This particular conference provides the city with an annual economic revenue boost of almost $163 million, and this happens in only five days each July. However, many industries are now turning their focus to smaller, more intimate gatherings that are often referred to as peer conferences.
Although this will not bring the same amount of money into the host city, it does make it possible for attendees to truly take advantage of networking and educational events. Additionally, even a small influx of people will benefit the local economy. Therefore, many hotels are actively seeking out the opportunity to host these events.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, business travel is an important investment that can lead to bigger profits. In fact, every $1 that is spent on business travel is typically rewarded with $9.50 in increased revenue. With this in mind, it makes sense to seek out the appropriate conferences, conventions and exhibitions for your industry. After all, the new information that your employees will be exposed to could help them become more efficient with their day-to-day tasks.
Peer conferences can be more enticing than large conventions for numerous reasons, ranging from the previously mentioned networking advantages to a reduction in registration fees. It is also a nice perk to be able to attend conferences with people who are required to be able to verify that they work within a specific industry. However, in some cases, multiple industries bleed together, and this creates the opportunity for a very specific type of conference.
One good example of the blended conference effect is the FinCon Expo. This annual conference has been taking place since 2011, and it has the very specific goal of bringing people together who create digital content utilized by the investing and personal finance industries. In other words, everyone from financial advisors to freelance writers will be in attendance, which makes this a diverse blend of people who are making a living from the new media market and traditional finance and investment based endeavors.
Another thing that peer conference attendees can expect is educational tracts or keynote speakers who focus solely on the topics at hand. And one of the most fascinating things about peer conferences is that their techniques can be applied by teachers. TeachingChannel.org highlights the many positive possibilities that are affiliated with having students learn via peer conferencing.
A prime example of this is having students break into groups to help each other improve their narrative drafts. This can also be very beneficial because it empowers students to educate each other as opposed to spending all of their time merely absorbing information from their teacher.
Regardless of which industry you are a part of, you will probably have access to a long list of peer conferences, conventions and exhibitions that have been designed to speak directly to your specific needs. Even though the Internet has made it easier than ever to connect with people globally from your office, there is still a huge push to get people together in-person at these events.
For those who are unable to attend due to time or location constraints, some peer conferences have started offering online sessions. The 2015 FinCon is offering this option, and this will allow everyone who purchases a pass to view all of the educational sessions online two weeks after the conference ends.
Unfortunately, anyone who chooses to view each of FinCon’s sessions online after the fact instead of actually attending will not be able to participate in the FinCon Tech Startup Competition. A maximum of 10 startup ideas will be accepted into the competition, and a partnership with Chase has made it possible for the peer conference to offer a $6,000 prize to the first place winner.
People working within the new media, investment and personal finance industries who wish to compete for the prize money will need to enter their startup by August 31 and attend FinCon 2015 in Charlotte, NC, from September 17-20, 2015.
