Last year was my first time attending SXSW Interactive. With one year under my belt, I’m by no means an expert – but I learned a ton about how to maximize my time and experiences. And how best to prepare. After reading my good friend Aimee Woodall‘s blog post “SxSW: Amateur Hour is Over,” which offers some great tips, I decided to share some additional practical insights about what I learned that hopefully will aid others in squeezing every last ounce of goodness from SXSW.
1. Book your hotel early – or look for alternatives, like AirBnB
AirBnB - private homes, apartments, lofts, rooms for rent
By early, I mean six or eight months in advance. Hotels disappear quickly when 15,000+ people are converging on Austin at the same time for SXSW Interactive, and thousands more for SXSW Film.
If you don’t get a hotel, don’t want to pay through the nose for one that is close to downtown, don’t want to stay in a crap-hole, or don’t want to stay 20 miles out of town, try an alternative solution, like renting a house, apartment, loft, room, or RV (seriously, I saw some of these) through AirBnB. I am a procrastinator when it comes to event logistics planning, but still found a 2-bedroom house just 2 miles from the Austin Convention Center, for $225 per night through AirBnB. I’m splitting that with another attendee, so I will be much closer to the action and paying much less than I probably could have scored with any hotel, even planning early. I’m not suggesting you wait. I’m simply saying that if you still haven’t gotten your lodging squared away, options remain.
2. Start making connections before you go
SXSW SXsocial site
When you register for SXSW, you are given access to SXsocial, a micro-site within the SXSW website, that lets you search for other attendees by name, company name, keyword, etc, “star” their profiles, and message them through the site.
Using this tool, you can find people who you would like to meet and invite them to grab a coffee, beer, breakfast taco or meet at the blogger lounge, or whatever. Last year, I was able to establish a connection with top digital and creative agency reps, digital and traditional media outlet executives and reporters, corporate social media leaders, and several others well in advance of being on the ground in Austin.
As you can see, I’m already busy working on starring folks who I may want to connect with in advance of, and possibly at, SXSW. I know I won’t hear back from or meet up with every one of them, but the best “social” is the convergence of multiple channels, platforms, and strategies. Sure, technology can help scale and fuel relationship building, but when it comes to making strong connections and developing trust, there is still no match for face-to-face.
If you do not use SXsocial, you are missing a huge opportunity. And those of us who do use it, will thank you for that.
You also can organize your SXSW schedule through the website, starring sessions and presentations you want to attend. But this is only for the official SXSW programs. I’ll give you some scoop on how to find the associated events and socials (parties) a little further down.
3. Download and use the SXSW Go app
SXSW Go app
Once you’ve organized your planned schedule – and as Aimee indicated, don’t live and die by it, just use it as a starting point – download the official 2012 SXSW GO app and synch the schedule you developed on the site through the app. Once you have your schedule at your fingertips, the app will show you where each venue is, who is at that session with you, photo and sharing options, and provides integration with the SXsocial tool as well.
4. RSVP and monitor social channels for interesting events and free food and drinks
People and organizations often coordinate pre-SXSW events and socials in their own cities. Find out who else from your area is attending and connect with them, research online and in social circles for these events, and attend. SXSW is best if you have a wingman/woman or a group that you already know. You shouldn’t spend all of your time with these folks, but it’s good to have a base group that you can hang with, debrief, plan who-is-attending-what strategies, and attend parties with. It can be daunting to take on an event with 15,000+ attendees without knowing a soul.
![Image representing Plancast as depicted in Cru...]( "Image representing Plancast as depicted in Cru...")
- Plancast
During SXSW, companies take over restaurants, bars, food trucks, hotel conference rooms, and other venues to court customers and prospects and to build buzz around their brands and/or products. Search for “SXSW” on sites like Plancast and EventBrite for social events and be sure to RSVP. Once you find out who is coordinating the event, look them up on SXsocial and drop them a note to say hi. It’s always good to introduce yourself and say thank you in advance to the host.
Search Twitter for FREE FOOD!
Each morning, perform a Twitter search for “SXSW free breakfast” and you’ll probably find some breakfast taco truck or corporate breakfast offering, if you didn’t RSVP in advance for one. Follow the same approach for lunch. Hopefully you will have RSVP’d for evening adventures.
And if you are personal friends with the folks putting on AllHat IV, sponsored by Chevy, put in a good word for me. I was late to RSVP and am on the waiting list.
5. Beware of populist-sounding sessions
With close to 2,000 sessions, SXSW Interactive offers a lot of everything in terms of session topics and content. Unfortunately, as I found out last year, the sessions I attended that featured big broad titles were usually vacuous and so overarching that they offered little to no practical substance that I could take back to the office with me. Conversely, the sessions with very narrow specific titles were the most meaty. They were laser-focused and went deep on that topic. Decide whether you are seeking to understand how to think about a particular subject from a 50,000-foot level, or if you want the nitty gritty details about how to execute. Read the titles and descriptions closely and apply your criteria to those. And if you find yourself 15 minutes into session and wondering when they are going to deliver the value, get the hell out and at least make some connections.
6. If you are driving every day, get there early. Then Catch a Chevy.
Most surface lots will charge you for day AND evening parking – and it’s freakin’ expensive. The garages are expensive and the ones near the Austin Convention Center fill up quickly. If you get there early in the morning, you may be able to find some surface parking. If you can walk, ride a bike, catch a cab, or use public transit, do it. I arrived late to a couple sessions that were full by the time I arrived, because I tried to hoof it across downtown with little time to spare between sessions – until I found out about the “Catch a Chevy”program. After sessions, you may see Chevys on the street, dropping people off and picking them up. These are free rides for you to get from one session location to another. The drivers are super nice and can provide you with some background on the car while you ride if you’re interested. So. Much. Better. Than. Walking. When you’re in a hurry.
7. You want power. You need power.
Aimee spoke to this and I can’t stress enough how awesome power is. Bring a power strip. Bring an extra cell battery. Bring an external battery. Charge your phone and laptop whenever you have a spare 30 or 60 minutes. I made a ton of new friends when I made my power strip available to them at a huge party last year. Sure, it wasn’t because of my charm or Brad Pitt-like looks, but power makes it easy to make connections.
8. Next year, get a free badge
If you’re not presenting or on a panel this year, consider pitching to do so next year. You get a free Gold Badge, which gets you access to SXSW Interactive and Film, and allows you to invest that sizable sum of money you otherwise would have to pay to attend, or at least reallocate that toward something else in your corporate budget. I’m serving on the “What’s so [BLEEPING] hard about social ROI?”panel. I can guarantee you that, based on my fellow panelists, this will not be a hollow populist session.
Of course there is a lot more, but some things you just have to learn for yourself. If you’re attending this year, leave a comment below, or star me and drop me a line on my SXsocial profile.
