TOW#463 — AN EVENT TO REMEMBER

How do you usually answer when someone asks you what it was like at a particular event? Do you say “it was an event like any other”, or do you instead excitedly explain everything that happened, what was said, who was there, and so on, all to the last detail?

The difference between the first (nothing special) and the second (from which you left satisfied and will remember for a long time) doesn’t seem so big on the face of it. In both cases, the organisers spent time planning, various people were involved in the organisation, money was spent… The difference is in the details that someone paid attention to (or didn’t).

Here are some elements that when put together could make your next event one to remember:

• Target audience. Clearly define the target audience. If you try to make an event for everybody, you’ll end up making an event for nobody. Think carefully about the audience’s profile, its size and whether the people you’re after are easily reachable. This will then shape your decisions on the event’s form, content, location, duration, and so on.

• Audience’s expectations. Map the target audience’s expectations. Some participants expect to hear and learn something new, others want to meet new people, get motivated or create some kind of partnership or collaboration. If you know the expectations of the audience well, you’ll be able to customise the event’s content and activities to suit most of the audience.

• Content. Think about the purpose of the event. Plan each segment to support that goal. Participants are most disappointed after an event where the content or activities don’t correspond to the topic or are not appropriate for the target audience.

• Speakers. The key to good content lies with the speakers at your event. Different kinds of speakers means you’ll need time to get to know what they’ll be talking about and the way they’ll be presenting. Explain to them clearly what you want to achieve, and give them a direction in which their speech or presentation should go. This will minimise the chance of things being repeated and will reassure you that things won’t get out of control.

• Dynamism. A lack of dynamism makes events monotonous. Come up with an agenda with shorter and longer speeches or presentations, ‘face to face’ talks, panel discussions… and organise it all in blocks, with breaks. Also think up some activities for before and after the event, as well as during the pauses, in order to keep the audience engaged.

Every event has its own peculiarities and features, so my tips don’t end here. Don’t forget that you’ll learn a lot from experience, but here are two more that you should always keep in mind:

• Plan well in advance. Leaving plenty of time for preparations is a precondition for success. Plan the preparation time in accordance with the size of the event. Keep in mind that some things won’t go exactly according to plan — especially those that don’t depend entirely on you.

• The secret is in paying attention to detail. Organising events means taking care of absolutely everything. From whether there’s enough space for parking, to the comfort of the seats, the stage, lighting, sound and content — everything matters. Make a list that’s easy to follow on the day and be sure to add things that might pop into your head, so that you don’t forget anything.

Finally, attend as many different types of events as you can and learn from the ideas as well as the mistakes of others. I’d like to invite you to check more about our event AllWeb at www.allweb.mk that happened on 16 November and see for yourself how we do things.

Wishing you success in organising events,

Slavica Biljarska Mirčevski

Co-organiser of the AllWeb Digital Marketing Conference

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