If you’re struggling to attract attendees for your event, you’re not alone. Many event planners face the challenge of low signups despite their best efforts. The key is to alter your approach, address the gaps, and implement strategies that drive engagement and conversions. Here’s how to turn things around and get your signups rolling in.
As with any industry, event planning has its own set of sticky ethical issues to deal with. As an event manager, you’re eventually going to be faced with a moral dilemma (or two, or three…) over the course of your career. How you deal with them will not only define you as a professional, but as a person. It’s important that you’re made aware five ethical issues you might face in the event industry – and equally as important that you approach them with integrity. Honest Representation A few weeks ago we wrote about the most significant challenges a wedding…
Event planners know that one of the biggest challenges they face is dealing with no-shows. Whether it’s a small gathering or a large-scale conference, no-shows can lead to wasted resources, unnecessary costs, and a less vibrant atmosphere. To minimize event no-shows, consider implementing these five effective strategies. 1. Ensure Your Event Resonates with Your Audience To minimize event no-shows, it’s crucial to create an event that your target audience finds genuinely interesting and valuable. The more your event resonates with your audience, the less likely they are to skip it. Clearly communicate the event’s objectives and highlight the unique benefits…
Some of you might be surprised to learn that, as an event management professional, your bailiwick extends well beyond the doors of your conference hall. We’re not talking about hotels, transportation, or trade show parties, either – though these are all essential components of a successful event. See, if you’re running a conference that takes place over multiple days, you’re certain to have guests interested in exploring their host city – and most aren’t likely to know a great deal about where they’re staying. Even if you plan a party for each night many of your attendees will splinter off…
Every year in June, game development studios from all over the world gather for an event known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It’s one of the largest conferences of its kind, and people from all over the world tune in every year to watch and listen for the latest and greatest innovations and developments in video games. Suffice it to say, a savvy event manager can learn a great deal from such a successful conference. Here are a few insights I’ve picked up by watching the annual show: The Wrong Speaker Can Ruin A Killer Presentation The Xbox One actually…
Coordinating last-minute event shuttle transportation services can be challenging, but it’s also a vital part of event planning that ensures attendees arrive on time and stress-free. As an event planner, understanding the nuances of organizing shuttle services can help streamline the process, reduce traffic, and enhance your attendees’ overall experience.
It’s inevitable – if you gather hundreds or thousands of people together, a few bad eggs are bound to show up and make trouble. That’s especially true in the business of professional conferences and large events where there’s always valuable electronic gear everywhere. Expensive, often small technology attracts thieves like flies to honey; if you don’t create the impression of a secure venue you could quickly find your event targeted. It’s the event’s organizers’ job to best ensure that theft doesn’t happen. Hiring a security staff may be important step, but it’s not the only step that needs to be…
As the people who ran the first Woodstock festival discovered, large music and art events can be chaotic if you don’t know what you’re doing. Whether in a city or a field, you have a lot to lose if everything goes south with a million plus people running around! With that in mind, if your part of a group putting together your first festival or your twenty-first, you want to make sure you’re doing everything right. We always say learn from the best. So we looked at eight of the world’s greatest music festivals and thought about what it is…
Let’s talk about food! One of the more fun parts to plan of any event is the food. An event planner must find the perfect caterer for each unique event to keep your guests happy with food and drinks. Networking conferences are great for attendees to meet potential clients, customers, and business partners. Networking conferences are often all about moving around and meeting new people, and mini-events like meals, round table discussions and cocktail hours often help create an environment conducive for meeting others. We’re going to skip over the itinerary phase and assume you have a schedule that includes…
On July 8, 2014 an interesting and ambitious new organization known as The Institute of Event Management made its official debut at The Meetings Show in Olympia, London. The IEM, initially operating out of the United Kingdom, hopes to eventually become an international organization establishing global professional standards for the event industry. Universal standards in the meetings and event industry have been a long time coming. The Meeting Show was a perfect setting for the announcement of this type of global initiative. This annual event focuses on the needs of professional meeting and events planners providing dedicated educational programs, guest…
Technology has the irritating tendency to gleefully implode at the most inopportune moments. Any event planner that’s spent some time in the industry knows exactly what we’re talking about. No one gets away without a mishap.
Of course, busted tech is almost always the result of human error somewhere along the line, but that’s beside the point.
I’m sure you’ve heard it said before that in the business world, it’s all about who you know. Cliché or not, this old adage holds true in the event industry. Personal talent and passion will only get you so far if you can’t connect with the right people.
We’re pretty much living in a science fiction novel. Maybe it doesn’t really feel that way because technology has a way of creeping up on us. We don’t freak out about technology because achievements that would’ve caused us to have an aneurism a century ago rollout over time and become routine, first in one use, one industry and then some spread throughout our daily lives. Nowhere is this clearer than in the robotics industry, where recent advances have led to some downright revolutionary changes in how robots interact with their environment – and with human beings in particular. And then…
Way back in 1969 at a farm outside of White Lake, New York, four young men hosted a music festival. Hundreds of thousands of fans attended, and what followed was one of the most legendarily debauched events of all time, one that ended up being an icon of the 1960s. We called it Woodstock. From an event planning perspective, Woodstock was also one of the most poorly planned, poorly executed events of all time, fraught with missed deadlines, legal blunders, and a trail of liability. The festival was originally organized by John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield, and Mike Lang.…
As I’m certain you’ve been told time and time again, your event management firm should have a Facebook page. As the world’s leading social network, it’s generally one of the best places to connect with your clientele, and an even better place to promote your events. Why would you ignore Facebook? Certainly, people offer some general advice on how to use Facebook – post funny, relevant, interesting content; be active and approachable, tease your potential atendees with content well in advance of an event…you get the idea. This advice is largely true, but we offer a bit of practical, tactical…
Even if you’re completely confident in your capabilities as an event planner, there’s so much to be said for learning from those around you. There is so much insight to gain by watching someone who’s better than you, and working to figuring out why – and there will always be someone better than you. Here are five leading event industry personalities that we follow and suggest that you follow as well. They offer insight and advice through their blogs, books, social media profiles or you can discover what makes them stand out by paying attention to their work. Andrea Michaels…
Today, I’m happy to announce probably our largest update since we launched our self-service platform in May of last year. Not only are we announcing the general availability of several features like Embedding of your Tweetwall, direct monitoring of Instagram, Announcements, and Polls, we’re also announcing the general availability of All Access.
Wedding planning is unlike any other event planning due to the intense emotions involved. While organizing a wedding shares similarities with other events, the emotional stakes make it uniquely challenging. These wedding planner challenges can range from managing demanding clients to balancing budgets.
Charity events are pretty awesome. Done right, a fundraiser can put a metric ton of money towards a good cause, elevate the profile of a cause, and build a strong brand reputation. Done wrong, however…it can be a complete money-sink, and could be as likely to make people despise as much as love an organization.
Everyone thinks they know what it takes to be a great leader. We have a personality checklist: Possess a great deal of confidence and have strong point of view. Be great at what you do, stand out from the crowd and people will follow. Good social skills are really valuable; easily form relationships with whomever you meet. Of course, in business we look for a few tangibles: Know how to optimize resources and delegate. Have a good head for numbers, or deep understanding of politics etc. A business leader often has a creative outlook and a willingness to take calculated…
