The Top 8 Event Planning Trends

A new year is upon us. Everybody’s putting together New Years’ Resolutions (which they’ll probably break after a month or so), all the while looking forward to new beginnings. With 2013 still fresh in our minds, it seems like the ideal time to have a look back. By examining the chief event planning trends from 2013, we can formulate a good idea of what to expect in 2014.

How will the life of an event manager change as we move into the New Year? What sort of new technology, skills, and challenges might one face in the profession? Most importantly, how can we best turn this to our advantage?

Let’s talk about that.

1. Cloud Based Tools Become Even More Widespread

I’m always a touch leery of making use of buzzwords, but the importance of the “cloud” simply cannot be denied. Cloud computing is huge in pretty much every industry, and it’s only slated to grow more important as time goes on. Already, we’ve got a whole host of cloud based apps designed to make the event planners’ job easier; expect these to become more prevalent as 2014 wears on, causing collaborative event planning to take center stage.

2. The Social Event Planner Steps Into The Spotlight

I’ve said time and again that the best event planner needs to be a natural storyteller. Event planning isn’t just about running conferences anymore; more and more, event management professionals are expected to be social media savvy—they need to be a social event planner. As such, the ability to grab and hold the attention of an audience no matter the medium is going to become even more vital in 2014, as event management becomes ever more social.

Social media, meanwhile, will start to play a larger overall role in events, with more and more events using services like Everwall, to bring the social activity front and center. Not only that, the concept of seating guests at a conference based on their social network connections will become more of a reality than an absurdity.

3. Conferences Emerge As A Vital Marketing Tool

For the past several years, conferences have been growing in importance; they’re fast becoming vital to any organization’s branding strategy. The ability to gather potential customers together with vendors and industry experts is invaluable, and for many industries, positively vital to their ebb and flow. E3—the Electronic Entertainment Expo—is but one example of this trend, which will continue into 2014.

4. Real-Time Analytics Take The Helm

The biggest weakness of event management analytics at the moment is that where event planning is concerned, things happen quickly. More often than not, an event management professional is under too much pressure to really sit down and analyze anything while an event is going on. As such, event planners currently don’t do much analysis until post-event.

Only relying on post-event analytics may not be the case for much longer—a number of start-ups are starting to pop up offering analytics which can be updated and managed in real-time, meaning event planners can keep on top of the important data regarding their event as it pours in. Tweetwall is no different, and has long offered real-time analytics about the Tweets surrounding the event as a core (and free) part of our offering.

5. Crowdsourcing Becomes Essential

Crowdsourcing has changed the face of many industries—event management is one of them. Through crowdsourced websites, attendees will be able to find accommodations, manage travel expenses and logistics, create event content, promote and fund events, and even put together reviews of events and event planners. Viral content, meanwhile, will play a greater role in events, as well; attendees are now far likelier to share highlights or keynotes from an event that they find interesting.

6. Mobile And Video Integration Will Go Through The Roof

The problem with a physical event is that it tends to be rather constrained in who can attend. That’s quickly becoming irrelevant, with both live video and mobile technology playing a larger role than ever in event management. Event live-streams ensure that even those who can’t attend can still be reached by your brand, while mobile integration allows conference organizers to share slides and information live on the smartphones and tablets of attendees.

The increasing prevalence of smartphones, meanwhile, will make check-in faster and more efficient than ever before. This is thanks to the fact that video is becoming cheaper and easier to both produce and distribute—a trend which also means video will have more of a role in conferences beyond simply streaming.

7. Audience Engagement Becomes More Important Than Ever

We are a culture that demands constant entertainment, and by association, continual engagement. The demand that events keep attendees continually interested and entertained will become even more of a priority. Thankfully , all the new event management technology we’ve already discussed is more than up to the task.

8. Website Design Becomes Simpler

With the current focus our society has placed on instant gratification and quick-and-easy information, event websites are going to see a marked increase in simplicity through 2014. Most event management professionals will need to get the gist of their event across in a single page, thanks in no small part to the increased incidence of mobile technology. These one-page websites will make for better storytelling, as well as more effective registration.

The event management industry saw a great deal of change in 2013. Event planning became more social, more geared towards marketing, and more vital to the success of a brand. The technology surrounding the profession, meanwhile, became continually more advanced, making the life of an event manager easier even as we saw more responsibilities pile on. As we move into 2014, these event planning trends will continue—and new ones will surface, as well.