Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Michelle Blair, Community Manager at Salesforce. Join us as we chat about Salesforce Community Events, her work with local event organizers, and why you should attend one near you.
You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our conversation with Michelle Blair.
Michelle is a part of the Trailblazer Community team, which helps millions of Salesforce users around the world come together and learn. I brought her on the pod to tell us about community conferences and how you can find an event near you.
Salesforce community conferences are created by Trailblazers, for Trailblazers. As Michelle shares, over 40 events are happening this year around the world, and they offer a great opportunity to connect with other people in the community and learn more about Salesforce.
When you think of Salesforce events, you probably think of Dreamforce or TrailheaDX. These events are huge and offer so much. But all of those choices can get a little overwhelming. The cost can also be a challenge. I remember exactly how much budget I had for attending conferences when I was a solo admin—it was $0.
If you’ve ever felt that way, Michelle recommends that you give community events a try. Because they’re volunteer-organized, they have a more intimate, personal, inclusive feel. It’s easier to talk to speakers and make those connections. You can also find one within driving distance so you don’t have to take a flight or book a hotel.
Most importantly, the quality of content and professional networking opportunities at community conferences is top-notch. Michelle and her team have put together a handy-dandy calendar so you can easily find a community event near you.
Michelle’s team is hard at work making Salesforce community events even better. They offer sponsorships to help with affordability and are connecting organizers with keynote speakers and Salesforce engineers. This year, they’re bringing several hands-on workshops to community events to take your learning to the next level.
Be sure to listen to the full episode for more on the Salesforce community events happening around the world and how you can get involved. And make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Mike:
Salesforce community events are a great way to connect with Salesforce people in your area, consume some amazing content, dare I say Dreamforce level content, and get connected with your local user group. So this week on the Salesforce Admins podcast I’m talking with Michelle Blair, who’s the community major at Salesforce. And she helps all of these community event organizers really propel their event into the next level. We talk about what a community event is, how it’s different than an actual Salesforce event, some of the stuff that Salesforce is involved and not involved in when it comes to that. And I’ll be honest, why you should go. Now, before we get into that episode, just want to make sure that you’re following the Salesforce Admins podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. That way when new episodes like this come out every Thursday morning, it’s going to be right on your phone. So with that, let’s get to our conversation with Michelle. So Michelle, welcome to the podcast.
Michelle:
Well, thank you, Mike. It’s great to be here.
Mike:
Yeah. Well, I’m excited to talk about there’s a lot of events that Salesforce does, but then the passion that runs through our community also exudes into them running their own events, which we’ll talk about. But let’s get started with you, how did you get started at Salesforce and what do you do?
Michelle:
Yeah, so it’s been about three years that I’ve been at Salesforce now. And I actually was a customer prior to joining Salesforce and was implementing our marketing cloud and our social, using a lot of the social platform at the customer company. And came to Dreamforce back in 2018 and was able to lead a session at Dreamforce, and talking about our journey and working with a Salesforce expert within the company. And from there I really experienced the Trailblazer community and was so inspired and just like, okay, got to get in here somehow. And I was already working with our community at the customer. So kind of just got in there eventually and made my way in about three years ago now, and it’s been quite a ride.
Mike:
And so at Salesforce you manage all kinds of stuff?
Michelle:
Yes, lots of community things.
Mike:
I feel like the over/under at one time I was a customer, it used to be very unique as an answer. Now it’s very common. But our community events, so we do TrailblazerDX, and have Dreamforce and we have World Tours which are smattered across the US and EMEA. But we also have events that our Trailblazer community puts on, so tell me about those.
Michelle:
Yeah. So a little overview of the team that I’m on. So the Trailblazer community team we support that global network of millions of Salesforce users across the world now. And we really help them to learn, succeed, and enable them with the tools to be able to put on their own events, their own communities, bringing people together to talk all about Salesforce and share that knowledge. And we manage a number of different programs like the online community, our community groups, as well as our community experts like Salesforce MVPs, and of course these community conferences which I’m so excited to dive into a lot deeper on this podcast.
Mike:
Yeah. No, and I’ve been to quite a few of them, not all of them because I feel like there’s more all the time. So what are we… First of all, they’re not put on by Salesforce so you don’t have anything in the planning of it, right?
Michelle:
That is correct.
Mike:
Okay.
Michelle:
We do not plan these. So these are a collection of learning conferences and they’re created, organized, managed by the community for the community. So they are around Salesforce content, but just not a Salesforce led event. And they really do offer such a unique opportunity to learn network, get inspired and give back to your community. And like you said, they’re entirely led by our incredible Trailblazers around the world. And they really just volunteer their time and pour their hearts into these community led events. And there are about 40 plus and counting this year and more to come. So these are just popping up all over, which is really exciting.
Mike:
And various sizes too, right?
Michelle:
Correct.
Mike:
With 40 plus, what are we looking at?
Michelle:
Yeah, so community conferences typically it’ll be about 200 minimum and then can go to 1000s now. I think in certain places it goes, we’ve seen 1000s up to 2000, in the States about a 1000. And so they really are just quite a range of options as well. And each of them are so unique to their local culture, to their city, their region. And some are single day, some are multi-day, but all of them have tons of content and a lot of robust speaker lineups that really include a range of sessions, workshops, demos, and all of that networking that we know our Trailblazers love.
Mike:
Yeah. You were a customer and you said you went to Dreamforce, which that was your first event. That’s like, ooh, I’m going to go on vacation for the first time and I’m going to go to Vegas or something. But I feel like when I was a customer I had a budget of zero, which made it very easy for me to know my budget every year. And I found community conferences as a super easy way to get connected with content that was, I would say Dreamforce quality but at a different price. What do you see… And you can see this from both angles, what do you see as the advantages of community conferences and some of our customers going?
Michelle:
Oh, absolutely. And kind of to touch on the Dreamforce part of my experience, it was extremely overwhelming. I remember just walking around and just not really knowing where exactly I should go. There was just so many options and it kind of is easy to feel a bit lost. And I think that is such a benefit of these community conferences. They really do feel like these intimate conferences that if maybe you are newer to the ecosystem, or maybe you’re making a career change and you’re just breaking in that way, or maybe you’re a seasoned Trailblazer and you just enjoy more of these more intimate settings. And I think these community conferences really offer that. They also offer more of affordability in that way too, where they’re just more accessible and budget friendly. So I think there’s a lot of opportunity to be more inclusive through these than your typical industry event. And make it possible for folks who may not be able to attend those big events like Dreamforce and TDX. So I think that’s really important to definitely note.
Mike:
Yeah, I know for a few of them I didn’t even have to spend a night in a hotel. It was great because it was one day, but also the drive, the Midwest, everybody, we drive everywhere. We only fly if we have to go to the coasts. But you could drive, attend the event and drive home. And that also was a huge kind of budget saver. Not to focus on that, but money talks a lot.
Michelle:
100%, yes. And I think that is something that we absolutely love about these events, is we have to keep in mind that they’re 100% community-led so these are people who are just volunteering to put these events on. So they create these events through sponsors, like ourselves, the Trailblazer community team we do offer a sponsorship. And just to help out with some of those costs, but it really it’s a lot of people just have to get creative to put these events on. And I think they do such a wonderful job and really hone in on the community. And that’s really the whole point of these is to bring the community together.
Mike:
Yeah, absolutely. And then for some of the events, I guess, what are you seeing as a trend in, you mentioned 2018 and I often think back to even the Dreamforce and some of the events that we’ve done pre 2020 and post 2020. What are some of the trends that you’re seeing in the style of community event or the length of community event now versus say a few years ago?
Michelle:
That’s a great question, Mike. And I wish as a customer, I had attended a community conference to be able to share that perspective of like this is as a customer back in 2018 versus now working at Salesforce and actually helping to support these events internally. But I will say, I think with the pandemic we definitely saw that these particular events, there was a pause on a lot of them. Many of them had to skip a year or two years or just coming back maybe this year, which is really exciting. And I will say last year in particular, that’s when I really helped to bring our focus back to community conferences and really find ways to support internally through our team and build out this sponsorship. And I think there was so much excitement this past year and that continues on through this year. And I think internally, something we have been really honing in on is that internal awareness and making sure that employees know that these are happening.
We get out account executives, we get out those engineers who can really get this feedback in person. We also are delivering some hands-on workshops that have been really impactful at some of these pilots that we’ve had this year. And we have a goal of piloting 10 hands-on workshops at community conferences by the end of this year, which is really exciting.
Mike:
Yeah, I think that’s always the part for me that felt very, I don’t know, lack of a better term, real, was you went to the event and it was very local to you unless you flew across the country or something, or you went outside of the United States. But it felt very local. So there’s a lot of people that you would know or you could connect with. If you go to an event in the Midwest, you’re going to talk about the weather 100%. And then we’re going to avoid bumping into you and say, “Oh, [inaudible 00:12:10].” But I think you get a mix of community members presenting, but then you also have Salesforce shows up. It just shows up in a very different way. It’s not a heavy-handed message, but in a supportive manner like you said, where we can do a workshop. And so you still get kind of that local flavor, but also some of the big production of a hands-on workshop that you feel like, oh, well, this poor customer didn’t have to spend 10 weeks toiling away to create this workshop.
Michelle:
Right. Yes, I think that is a really important note because we 100% want to respect the community and give them the credit that they all deserve for organizing these events. And one way we can do that is within our sponsorship package, we actually do offer whether it’s keynote assistance, where we can make an ask on behalf of the conference organizers if they have a keynote or an internal speaker that they would really like as their keynote speaker or as a session topic. So that is one way we support logistically. And I think it is wherever we can help out, we will try to find a way. And I think it is just that trust piece where the community trusts us to have their back to know that we will support where we can. And then we trust in them to put on these incredible conferences that really just are the heart of this community.
Mike:
Yeah. Speaking of local, are there… And there’s so many, are there unique events that some of these community events do outside of the conference?
Michelle:
Yes. So I know that… Well, and to give a little history but just on that local piece, Mike-
Mike:
Oh, please do.
Michelle:
So the history of these events really came from, I think it was back in 2012, and it’s a customer who actually wasn’t able to attend Dreamforce. They wanted to offer something similar to their local Salesforce network. So they basically decided to bring this mini Dreamforce to their hometown, and that’s been duplicated all over the world now. We’re seeing all of these pop up globally, but it really is the overall vision. And the goal here really is to connect local Trailblazer community groups. So those are those regional groups that get together, very product and industry specific groups, so architects, admins, developers. And then those local Salesforce customers who just want to get together and get to know each other as well as share that knowledge and then anyone interested in learning.
And that’s really the goal here is to spark those connections and ideas for all. And yeah, I think the local piece is just so important because these conferences are a celebration in a sense of that region, that local culture that people really love about their city, about their state. So we do see a lot of very specific, especially in the States, very specific regions that these Dream and events are named after. And then we’re seeing a ton come up in EMEA as well as APAC. Yeah, there’s so much local flavor that we’re seeing and it’s amazing.
Mike:
It sounds like… Well, I’ll flip to the other side of the coin because I feel like going to these is paramount. We’ve talked about that a lot. What if you’re on the other side of the coin you’re thinking, boy, I think I could do something like this in my area. From your perspective, what does it take to put on a community event? How big are some of these teams that plan these? And I think you said the turnout’s kind of all over the place, but if somebody wanted to get started what are they looking at?
Michelle:
Great question. So typically with our conference planning teams, we see at least three to four members. I would say that’s a minimum because you got to think about all the different components that go into these conferences and up to it could be 10 planning team members. So really is just depending on the scope of your conference and what you’re trying to bring together. And we really recommend even forming an additional volunteer team to help handle this day of responsibilities as well. So those are additional folks who can jump in if there’s any fires, anything going on that need to be addressed as soon as possible. Something we also do recommend is having at least one community group leader that currently is leading one of those regional community groups, just so that they kind of have that full understanding of the Trailblazer community and the importance of bringing the community together.
And then typically we also recommend that the planning team is individuals not employed but just by one company. It’s really spread out through a company and different organizations coming together. And that could include customers, partners, and making sure that they are active members of the Salesforce ecosystem, the Trailblazer community. And that they really create that open and inclusive environment that these community conferences are known for.
Mike:
Yeah. No, sometimes it takes an army or what’s it? No, it takes a village.
Michelle:
Takes a village.
Mike:
It takes a village, yes. May feel like an army sometime, but yeah, I’ve been to quite a few and I think it’s always interesting. I also, just to speak to kind of the vibe, I don’t know how best to say that but the vibe, the vibes at a community conference are so different. On top of just the speakers being super approachable, they’ll get up and literally there’ll be times… There was one time I was sitting in a session, he’s like, “I wonder who the speaker is.” And he just got up because they’re not in this bougie suit like you see at Dreamforce. But also when you’re there talking with the partners, the SIs and stuff, they’re a little more laid back. It’s a little more casual. I really enjoy that you can have what I’ll call a human conversation, as opposed to at some of these more formal corporate events where the people at the booth or whatever are just trying to hard sell you the whole time.
There you can be like, now, you sit down and it’s nothing to walk past a table and see people sketching stuff on a piece of paper. And then really working through the challenge as opposed to like, “Buy my product.” I don’t know how best to say that.
Michelle:
I totally agree, Mike. I think that is really the magic is that relaxed environment where you can show up authentically. You don’t have to play a certain role or act a certain way. You just show up as yourself, whether you’ve been in the ecosystem for years and years or you’re coming in new, I think it’s somewhere that is so welcoming and inclusive of all. And that is something I just absolutely love. And you see that across every single community conference. It really is that’s just the vibe of our Dream and events. So it really is incredible. And I think touching on the opportunities that when you can show up authentically, it really does offer or allows you to grow personally and professionally on such a different level because you can be yourself and then you make those really special connections that will allow you to become a better admin, become a better community member, become a better community leader. And then that kind of just flows into your personal everything. So I think that’s really such a beautiful thing about these conferences.
Mike:
If somebody was listening and we’ll put the link in the show notes, and wanted to find, do we list all these or is there a listing somewhere that they could find of these events?
Michelle:
We sure do, yes. Great question. It’s exciting because we’re actually going to be updating this landing page very soon. So you can find community conferences at Trailblazercommunitygroups.com. And then on that top area you can just click onto community conferences from there. And you will see a calendar of all of the amazing events that are happening throughout this year, and then all of the past events that have happened as well.
Mike:
So you can find out all the stuff you missed out on.
Michelle:
Yes, exactly.
Mike:
I feel like it’s that way with me all the time. Like, oh. Every time I hear a band or a comic is going on tour, like, oh. And like, “You didn’t know they were going on tour.” You’re like, “No, I didn’t.” And then you pull up the event and you’re like, “Cool, [inaudible 00:22:19].”
Michelle:
It was last weekend, yeah.
Mike:
So conversely, if somebody’s listening to this, what would be the bar? Is there a requirement that they should have stuff together before they contact you if they were looking to get into creating a community event?
Michelle:
Yeah, I think it really is there’s quite a range in that too. When a team will come to us and say, “I have interest in this. I really don’t know what to do. Can you help guide me?” And then we also see the other side where it’s like, we have the date, we have the venue, we have everything already set. All we need from you is really the sponsorship and a point of contact on your team to help support in that planning and execution. So we show up wherever the conference planning team really is. And yeah, once they kind of go through our intake process and we say, “All right, you’re approved. Here’s the sponsorship, here’s your point of contact.” We then the point of contact on our team will be able to support them with all the additional items like that internal awareness piece. We do a demo jam trophy, that keynote speaker sourcing, some marketing support as well, as well as some little giveaway items that we provide.
And something new that we’re piloting at domestic conferences is an onsite community booth where our team, yes, for those who our team is able to travel to some of these conferences. And when we do we kind of bring this community booth kit where we have pop-up banner, we have all of the things that help to identify the Trailblazer community. And we spread some of that awareness of what makes the Trailblazer community unique, and how we support these conferences as well as our community groups and our community experts. So lots of fun things.
Mike:
I would say, that’s quite the welcome wagon. My God.
Michelle:
Yes.
Mike:
Well, Michelle, thanks for coming on the pod and talking about our community events. I know that I’ve been to quite a few and I’ve got quite a few listeners that go to them and plan them and talk about them. And it’s just kind of a neat extra layer of participation that we have as part of this ecosystem.
Michelle:
Yes, I couldn’t agree more, Mike. And thank you so much for supporting these incredible community led events. They really are just exactly what the community is all about. And we couldn’t do any of this without the people who are organizing these events, so big shout out to them.
Mike:
Yeah, absolutely.
Michelle:
They’re the real heroes here.
Mike:
Yep, absolutely. Well, it was great to have Michelle on the podcast. I’m glad she could join us. I really love going to community events. I think they’re a lot of fun, and I wasn’t kidding about the vibe. I think it’s so much more enjoyable when you can sit down with a lot of the vendors. And also to be honest with you, a lot of the speakers are also a little less rushed too. So if you’re working on a budget like I am all the time, community events are a great way to get connected with some great content. Also, a great way for you as a Salesforce admin to try out your presentation skills. If you’ve been presenting at a local user group and kind of want to go that next level, community event is a great way to get in front of a larger group of people and really try out your speaking abilities.
So if you enjoyed this episode, can you do me a favor and just tap on the three dots in Apple Podcasts and click the share episode. That way you can text it to a friend or you can most importantly share it on social. And of course, we mentioned resources, Michelle had a couple of URLs. I want to make sure you know how to get to those. All those resources are in the show notes, and those show notes and along with everything else is at Admin.salesforce.com, including a transcript of the show. Now, be sure to join us in the Admin Trailblazer group in the Trailblazer community if you’re not there already. And of course, until next week, we’ll see you in the cloud.
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