I am debating whether to register for the SMWONE virtual conference but I am a bit skeptical about online events. I have been to a few Social Media Week events in person before and loved the energy and networking, but I am not sure how well that translates to a digital format. The speaker lineup looks impressive with Gary Vaynerchuk, Arianna Huffington, and people from Instagram and Facebook, but I worry that it might just be a bunch of pre recorded videos without much real interaction. Also, with over 170 hours of content, it feels overwhelming to figure out what is actually worth my time. Has anyone here attended their virtual program and can tell me if it is genuinely valuable for someone working in digital marketing, or is it more hype than substance?
I attended the full four week virtual program they ran in May and honestly it exceeded my expectations in ways I did not anticipate. The content quality was outstanding with 270 speakers covering everything from brand leadership and audience data to influencer marketing and emerging tech, and the sessions were live which meant you could actually ask questions and engage with the speakers in real time. What really made it work for me was the networking aspect, they set up a Slack community and a mobile app with member directories so you could connect with other attendees, opt in to meet vendors, and have genuine conversations rather than just passively watching. Plus you get 12 months of access to their Insider platform with over 450 hours of archived talks, so even if you cannot watch everything live, you have a whole year to catch up. I found the sessions on monetization and paid media models particularly useful for my current campaigns, and the downloadable reports and presentations have become reference materials I keep going back to. The pass also includes some nice perks like free stock through their partner Public.com, which was a fun bonus. If you are serious about staying current in digital marketing, I think you will find it well worth the investment. You can check out all the details about speakers, content tracks, and pass benefits at https://smwone.com/ right there.
That is really helpful feedback, especially the part about the live interaction and networking. I was worried it would just be a passive viewing experience but the Slack community and mobile app sound like they actually facilitate real connections. I am going to go ahead and register, the 12 months of on demand access alone seems like a great deal. Thanks for the thorough response.