Last November I attended and spoke at MarketingCamp Silicon Valley and I loved it! This year I decided I wanted to help bring it to my city, so I found a venue and then joined the social media marketing team. The reason I loved it so much was because it was different than other marketing conferences I had been to in the past, perhaps because it was an “unconference”.
What’s an unconference? In a nutshell, it’s a forum where the attendees decide the agenda and have conversations in a more participatory manner, rather than a boring presenter talking at you session after session. And the best part, they are free to the public.
MarketingCamp can be held in any city, anywhere around the world. All you need is a venue, people who want to learn, explore, and share, some sponsors, and volunteers. The agenda is determined by the attendees who submit topics. If you submit a topic, you own it and are responsible for leading that discussion (or finding someone who will). All topics are voted on by the registrants and the morning sessions are determined a few days prior to the event. The afternoon sessions are voted on by the attendees at the event and posted during lunch.
How can you host one in your city?
The easiest way to host one is to contact the creators of MarketingCamp directly at info@marketingcamp.org. Paul, Dave, or Jonathan will get back to you. But the goals are simple:
- Get people to register (it’s free).
- Get attendees to submit topics and vote on them.
- Get sponsors.
What should you look for in a venue?
If you can find a big company to get behind and host it then that will help with PR. But honestly, a venue that has multiple rooms or a space that can be sectioned off so that multiple sessions can go on simultaneously is what you’re looking for ideally.
How many volunteers do you need?
The more the merrier, as life happens and sometimes you wind up with less volunteers than with what you started. Ideally you’ll need teams for: PR, Social Media & Email, Logistics, Sponsorship, Web & Tech, and Volunteer. By breaking it up into teams, you can make sure that everything is covered.
For more information email info@marketingcamp.org
This post originally appeared on SocialStrand.com
Tracy Sestili is CEO of Social Strand Media and marketing co-chair of MarketingCamp San Francisco. She has over 15 years of corporate and nonprofit marketing experience and often teaches and speaks on branding, social media strategy, and content creation.
