If you’ve ever tried to organize anything as simple as a birthday dinner with a few friends, you know just how difficult event planning can be.
Now, take it to the extreme and imagine you’re inviting hundreds of people and have to plan out every detail. Dealing with anything from the venue to the decor, food, entertainment, and more – that’s what event planning is all about.
Whether we’re talking about academic and business conferences, corporate events, conventions, parties or anything in between, it takes some hard work to ensure a successful event. However, it’s nothing you can’t handle if you stay organized and focus on what’s important.
Have a look at what it takes to plan a successful event. But if you’re not up for it, you can always rely on Clandestine Events and leave the planning process in the hands of professionals.
Keep in Mind the Kind of Event You’re Organizing
Before you jump right into venue sourcing or coming up with the right program, you need to first decide what kind of event you’ll be hosting.
Events come in all shapes and sizes. You can plan a small formal soiree reserved for your family and friends or a large-scale event for thousands of attendees. Whichever route you go for, you’ll have to decide whether the actual event will be in-person, online, or a mix of the two.
In-Person Events
As the name suggests, in-person events require everyone to be physically present at the same location. Keynote speakers, guests, performers, presenters, and others must arrive at your chosen venue.
These types of events are best reserved for when you want the guests to actively participate. They’re ideal for parties, conventions, workshops, roundtables, and symposiums.
Virtual Conferences
A virtual conference is entirely hosted online. It’s typically organized using dedicated conference management software that allows attendees to sign up using an online registration system.
Not only can attendees use this solution to join virtual seminars or listen to speakers’ presentations, but they can also use it for virtual networking and engaging with others in breakout rooms.
As a rule, a virtual event is best reserved for seminars/webinars, presentations, summits, employee training, etc.
Hybrid Events
Hybrid events are a mix of both events mentioned above. Typically, speakers and presenters must be physically present at the venue, while the attendees can choose whether to join in person or online.
Again, you’ll need the right software to host remote attendees. However, you’ll also need to prepare all the materials and decor at the venue itself.
Hybrid events can be used in virtually all situations – for webinars, symposiums, product introductions, summits, panel discussions and more.
Perfecting Your Event Planning Process
Once you’ve decided on the specific type of event, it’s time to start planning. The process can be a bit overwhelming, but the following are some of the key considerations you’ll want to keep in mind.
Plan Your Budget
Big events can quickly get expensive, so planning your budget down to the penny is a must. Some of the key elements you’ll want to consider when setting aside a budget include:
● Venue costs
● The number of attendees
● Marketing materials
● Food and drinks
● Travel costs
● Accommodation costs
● Keynote speaker services
● Staff expenses
Once you’ve gotten the necessary quotes and calculated the approximate costs, it’s a good idea to set aside about 10% to 15% extra (more, if possible). You never know what unexpected expenses might pop up, so it’s best to be prepared.
Consider Your Guests
If you want to boost attendee engagement at a convention or conference or get everyone at the party super excited, you must prioritize their experience. You’ll need to assess your target audience and determine precisely what they want from your event and how you can provide it to them.
Identify their needs and wants, pain points and obstacles. Understand why they would want to attend, what value they’ll want to get out of it, and how you can meet and exceed their expectations.
The better you understand your target audience, the easier it will be to ensure that your event runs smoothly.
Set Clear Goals
With your attendees in mind and a budget all set, it’s time to define your event goals. Do you want to create networking opportunities? Are you more interested in knowledge sharing with industry experts?
Do you want to impress key stakeholders, or are you more interested in spreading brand awareness and boosting your sales?
Having a clear goal in mind will help you develop a comprehensive program that benefits you and your attendees. Not to mention, it will also help you launch the right marketing campaigns that will attract a broader audience.
Choose Your Venue
You don’t have to be as nitpicky about choosing a conference venue as you would when selecting a wedding venue, but there’s a lot to think about either way. Here’s what you need to consider:
● Capacity – a venue that’s too small for the number of attendees will be overly crowded and unpleasant. One that’s too big will feel empty and impact the mood;
● Location – if you’ll be welcoming guests from out-of-state, you’ll need to look for a venue that’s easily accessible. Look for venues close to airports, bus or train stations, hotels, and the like;
● Amenities – depending on the type of event, you might need a venue with extra meeting rooms, dining areas, breakout rooms, and more.
You’ll also want to keep in mind the overall aesthetics. The ambiance can help you set the right mood and keep everyone’s spirits high.
Get the Timing Just Right
Depending on where you’ll be hosting your event, you’ll want to ensure that your timing suits your needs and overall goals.
For instance, if you wanted to hold your event in New Orleans, you’d have to be mindful of the Mardi Gras season. Would you want it to be held during the increased tourist influx? Would you like to offer your attendees a taste of this unique carnival, or would you prefer to keep things more formal and professional?
You might have to consider the seasonal weather in different locations and avoid scheduling events during hurricane seasons.
Additionally, you’ll want to consider other relevant events that might be scheduled around the same time. If organizers from your industry are hosting other big events at the same time, your attendee participation might be affected.
Invite Keynote Speakers
Keynote speakers at your conference can make or break your event. An unknown speaker who doesn’t have much relevant experience and expertise will only serve to drive away potential attendees. A known expert, on the other hand, or even a relevant celebrity could maximize your ticket sales.
Depending on the extent of your event, you might want to invite multiple speakers who can connect with your audience.
Contact them as soon as you start thinking about hosting a conference to check their availability and get a precise quote. Moreover, don’t forget to include information about your speakers in all your marketing to attract attention.
Contact All Vendors Well in Advance
Regardless of the type of event you’re planning, you’ll need reliable vendors. Just be sure to contact them months in advance. Otherwise, you’d risk getting stuck with unreliable services and higher prices.
Depending on your specific event, you’ll likely need to contact:
● Caterers
● Decorators
● Photographers
● DJs
● Entertainers
● Party rentals
● Transportation services
● Graphic designers
● Marketers
As a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to schedule vendors about seven to eight months in advance, at the very least.
Delegate Tasks
Event organizers rarely take care of every last detail by themselves. So, you’ll want to make sure to delegate tasks and ease your workload.
If your event features multiple speakers or performers, you’ll likely want someone to manage who goes on stage and when. For large parties, you’ll need someone in charge of vendor communications and staff who can take care of decor, help you organize transportation, etc.
All things considered, you can delegate tasks in one of three ways:
● Using your in-house teams
● Partnering with other organizers
● Hiring third-party event planners
Unless you and your team members have enviable event planning skills, partnering with others or hiring professionals could be your best choice.
Other organizers can help you cut costs and provide unique ideas and insights that can improve your event.
Third-party planners in the event industry, on the other hand, can completely take the burden off your shoulders. They typically have existing relationships with vendors and venues and can organize a memorable, stress-free experience for everyone involved.
Establish an Online Presence
Whether you’re planning a formal gathering with a handful of guests, throwing a big party or creating a large-scale hybrid event, you’ll want to keep your attendees informed. That requires an established online presence.
Primarily, you’ll need to create a memorable marketing campaign. You can put social media to use, hand out flyers, send out newsletters, or anything in between. Create a unique value proposition and make the event as enticing as possible.
Secondly, you’ll want to create an event website. Use it to disseminate relevant information, publish the program and introduce your speakers or performers. You can also enrich it with an online registration system to make it easier to keep track of sold tickets.
It could be a good idea to put mobile event apps to use as well. They can keep the audience updated on any changes and help them follow along more easily.
Triple-Check Equipment and Decor
Finally, for effective event management, you’ll want to visit the venue in advance and triple-check everything. From the equipment and decor to the promo materials, seating arrangements, and breakout rooms.
After all, you don’t want to arrive on-site the day of only to find out that the speakers aren’t working properly or that your brand was misspelled on all the banners and decor pieces.
So, check all onsite operations and make sure everything is in place and ready to welcome your attendees.
Successful Event Planning Done Right
Effective event management isn’t easy. It can be stressful, overwhelming, and exhausting. However, with some proper organization and some good task delegation, it all becomes much more manageable.
Besides, if you don’t think you’re up for it, you can always rely on Clandestine Events to take care of it all for you. With our expert organizers, you can rest easy knowing your event will be a success no matter what.
