Photo Nights Boston

3 Tips to Make the Most of Industry Event Boston

This Thursday, Boston's creative community will come together for Industry Event Boston at Quixote Studios in Allston to celebrate its successes, catch up with favorite collaborators and make new connections that will drive our businesses and our city forward.

At Photo Nights Boston, part of our mission is to strengthen and grow Boston's creative community. That's exactly what Industry Event Boston is intended to do. This is your event and we want you to make the most of it— Catch up with your old friends and colleagues. Finally meet that new potential collaborator. And, of course, have a lot of fun in the process.

So here are 3 hints and tips to help you make the most of this once-a-year gathering of Boston's creative industries:

1. Use social media to make connections before, during and after the event
Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can enhance and ease the networking process. Posting that you're attending the event is a great way to alert your network that you'll be there and find out who else is attending.

If you use Twitter, follow the hashtag #iebos to see other people who are talking about the event and join the conversation. If you're attending IE Boston on your own, Twitter can be a great way of breaking the ice and getting to know some of the other attendees before you walk in the door.

When you arrive at IE Boston, check in via an app like Foursquare or Facebook places. This lets other party-goers know you've arrived and makes it easier for people in your network to track you down in person. You can use and follow the Twitter hashtag #iebos all night to see what others are saying about the event. We'll be projecting a live Twitter feed so you can see everyone's comments and photos and we'll be tweeting news and updates all night via our twitter account, @PhotoNightsBos. Follow us to stay up-to-date.

You can also Like the Photo Nights Boston Facebook page, where we'll post lots of photos after the event. Make sure to check it out and tag yourself in any photos. it's another great way to remind people you were there and make it easy for them to connect with you.

2. Don’t forget to pack your business cards

Social media is a great channel for connecting, but once you've started meeting people in person at IE Boston, it's useful to have a good, old-fashioned business card to hand over. People from many industries and backgrounds will be attending IE— from advertising to photography to film to the art world. This is a great place to make new connections, so don't forget those business cards so you can easily continue the conversation after the night is over.

3. Get outside of your comfort zone

Boston is a small town and chances are you'll see lots of familiar faces at Industry Event Boston. This is a great chance to catch up with people you've known for a long time. But don't get so caught up in reminiscing that you miss the chance to make new connections. Challenge yourself to meet at least three new people at Industry Event Boston this Thursday. Go up to a new group of folks and introduce yourself (don't worry, they won't bite). Need a little help working up your courage? Find a Photo Nights Boston board member and ask them to introduce you to someone new. How will we ever grow our creative community if we don't meet new people?

Ok, those are the 3 official tips. But we couldn't resist adding an unofficial tip… Have fun! Industry Event Boston is going to be a great party. We've got music from DJ Die Young, recently voted Boston's Best DJ by the Improper Bostonian. There'll be a photo booth with vintage cameras from Detography! and as you can see from the shot of the Photo Nights Boston board below, it's the perfect place to let your hair down.

—Members of the PNB Executive Board

We're also raffling off thousands of dollars worth of prizes from Sam Adams, Stowe Mountain Resort, ZipCar, PDN Photoserve, Wacom and more. It's a cash raffle, so bring along a few dollars and you might walk away a winner.

We can’t wait to see you Thursday night for the party of the season! Haven't bought your tickets yet? Today's the last day to get them, so hurry up and buy them here.

Words of Melissa Dowler

For more information, go to Facebook.com/PhotoNightsBoston and twitter.com/PhotoNightsBos. Follow the Twitter hashtag #iebos for news and updates on the event.

IE Boston is brought to you by Photo Nights Boston, Digital Silver Imaging, Zero2SixtyCreative and ETD Coaching.