Organizing an event is one of the best ways to present a product or organization, increase brand awareness, raise funds, and just have a good time. However, it only works if everything is well organized. Planning and hosting a perfect event can be tricky. The success of this venture depends on many separate factors that must come together at the right time. Regardless of the scale and style of an event, its organization includes searching for ideas, drawing up a plan, finding everything that will be useful during the action, booking a venue, preparing the site, and summing up the results.
1. Keep your plan on hand
Once you have decided on the purpose of the event, its content, and target audience, you need to plan all the details. You should put together a list, which you can check at any time. To prepare for an event, you will certainly need a notepad or its electronic version. Write down everything required: venue preparation, marketing, speakers, catering, hand-outs, lighting, transportation, and so on.
Do not forget about little things like napkins or paper in a printer. Make several lists and start with items to rent or arrange ahead of time. It is better to have several options for each position. With a realistic and accurate plan at hand, you will be able to clearly understand how long it will take to prepare. Also, keep in mind that the more complex the event is, the earlier you should start.
2. Promote your event offline
Make friends with promotion. In the run-up to the event, place posters and distribute brochures in crowded places or send invitations to specific guests. Another option is to organize a billboard in the city center. Get your hand-outs and promotional merchandise ready before the big day. The style of the items should be well-thought-out and directly related to the theme of the event. You can contact a designer to order the idea development or create a design yourself. Fortunately, the internet provides you with services like a poster or flyer maker, where you can find professional layouts and templates to easily craft promo materials of all kinds.
3. Wheel the virtual space out
If there is no mention of your event on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, it is considered nonexistent. You should share your plans with your followers and come up with a memorable and telling hashtag. Feel free to pay for social media ads because they are both affordable and effective.
Shoot video invitations, publish pictures of the preparation process, and post anything that might interest your audience. Consider YouTube as a separate platform to promote your event. If used correctly, it can be one of the best social media solutions out there. As an alternative, create a website dedicated to the event where people can register and get acquainted with the program.
4. There is safety in numbers
Do not hesitate to delegate responsibilities, assign tasks, and simply ask for help and participation from others. When one person is responsible for everything, it is either a Hollywood movie or things are going really hard. It is important to distribute tasks among your team members not only during the preparation phase but also during the event. Divide the team based on the areas of responsibility.
For instance, one person is responsible for the registration area, another one – for meeting speakers, someone else – for equipment, and so on. Each of the persons in charge should constantly monitor their own area. Share the plan with all the participants for everyone to know who they should contact with a specific issue.
5. Not everything is perfect and that is okay
Be prepared for things that won’t go according to plan. There is always a place for force majeure situations, so talk to your team about worst-case scenarios and come up with a plan B that applies to each of them. Unfortunately, the essence of such problems is that they are spontaneous and unpredictable. When something goes wrong, you should have either a ready-made solution or at least a rough idea of how to handle the issue. It is advisable to include approximate time for the problem to be corrected in the plan.
6. Looking into the future
After the event, it is worth summing up the outcomes. You can send follow-up letters, survey the participants, or deliver thank you emails to volunteers and sponsors. Talk to your team about your results, strong points, things that impressed people the most, and so on. Particular attention should be paid to aspects that need improvement, problems that arose during the event, and things the participants did not like. The goal of this step is to become better and learn from your mistakes.
Wrapping up
Arranging an event is a more or less stressful experience. But be that as it may, what you can get from one successful event can easily cover all possible financial and emotional costs. Therefore, take the above tips on board and go for it.
