This document provides 14 tips from marketers and SXSW veterans for maximizing one's experience at SXSW. The tips include focusing on networking at select parties instead of overscheduling, attending panels outside one's areas of expertise, being prepared to record impromptu interviews, leaving room for serendipitous encounters, prioritizing comfort over business attire, bringing backup batteries and mobile hotspots, eating food truck tacos, taking notes after meetings to nurture connections, getting sufficient rest, wearing comfortable shoes, dropping plans now and then to relax and let opportunities come, and drinking wine each day to absorb all the experiences.

1. Surviving
SXSW 2014:
14 Tips from
Sophisticated
Marketers

2. This year, I will be attending SXSWi on behalf of LinkedIn.
So, I thought I would tap my LinkedIn network – from 1st and
2nd degree connections, to LinkedIn Groups and Influencers
– to get tips about making the experience successful.
Use these 14 tips from marketers and SXSW veterans to
maximize your own SXSW experience.
Enjoy!
Deanna Lazzaroni
Sr. Associate Content Marketing Manager
LinkedIn
@digitaldl @LinkedInMktg

3. Don’t try to do too much. Pick one or two parties
that don’t have a line around the block and focus
on networking.
And have the LinkedIn app ready to go for new
connections on the fly; business cards are so
passé.
Jason Miller
Senior Content Marketing Manager, LinkedIn
@JasonMillerCA

4. Go to at least one panel for a subject
you know nothing about.
SXSW attracts a huge breadth of different
digital experts. So if you know nothing about
mobile tech, digital currencies, or online dating…
you owe it to yourself to expand your horizons
at SXSW.
Gary Vaynerchuk
CEO, VaynerMedia
@garyvee

5. It’s hard to make it to the (open) bar and back at
South By without bumping into someone you'd
normally kill to score an interview with; have some
guts and your iPhone recorder handy, and you'll
come home with a month's worth of blog posts.
Joe Lazauskas
Editor in Chief, Contently
@joelazauskas

6. Don't fall into the trap of trying to do everything
and jam packing your schedule with meetings, panels
and demos. It's impossible at such a fluid event.
Mark your calendar with those key sessions and
meetings, then be prepared to go with the flow the rest
of the time. Seeing where you end up and who you
meet -- that's the beauty of SXSW.
Gemma Craven
Executive Director, Social Customer Engagement
OgilvyOne
@gemsie

7. Leave the suit and blazer at home. Austin
is casual and people dress the part. Bring
comfortable clothes that you can wear both
day and night.
Nicole Morin,
Marketing Events Manager
LIN Digital
@AwestiniteLife

8. The blur and noise of SXSW require mobile devices
and apps to plan, navigate and connect. But days are
long and power can be scarce, so be sure to bring a
mophie battery for your mobile phone and an extra
too. In fact, bring some mifi for internet, just in case.
Lee Odden
CEO, TopRank Online Marketing
@LeeOdden

9. One word: Tacos.
Eric Weiner
Producer, Integrated Marketing
The Coca-Cola Company
@weiner_eric

10. SXSW is an incredibly opportunity-dense networking event.
You meet tons of great people, but if you can't remember
the context of each encounter it's difficult to translate them
into meaningful value...
I like to use the speech-to-text feature on my phone to
leave myself notes describing each special person I've
met, the context of our interaction, and what we shared
that was important. This makes it much easier to make
sense of it later and nurture the encounters into real
connections.
Shik Sundar
Head of Business Development, Percolate
@shiksundar

11. Get your sleep. You don’t want to
catch South By SARS!
Pete Cashmore
CEO, Mashable
@PeteCashmore

12. Wear comfortable shoes, hydrate and don’t forget
to look up from your mobile device –you never know who you might just meet in
person.
Brooke Hovey
Executive Vice President, Digital Innovation Group
Cohn & Wolfe
@brookehovey

13. Every so often, just drop everything. Stop racing
from one party to the next. Instead, take a deep
breath, relax and let the action and the contacts
come to you.
Ryan Holmes
CEO, HootSuite
@invoker

14. The best food in Austin at #SXSW
will be on the food trucks. You can
follow them on this kickass map:
http://bit.ly/austinfoodtrx
And remember: What happens at
#SXSW stays… on the Internet.
#thisisntvegas
Dan Chuparkoff
Group Manager, Product Marketing
Atlassian
@chuparkoff

15. Throw your schedule out the door, and get over your
#FOMO. The best moments I've had and most fruitful
relationships I've built at SXSW were totally
random, serendipitous, and wonderful.
If you miss 80% of your schedule, you’re doing it right.
Connie Chan Wang
Social Strategist, LinkedIn
@cheesycons

16. The best sessions fill up fast. For keynotes, be
prepared to wait in line for 30 minutes or more.
Have a few backups for all sessions you want to
attend. You never know which will fill up or where
you will be.
Most importantly, drink at least 1.5 glasses of
decent wine each day to help you absorb all the
interesting things you saw that day.
Leslie Turley
Strategist, 360i
@laturley

17. Want more Sophisticated Marketing
goodness?
Download this!
See you at #SXSW!
Deanna Lazzaroni
Sr. Associate Content Marketing Manager
LinkedIn
@digitaldl @LinkedInMktg