the Beta format this year, but participants also favored the Alpha format, especially the Growth one. None of the presented Ukrainian projects went unnoticed. Therefore, even if you have a small start-up, you already know what to do ??

?? I didn't really have time to collect interesting merch for the conference, but I received several T-shirts from Ukrainian startups, which I already wear. I saw that some people went to the summit and were "ambassadors" in such gifts, and I did it halfway home because there are never too many T-shirts from fantastic Ukrainian companies ??

?? What merch should you prepare for your booth? It is a fairly common question, and there are loads of options. I will share our experience. Our webcam cover merch was well-received this year. And stickers with Ukrainian symbols — people immediately stuck them to their badges.

Eco merch is also always appreciated and attracts attention. There’s not much we didn’t have in the past years — from handmade eco soap to pencils that grow into a flower if you follow the instructions and plant them in a pot ?? Choose between creativity and usability — and you won't go wrong.

?? Every year, we focus on new products. This year, we went with a no-code online course builder and a landing page builder , which are already able to replace Tilda and GetCourse in their basic configuration. Much to our delight, the participants showed massive interest in.

?? But most of the post-summit work will never compare to my Digital Marketing team. They prepared and planned everything down to the last detail behind the scenes even before the trip! From the booth arrangement to the merch and triggered e-mail and chatbot campaigns for everyone who visited our booth.

My dream team, you already know everything, but I will remind you that this wouldn’t have happened without you.

So consider the preparation stage for next year. The more detailed and planned it is, the more effective the Summit will be for you — preparation rocks.

?? And my HRD Olich Klymanska was with me all the way. We were together almost 24/7, and we’re still on speaking terms! And when someone asked how to find us at the summit, in the pavilion, or at the Time Out Market — Olich had a prepared answer: "I have blue hair, and Alina has pink," and everyone who needed it — found us) But next time we will take bright hoodies with us to catch the eye faster.

Olich didn’t miss a single event for Ukrainians and networked like a god. This, by the way, is another tip — if you have the energy, don't sit around in your hotel room. Attend themed parties or events. There you can find valuable contacts.

?? Traveling is the best post-summit advice. European low-cost tickets are a real bargain! After the event, we went to Nazare, then to Porto, and from there to Valencia. And everywhere we organized a meeting of Ukrainian specialists, with whom we exchanged valuable experience, and now we keep communicating. Simply text in messengers (which I left in the comments): "Who is in Porto now?"

?? On November 4, the last official day of the summit, I made a speech on: "How to maximize results from Web Summit 2022?" We are currently editing this and other recordings. Soon, search our SendPulse YouTube channel and social media pages for posts and valuable materials from Ukrainian companies that participated in the event this year and with whom we managed to communicate.

It was a pleasure to present SendPulse products made in Ukraine this year in Lisbon and to spread the word about Ukraine.

This summit took the lead in terms of the concentration of Ukrainians. Many were there for the first time. I am thrilled that it worked, and I will go to Lisbon again next year.

I am proud that, no matter what, we once again prove to the world that Ukrainian projects are worth investing time, money, and attention. Such colossal support of the Ukrainian community in the civilized world is exceptionally touching.

We’re heading to the gate, reading the news from Kherson. The Spaniards see our tridents on T-shirts and bags and smile while we cry from happiness and pride.

And while I was writing these notes, I almost got home ????

And as usual, to be continued…