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Event Planning 101: 5 Steps To The Ultimate Event

Career Enrichment
01/28/20 - Aimee Laurence
event planning

Organizing your next company or industry event? Looking for some inspiration to bring to life a memorable experience? Then here is a collection of ideas to assist in bringing together a remarkable event that will set a high-water mark in event planning.

It’s all about the venue

Nothing says your event like the venue you choose. This is why it’s important to not leave choosing a venue as one of the last things you do. It will leave you with poorer options due to capacity and availability, but try to think a little outside the box here. Depending on the reliability of the weather, you may be able to host something outside (though, it’s important to have a contingency plan if the weather does turn against you). 

Alternatively, look at a venue that may not have been originally intended to host events. This increases the risk, but a unique, impressive venue will go a long way to rendering your event a success before we even delve into other possibilities. Just a couple of words of warning here, however; be sure that your venue appeals to your target audience. For example, don’t go to a venue that will require a lot of physical navigation requirements if your audience isn’t as able-bodied. Then you have to consider accessibility, location and cost at all times. But that is where thinking outside the box rally breeds results, because it’s operating under budget and location restraints that really provoke inspiration.

“I’ve attended events in old bus stations, closed factory spaces, and even on the beach. It is these events, among the countless that I have attended, that have truly stayed with me, mostly due to the uniqueness of the location,” comments Lucy Savage, a marketer at Writing Services and UKWritings.

venues are where you can impress the guests

Livestream it

If your hands are tied with location and capacity, why not livestream the event? This is becoming an increasingly effective way to expand the reach of your event. Once it is committed to digital, the event has legs. Provide a tour of the physical venue or give people a chance to meet other attendees through interviews. The goal is to make it as interactive as possible by offering participation of events through other platforms. I recommend Skype or Zoom and promote it heavily on the likes of YouTube. It even serves as the perfect marketing materials for your business, and future events.

Vlog in the days approaching the event

This practice is common before sporting events, during the countdown to the event a number of videos, interviews and other related materials are shown in order to build up interest. Be sure to delve behind the scenes in the build-up to the event. Don’t be afraid to show the planning process in action! It helps those participating get involved too by sharing more intimate conversations (with express agreement of course). The idea is to promote the event itself. While also giving a fair idea of what to expect, without revealing too many of the surprises. Snapchat is a great tool here for creating short, one-time-only peeks behind the curtain.

fun event additions

Keep your audience engaged

The Vlog is just the beginning of engagement which should proceed throughout the event, and even continue afterwards with more interactive discussion groups. At the event itself, don’t make attending a passive affair. It’s best to involve attendees through workshops, competitions, and networking discussions. Other options include interactive discussions and any other fun way you can imagine to transform attendees into participants. 

One final point here is to work on testimonials at the event, including video versions. “This is a nice innovation on the usual written testimonials after the event has finished. Catch the heat and energy of the moment,” advises Truman Forrester, a project manager at Big Assignments and Academized.

Dress to impress

There are so many variations on the dress theme. From high-end formal, to fancy dress, to casual. A nice innovation here is to use an accessory which doesn’t require too much effort but can add a fun twist to proceedings. For example, if the event is outside, and the weather has the possibility of being slightly incremental, hand out pink umbrellas or wellington boots. Hats are always a winner, or go retro with 80s style. Agreed, this is not a birthday party. However, adding a fun theme to the event will assist in making it more memorable and participatory, which are two winning ingredients.

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Aimee Laurence is a lifestyle blogger at Essay Help and Eliteassignmenthelp.com. She writes about event management and recruitment. Also, Aimee is a business writer atWrite My Paper.

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