Takeaways from ACCE's Events & Communications Conference

Nearly 100 chamber professionals met in Boulder, Colorado last week for ACCE’s Events & Communications Conference, presented by Meta. In many chambers, communications and events staff work closely together and are sometimes even the same person. The combination led to robust professional development, networking and collaboration. Here are a few key takeaways from the conference. 

Storytelling creates connection.

Storytelling is more than a buzzword – it’s science. By sharing a character-driven story, either through a communications piece or at an event, chemicals in the brain help create connection, trust and cooperation. By making your audience care, it improves information retention and creates an unforgettable experience.

Give networking events an update.

Cathi Hight, president of Hight Performance Group, shared the latest version of making connections with Networking 4.0, presented by Meta. Chamber networking events should create environments to facilitate connections, develop relationships that are mutually beneficial and motivate future engagement. Think group activities where attendees have something in common, experiences or deep-dive learning.

Use a process.

Maybe you have an event date and work your way back toward the present day to assign tasks or create deadlines. Or perhaps there’s a flow chart your team follows to make sure an event still aligns with the mission of the chamber or if it’s time to kill that sacred cow. No matter what your chamber uses, simply having a process is an important component to ensure smooth event planning.

Repurpose what you’ve got.

Whether you realize it or not, your chamber cranks out a lot of content. But how can you stretch the life of that content? Amanda Ellis, the editor-in-chief of Livability, shared some great tips and tricks with attendees. For example, take written information and turn it into an infographic. Or increase your Google presence by posting print content as online articles to help with SEO, especially if the information is evergreen.

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