Going to a conference or other industry event can be a great boost to your business.
You learn new things, hear about future trends and network within your industry.
But if you're a solopreneur, particularly if you're outside of a major urban center, how do you find out about events? And even more important, how do you figure out which ones are worth attending? One way is to use the social networking site LinkedIn to find relevant conferences and events.
The LinkedIn "Events" section uses your professional network and information culled from your LinkedIn profile to recommend events in your industry.
You can search also search the database of events to find ones you'd like to attend.
You can search for speakers, topics, conference organizer, industry, date and how close events are being held to your location.
But even if you discover an event in your industry in the right location, it's hard to know which events are really worth your time and money.
LinkedIn Events lets you search for events that people in your network are attending.
This key tool may help you choose one event over another.
You can email people who are attending to find out what they know about the event and if they've attended in the past.
You can also indicate whether you are attending an event.
This allows you to plan to meet people in your network in person; a great bonus if you have many people in your network who you've never met face-to-face.
Want to know more about how LinkedIn Events works? Visit the LinkedIn Blog to view an introductory video and see screen shots of how it works.
Or better yet, log into your LinkedIn profile and see what events LinkedIn has recommended for you.