The world of event management is changing fast. The modern society is firmly digitized and mobile-first. The expectations have shifted, which means, event planning and management too must change because the expectations of the delegates have also changed considerably. It could be an executive dinner, a small employee training workshop, or a huge corporate trade show. The attendees are asking for more personalized expectations.
In this guide to event management, we will discuss some of the modern-day best practices for organizing an event. This best guide will show you how to plan and organize an event efficiently.
What is Event Management?
Simply stated, event management deals with planning, organizing, coordinating, and the execution of an event. There can be additional duties too like managing the budget, various teams of professionals who are responsible for different functions, and also overseeing the event’s execution. The event coordinator will also supervise the work of outside vendors and suppliers.
A professional event manager will do everything for his/her own business or on behalf of another company. A lot of planning and time investment goes into doing everything efficiently. There are now event management tools that can help.Corporate event management has now become a high-value profession. It is worth billions of dollars worldwide.
Benefits of Event Management
Event management offers many benefits. It is an excellent forum to build brand awareness. The capabilities of the business can be highlighted to reach out to a larger audience and build more credibility. Businesses can showcase their abilities, product lines, and competitive advantage.
Well-executed events will generate more business leads and aid the sales process. It is also a place where the business can meet with its customers and prospects.
- Promotion of products, services
- Provides exposure, brand awareness
- Attracts more clients, prospects, leads
- Improves brand positioning
- Improves the public relation
Online Event Management
The world has gone online in the 21st century. We live in the time of Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Zoom. So can event planning and management be left behind? Increasingly, more and more events are now being organized on the web.
What is online event management? It is the same as offline – that is organizing and managing the event – but everything is done over the internet. The event, participants, and the audience, all of them will be online. There are many event management systems, software products, and technology solutions that will make this happen.
Online event management can be very good for business because it would be able to reach a larger crowd by breaking geographical boundaries. This is why you will now find many events being organized over the internet, including educational online events and other special events.
Thanks to social media, event marketing and planning has become much easier. Social media offers a free way of extending the reach and bring in a larger section of the target audience. Online events usually cost less too because you don’t have to book a large hotel, trade fair, or conference facility. Event registration can be collected 24/7. It also makes the process of event planning more seamless.
Why Do We Need Online Event Management?
An online event is the way to go after the Covid pandemic. There are so many advantages of organizing the event online. People are wary of traveling long distances and of course, there is the issue of safety. You can invite a lot more people when you do it over the internet. You can do event marketing online and also sell event tickets online easily. And, of course, you will save a lot of money if you don’t have to book flight tickets, hotel accommodations, and the event venue.Create an event online and you may also save money towards vendors and suppliers.
Event Management Best Practices
1. Define Goals, Establish a Budget
The goal is the foundation of success, which is why you should be sure of why you are organizing it. The goal should come from your business objective, naturally. Start by defining your goal and then describe how the event can help you achieve them.
- Are you looking for sales leads?
- Do you want improved brand awareness?
- Do you want to promote a new service/product?
- Is it better brand management?
- Are you interested in building public relations?
Answer these questions and you will be better able to define the goal.
2. Pick Your Venue and Date
Select the venue, if you are organizing it offline, and also the date carefully. Barcelona, Las Vegas, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Istanbul, Singapore, Seoul, and Paris are some of the most popular cities for large scale events. Of course, you need to pick a venue depending also on your target audience. If it is local, then you will want to be close to your customers. The venue you pick should also depend on how many attendees you are expecting. It should be able to accommodate everyone comfortably.
3. Use Tools to Maximize Efficiency
Planning a big event can be a challenge. You have to juggle many components and ensure that the ROI is high. Project management and event management software products can help. They will automate the manual tasks, which will save you time. There will be fewer errors. The event planning will become simplified. It will also be better streamlined.
You can do many things like ticketing, registrations, check-ins, live streaming, networking, and feedback collection, among others.
4. Develop Event Branding
Branding will help you market the event better. Start by understanding your target audience and demographics. This will help you identify the best channels. You can use email marketing, advertorials, posting in trade magazines, and may even open a website particularly for the event. If you are not sure you can do this by yourself, you can always find top public relations companies that can do the heavy lifting.
5. Confirm Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Speakers
There will surely be speakers and perhaps even exhibitors. Large events also attract sponsors. So, you will need to finalize them, probably months before the date. Try to find relevant people who might want to speak and also businesses that might want to exhibit on the occasion. Try to find speakers with very good presentation and communication skills. Make sure to approach several sponsors with your marketing material. You don’t know who might be interested.
6. Use the Best Audio, Visual Equipment
Whatever the size and type of your event, you will always need high quality audio and video systems. This will ensure that you will be able to communicate and engage visually. Your requirements may vary. Most events will, however, need projectors, microphones, speakers, digital audio mixers, video recording, live streaming, lighting, monitors, and screens.
Organizing a successful event and managing it efficiently requires a lot of careful planning and hard work. Right from the event design to execution, everything has to be perfect. This is why the event management process is now the domain of professionals.
