It seems like forever ago since the first Marketo Summit when we were all crammed into the Hilton in San Francisco. Fast forward a few years and over 6,000 of us are expected to attend the Marketo Summit in Las Vegas.
No event excites me more because I get to learn from what I feel are the best marketers in the world. If something creative is being done, this is where you are going to learn about it. Whether it's at lunch, in an elevator or in a cab, don't miss an opportunity to learn. Sometimes, it's a 1-minute conversation that can bring clarity to something you have been trying to figure out for months.
Session-wise, there are over 100 sessions covering all kinds of topics--it's hard to decide which ones to attend. Even if you are superman (or woman) and attend every session possible, you can only attend a maximum of eleven sessions—less than 10% of sessions offered. The key to success--you must plan in advance. Here are a few tips (and tools) to help make your Summit more productive.
Which Sessions to Attend? Three-Step Approach
The Marketo Summit is a fantastic opportunity to meet many like-minded marketing professionals and learn new things. If you come out of the event with three actionable items that you can implement within the next three months, you are a winner.
There are so many great sessions at the Marketo Summit, it can be very overwhelming. Honestly, it's like going to a great restaurant, you really can't pick a bad session. Don’t worry, Marketo is recording them all so you can catch up on the ones you missed.
For my planning, I take a three step approach. Maybe yours is different but planning in advance is key.
- I may be a little biased but I start with the twelve Marketo Champion sessions where Marketo’s top users show off top tips and tricks. I’ll probably get to 3 or 4 sessions. See the Twelve Marketo Champion Sessions.
- I then fill in most of the remaining slots with a few priority topics. For example, I am really interested in learning about new complementary technologies, ABM, scalable instances and analytics. I'll find a mix of sessions that match to those topics.
- We are in Vegas so I will work in a wild card and attend some random session to learn something new that I didn't expect.
Three Tools to Make You Successful
Get the Mobile App
To make the most of your experience, download the official Marketo Summit 2016 mobile app. Just go to the AppStore or Google Play to download. Want to learn about the App's tips and tricks, Marketo Champion f9a684f1ea51497a454aee3cfb79b0304959dc99 does an awesome job walking through the app developed by DoubleDutch. Read Joe's full article here.
Download DoubleDutch
Download Summit Cheat Sheet
We all love our phones but they have a tendency to go dead after a morning's worth of heavy web use. This printable resource will help you pick the sessions that make the most sense for you. Great for printing out as a backup as a quick reference or if your phone goes dead.
Download (XLS)
Check out the Ultimate Unofficial Guide
For tips on everything from which parties to attend to how to save a few $$, check out the more detailed Unofficial Guide to Marketo Summit 2016.
Have a safe flight and see you in Las Vegas.
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