Let Your Event Be The Talk of The Town.
Whether you have the same event every year or an event that is the first of its kind, the process stays the same. As you begin the planning process, there are many tips and tricks to help you conquer the pre-planning phase and set yourself up for success. Although creativity and willingness put you ahead of the game in most cases, it remains imperative that you have a plan set in place to stay organized and focused throughout the entire planning process.
Running a successful event involves a lot of planning, dedication and hard work. This type of event can also take a large slice of your budget. With so much competition out there, how can you make sure you stand out from the crowd?
Here are five tips that can help you to focus your thoughts and to achieve the results that you are looking for.
1. Create scarcity
However much people like the idea of your event, most will leave it until the last possible moment to book their ticket. This can be stressfully, particularly if you have to pay venue and catering costs upfront. Reducing the amount of the time that tickets are on sale or the number available at a particular price creates a feeling of scarcity. This can give people the push they need to commit.
2. Know what you want to achieve
You will have reasons for wanting to hold an event. These reasons need to be the focus of your event planning. For instance, if your aim is to attract new investment for your business, you need to focus on informing about your brand and your USP. You also need to choose a venue which purveys a professional approach. On the other hand, if the event is aimed at team building for your employees, a more relaxed atmosphere may be appropriate, which promotes the building of relationships and encourages participation. When you are considering what you want to achieve it helps to create SMART objectives. Doing so means that you have a method of gauging how successful the event is, in terms of achieving your aims.
#3. Establish your key contributors
Most events have key contributors. These could be external, including clients, sponsors, vendors, or internal, such as your team members and your leadership. By having conversations with individual contributors about what they are investing and what they expect in terms of return on investment, you can better manage expectations from the beginning.
#4. Connect with attendees before the event
Walking into a roomful of people you don't know can be daunting, even for the most outgoing person. Yet many event organizers do nothing to connect with people before their event. You can do this by asking for their personal twitter handle and tweet personal thanks for booking. You could also host a live twitter Q&A featuring some of the speakers. Not only can this create a bit of buzz around the event but it can also help shift the last few tickets. Even if you're not a social media buff, there are plenty of ways you can connect with delegates ahead of an event, including email, telephone or good old snail mail.
#5. Feedback is essential
There are several ways in which you can measure the success of an event, including the number of new leads you create or the results of the next staff survey. However, feedback should always form part of your evaluation. Ask attendees to answer some questions about their opinion of the event and provide them with the opportunity to make additional comments. You can never really tell what worked well and what was not as successful until you ask the people who attended. Include end of session surveys that participants can take immediately post-breakout on their mobile event app.
Final Thoughts...
Following these steps helps to make organizing a successful event a lot easier. You take the time to plan effectively and you are rewarded with the end result you were hoping for.
Written by: Antony Moturi
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