If you think your events are getting a bit stale, there are a few ways to freshen them up without spending a lot of time and money. For one, you could focus on better hospitality. Simply thinking about the wellness of attendees with healthier event food options can make a big difference to them. Also, empowering event staff to extend a helping hand. It not only gives event goers an awesome experience, it also boosts employee morale.
You can also improve event engagement by using affordable yet bleeding edge technology, such as live streaming and RFID bands. Another way is to make your education sessions suit the audience, while also tailoring it to your event goals.
It also pays to be prepared. Here’s our own event planning checklist. Take it and change it up to spice up your next event.
Big Brands Teach How to Increase Your Event Audience
With the skyrocketing availability of online media, many big brands are experiencing a hard time getting new audiences into their events. When people aren’t willing to leave the house to attend live gatherings, it’s the event professional’s job to create novel ways of getting people off their couches and into venues. Follow the footsteps of a few big names as they spearhead new ways to increase their event audience. From using technology to flaunting more benefits, these brands are reimagining the event landscape and enticing more people to get up and join in.
Increase Your Education Sessions’ Value with These Tips
Education sessions are a staple of any kind of event. There are those who use these to get a better insight on the industry. Others take it as an opportunity to boost their career credentials. Whatever the reason for their presence, it’s important to give attendees a great takeaway. If you’re thinking that this means longer sessions, think again! Concise, practical, and relatable sessions are the way to go. Check out these tips to learn more about boosting your sessions’ effectiveness.
Is Your Event Food Healthy Enough?
The health revolution is sweeping across all industries, including events. Attendees are all looking for healthier eating options. But can your venue deliver? Event-goers have varying health needs. Some might want to have “brain food” to maximize their experience. Others might have allergy restrictions you need to be aware of. Here are some important ways your venue can take on a more active role in giving healthier options to your attendees.
Conformity isn’t the strong suit of the events industry. Share on X
Contrarian Views from Event Professionals
Conformity isn’t the strong suit of the events industry, where disruption is the norm. When a professional has an unpopular opinion, it definitely attracts attention! Take for example the idea that all the stress you’re experiencing is your fault, not that of the industry. Or the notion that you can have a successful event company by managing it remotely. Maybe it’s the concern that photographers have gained too much power especially in the area of photo rights. Or that quantity is better than quality. Weird as these might sound, each of these ideas are grounded on reality and deserve to be studied for the nuggets of wisdom they contain.
Event Security: Raising the Stakes
The recent Las Vegas shooting has cast the spotlight on events and how they can provide adequate security for its attendees. In this article, security expert Todd Madison sheds light on the finer points of event security. Madison draws upon his Secret Service training to answer difficult questions, like striking the proper balance between visible and discreet security, and sending security-related messages to attendees. He also discusses ideas such as planning for the worst-case and warning signs to look for when in the midst of an event.
Linkedin Is Going “Snapchat” with Its Geofilters
Snapchat made the concept of geofilters famous. Now, LinkedIn is adopting the same tech for its new video-creation feature. This new in-app feature allows users to record and share clips within the LinkedIn app, allowing them to share filters specific to the events they are attending. This gives the otherwise sober network a healthy dose of fun and color. While the concept has been tested only in a handful of events, the company plans to roll it out to cover more ground in the future. Currently, all illustrations are made by LinkedIn itself, but there’s always the possibility they could hand the reins over to their multitude of users.
Make Your Next Venue Hunt a Breeze!
Finding the perfect venue can turn out to be a confusing mess, especially when there are so many options available. Fortunately, there are a few important things you can keep in mind to make scouting for your next location easier and more time-efficient. First, you need to have definite criteria of what you’re looking for. You also need to make the event meaningful to your company’s persona, while avoiding all the clichés. Paying by the hour is also a good idea, especially if you’re not really expecting to use the space the entire day. Check out more of these tips in this indispensable guide for your next event!
Email marketing is still the best way of promoting events. Share on X
Email Marketing Essentials for Events Professionals
While live events are the most effective at promoting a company or a product, email marketing is still the best way of promoting events. This means that to harness this channel, you need to have a concrete grasp of all the essentials. Is your core message clear and easy to understand? Maybe your subject line is too long. Or does your message appear too “canned” and devoid of personality? Check out how to avoid the most common email marketing pitfalls and up your marketing game to the next level.
Airbnb Takes Another Step at Accommodating Business Travelers
Airbnb has recently partnered with WeWork for a pilot program aimed at creating a shared workspace for business travelers. This works by promoting WeWork’s rooms and desks when you sign up for an Airbnb room. This can be a serious disruptor to the hotel industry, as the duo has begun rolling out joint services in huge areas like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Sydney, and London. This fits well with the newly-released Airbnb feature of allowing customers to look for “business travel-ready” spaces.
Event Staffers Take on New Roles in These Massive Companies
What do Ford, Nestlé, and Intel have in common? They are all taking a people-first approach when doing events. Instead of just focusing on the logistics, these brands are giving their event staff a bigger role in making each event a success. From Intel’s event-oriented staff training program to Ford’s training master classes, these brands make sure that their event attendees interact with people from the company, not just displays or technology. Human hospitality is still the top priority, and it’s an example the rest of the industry would do well to follow.
Airbnb and WeWork seem like a match made in heaven. While one provides the accommodations, the other makes access to on-the-go office space hassle-free.
How about you, what kind of partnerships can you offer other companies serving the same customers that you do? It might just be the win-win opportunity you need to boost your business.
