As events slowly continue to return to calendars and schedules after a period of disruption, many new businesses are approaching the challenge of organising and executing a successful event for the first time. This guide aims to show you how to perform such a feat, with some simple steps to ensuring your next event runs successfully.
Draw Up a Concrete Plan
The first step in hosting a successful event is always planning. With a firm grasp on the scope of your event, from the location to its offerings – whether panels, guest speakers or demonstrations – the team responsible for executing the event can create a realistic timeline for putting the event together, and utilise their allocatedbudget to its fullest extent.
Create a Marketing Strategy
With organisation of the event underway, marketing should be your next concern; a robust marketing strategy will give your event the best possible chance for high attendance. Approach marketing your event from multiple angles: leverage existing social media accounts tied to your brand, take out targeted advertisements in relevant publications, and use email marketing to incentivise attendees from any previous events.
Make Attendance Easy
Accessibility is key to converting interested parties into attendees. This goes as much for event registration as it does for physical accessibility, so ensure the route to participation is as simple as can be. Streamline the process with a simple online form where guests can register attendance, or in the case of ticketing, ensure customers can sign up with ease.
Promote the Itinerary
Save the specifics of your event until closer to the launch date. This way, you can remind ticket-holdersand get them excited in advance of attendance, and incentivise potential guests that were previously on the fence to sign up.
Utilise an Event App
Your event’s success does not have to rest solely on the smooth running of its itinerary; an event app can be a great accompaniment to your event, and customisable to your specific needs. If your event is taking place in a large complex or space with multiple rooms and areas, an interactive map can be included for guests to orient themselves; you could also incorporate a day planner so attendants can create their own schedule and keep track of individual events or panels.
Keep Your Attendees’ Attention
Seek to capture and keep the attention of attendees while present at your event, by ensuring that proceedings do not stagnate throughout the day or days. If there are designated rest areas, make sure speakers are installed to remind attendants what is happening and when; you can also introduce interactive and competitive elements throughout the day, to keep guests actively engaged in proceedings.
Post-Event Reminders
With the event over, it can be easy to consider it done and to move on to the next project – but continuing some form of relationship with attendees after the fact can have major benefits, not just for reception of the event but for uptake of related products – or indeed the next event. Keep in touch with attendees via email newsletters, with images from the event and news regarding any developments that occurred at, or as a result of, said event.
