Dreamforce is usually framed as a place you must be. A flight. A hotel. A week in San Francisco.

But my team can’t make it this year, and neither can many of the marketers who rely on Salesforce daily. Nonetheless, all of us marketers next year will be shaped by the announcements made this week.

That used to be a real gap, but it isn’t anymore. Dreamforce 2026 kicks off today with more than 1,600 breakout sessions, 50+ keynotes, and thanks to Salesforce there are now several ways to follow along with all the exciting action taking place this week.

The difference between getting value out of that week and letting it pass by isn’t access. It’s intent. Here are seven things that will allow you to maximize the value even from your desk.

1. Register on Salesforce+ Before the Keynote Starts

It’s free and it takes two minutes. That registration is the difference between watching Dreamforce and reading about Dreamforce afterward.

More than 400 sessions stream live, and you can build an agenda inside the platform that syncs to Google, Outlook or Apple calendar. Build the agenda. A session on your calendar is a session you’re likely to watch.

One more reason to register early: streaming registration automatically enters you to win a free in-person pass to Dreamforce 2027. That sweepstakes closes 9/17.

2. Watch as Much as You Can Live, Starting With the Keynote

Live is the better experience. Watching a session while the #DF26 feed reacts to it in real time is different from watching a replay or reading about it in an article. Watching it live allows you to see how Salesforce positions the announcement, and more importantly how the room reacts. Because of Salesforce+ you can be part of the conversation instead of reading a recap of it.

Start with the main keynote. That’s where the announcements land and where the narrative for the week gets set. Everything after it is easier to follow once you’ve established that base.

3. Treat On-Demand as Your Backup, Not Your Plan

Sessions stay available after the week ends, which gives you access 24/7 to the latest announcements and sessions. A meeting you genuinely can’t move isn’t a session you lost.

Use it that way. Go live for the sessions you care most about, and let the replays cover the conflicts.

4. Block Your Calendar Like You Actually Flew Out

If you were in San Francisco, nobody would book you for a Wednesday afternoon status call. Treat your sessions like actual meetings.

Block the time. Set your status. Decline what can move. Virtual conference attendance usually fails for one reason: your time was absorbed by your day to day. Instead, defend your time against the normal workweek.

5. Pick Two or Three Focus Areas, Not a Session List

Dreamforce runs more than 1,600 breakout sessions. Only a slice of that streams, but 400 plus sessions on Salesforce+ will still overwhelm anyone. A short list of topics won’t.

Choose the two or three areas your roadmap depends on, then filter the agenda through them. For a lot of marketing teams right now that list includes Marketing Cloud Next, Data 360, Agentforce and what’s coming for Marketing Cloud Engagement. Yours may look different. The point is to decide before the keynote, not during it.

Six sessions chosen on purpose will teach you more than thirty you half-watched.

6. Follow #DF26, and Follow the People Behind It

LinkedIn is where the most useful Dreamforce commentary lives. Search #DF26 and check it a few times a day. Instagram and Facebook carry more of the event atmosphere which are fun to follow along with as well, but LinkedIn is where the analysis happens. Search all your favorite social platforms for #DF26 and good times will follow!

Bonus tip: Before the keynote, scroll your feed and note who’s posting from the floor. Follow a few of them and let the week come to you from their eyes.

7. Get Into the Community Rooms

The real-time conversation isn’t only on the main stage. It’s in Slack and Discord, where the people who work in these tools every day are reacting as announcements land. A few worth being in:

  • Partner Blazer Community (Slack)
  • Marketing Champions (Slack), open to Salesforce Marketing Champions only
  • MC Learning Camp (Slack), Marketing Cloud specific
  • Wizard of Ops (Slack), Salesforce ops and admin
  • SFDX Discord, developer side

If you’re not already in these, join today. Even lurking through Dreamforce week is worth it.

The Value Was Never the Venue

Dreamforce matters because of what you learn and who you learn it from, and almost all of that is reachable this week without getting on a plane. What it costs you instead is intent, and deciding to stay tuned in to everything happening on the show floor.

One thing is for sure: whether you’re there in person or watching from your desk, this is shaping up to be an exciting week in the Salesforce ecosystem. Follow along with Simantel as we provide reactions to all the latest announcements over the coming weeks, or better yet reach out to connect, we would love to chat with you.