This article should be read in conjunction with "Planning Your Conference Guest Speakers".

If you are planning an event or conference and don't know any guest speakers personally or in your personal offline network of contacts, there are numerous free tools online that can help. Here is a list of some of the best ways to find the right match for your event or conference.

LinkedIn

Being one of the largest social networking sites in the world, LinkedIn is filled with working professionals who may be suitable as speakers for your conference or event. If you're already registered on the site, go through your own contacts to find speakers. You can also look at people who are linked to your contacts to see if there is anyone who does guest speaking (ask for an introduction and then contact them). Search for and review profile content to see if someone is willing to do guest speaking. Look at groups specifically setup for guest speakers or find groups associated with your particular niche and review the members for guest speakers.

YouTube

Being the largest and most popular video hosting website on the planet, YouTube allows you to find great guest speakers and see them in action. Just use the search function with your specific niche keywords followed by "guest speaker", or look for organisations (such as TED) that upload their lecture videos to YouTube.

JLA

JLA is one of the largest agencies for UK based keynote and motivational speakers, and has search options to allow you to specify your budget. Although it does host some big names, it still hosts numerous profiles of talented speakers that will work for a tighter budget.

Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is an online tool that shows you the most shared links and key influencers for any topic. Type in keywords associated with your business interests and you'll find content that is ranked depending on social media shares from a variety of platforms. To use it to find a guest speaker, find a great piece of content and review the publication it is hosted on. The writers of the content are generally online writers who are looking to establish themselves as experts in their field. Some may also do guest speaking in order to achieve this, others may know of someone who does public speaking who is also in their niche. Either way, this can lead to a guest speaker or a new contact to expand your network. In order to use Buzzsumo you will need to sign up for a 14-day trial account.

Boardreader

Using Boardreader you can find online forums that target your specific niche. Similarly to Buzzsumo, this allows you to expand your outreach and find potential guest speakers or contacts who know of guest speakers. The information and questions from these forums can be invaluable, and comes with the added advantage of helping you better understand your target market.

With these tools in your arsenal, you should be able to find a great public speaker to suit your needs. With the right speaker and the right venue your conference should be a great hit. While you take care of the speaker Booking Partners can take care of the venue. With years of experience as conference booking agents, Booking Partners can ensure your conference venue not only meets but exceeds both your, your guest speakers and attendees expectations. Leave it in Booking Partners capable hands.

For more information contact us on +44 (0)330 022 8643 or via e-mail at reservations@bookingpartners.co.uk.