5 Must Haves for Your Event
There are a lot of pieces to event planning - and that list changes significantly depending on the type of event. But there are the 5 things that you must consider for any type of event if you want to be successful.
Whether it’s a fundraising Gala, a corporate seminar, or a community festival - you are going to want to focus on these 5 pieces:
An appropriate Venue or digital platform
Pre-event communication or promotion
A seamless and informative welcome and registration
An immersive interactive experience or activity
Follow up communication
This probably goes without saying, but this list is not exhaustive - I mean, I didn’t even mention food or budget, arguably two of the most important parts (I’ll do a full post on each of those soon), but this is where I like to focus most of my creative thinking. They can each have a monumental impact on the success of the event.
Check out my General Event Checklist if you want something more complete.
So where do we start? Ironically, with the where.
1. An Appropriate Venue or Digital Platform
Have you heard the expression “the vibe is off”? it’s not just a catchy GenZ term I learned on TikTok, it’s a real psychological fact. If your location / digital platform doesn’t match the scale and feel of your event, you are setting yourself up for failure before you even begin.
What do I mean? You can’t hold a high-end fundraising gala in a high school gym. You can’t hold a corporate seminar in a dark downtown nightclub.
Those are extreme examples, yes, but I’m trying to make a point. It has to match your overall event objectives.
When you are looking for an in-person venue, start with these questions:
How many people will be attending?
What venue type will support the program / content of the event?
Do I need a stage, a podium, or a dance floor?
Ease of access.
Can people get there easily?
Is there parking available?
You can bring our own decor, but do the bones of the space match the scale of your event?
Do you need something new and modern, or will older and ornate fit the vibe better?
Safety and Security
and lastly, how much of my budget will it use? (money always finds its way in)
Venue is likely going to be the largest chunk of your budget - sometimes 40% of the overall if it includes your catering.
When you are hosting a virtual event, the questions for your digital platform are a bit different, but equally important.
Will there be a live streaming component?
Will I need breakout sessions?
How many participants can the software accommodate?
Is there an in-person component that you will need to integrate?
Have other events like yours had success on the platform?
How much will it cost? (money again, sigh)
Is this a onetime event or will this be a multiyear contract with yearlong access needed?
2. Pre-Event Communication and Promotion
This one feels like a no brainer, right? If no one knows you’re having the event, you won’t have anyone attend. True - but there are so many ways to get creative with the promotion and communication to get people excited. Yes, even if it’s a corporate meeting!
I will say up front, marketing and communications are a whole science on their own so I’ll barely be scratching the surface here, but I will do a deep dive if people are interested.
There are a few things to think about before you jump into your marketing brainstorm session:
Who are my ideal attendees?
Create a literal mental avatar or two of who you want to be at this event, use that image to decide what communication route to take.
I mean at this point you could create the person in AI and have a physical representation to look at while you discuss.
Is it going to be invite only, selling tickets, or free and open to the public?
Is it virtual, in person, or both?
Next, we want to go to back to the vibe discussion from the venue.
Is this a fancy gala, if so, you will likely need a high-end mail and email invite.
Is this an internal corporate event? Can we just send a calendar invite with info in the body?
If this is a virtual only conference or webinar, we likely won’t be sending to specific individuals, we will need some more public channels – websites, billboards, social media, etc.
People need reminders. Life is busy and calendars get insanely full, especially during certain times of the year. How can we remind people about this event to keep them interested and motivated to come?
Ticket giveaways or discounts
Emails with announcements about some of the cool stuff you’ll be offering (Performers, Guests, etc.)
Note from the CEO that the meeting is mandatory, or you’re fired (that one’s a joke, that’s not the vibe)
One last thing to think about – is there a way to include a CTA on these reminders? Even a button to add it to your calendar easily, anytime you include the attendee in a physical action, you’re connecting some synapses in the brain (I am not a neuroscientist, obviously).
Get creative here – if you want to be successful you want people looking forward to walking through the door… which just so happens to be a perfect transition to my next must have.
3. A seamless and informative welcome and registration
Onsite or online, this is where you set the tone for the day for everyone who shows up. It may not be the time to be the most out of the box creative, but it’s important that it’s not an afterthought.
People will judge the entire event based on this initial touchpoint, whether they do it consciously or not.
If your event is virtual, make it very clear how your registrants can join when its time.
Make sure the link is easy to find – and that it works (learn from my mistakes)
If they need to download an app, software, or create a profile to join make sure they know in advance and there is a quick easy way to do it.
QR Codes are always a good suggestion here.
Have a welcome screen up prior to the event start so those who join early know they are in the right place.
Enable a chat feature so folks can mingle and virtually socialize as they wait.
A welcome slide that has the title of the event and then a prompt “Test out the chat by dropping where you’re joining from!” is a great example.
If you are in person but you have a virtual component, like an auction, encourage people to register in advance, and have an easy way to do it upon arrival.
Have enough stations so there is never a line.
Train your staff / volunteers on the process to avoid delays.
Have a preview of the online portion prior to the event start to encourage people to engage early.
This sounds silly but – have directional signage everywhere on site – if you think you have enough, make more. Some people (like me) get super anxious in social situations and more information is never a bad thing!
I also won’t go to an event if there isn’t easy parking, but we covered that in part 1 ha-ha.
Greeters – have someone with a smile and an iPad as soon as people walk in the door to answer all questions about the flow of the day.
Even if it’s an internal all staff meeting, when I get to the room say hello and point me to the pre-meeting coffee and gluten free muffins and I am going to be your most engaged participant.
An on-site registration table is also the perfect place to house the following:
Any handouts the attendees may need.
Bidding instructions
Program or agenda
If you have the budget, some practical swag: pens, notepads, etc.
For a virtual event, the lobby is a great place to give attendees access to any digital documents they will need to reference.
Like I said that one is straight forward, but so important.
4. An immersive interactive experience or activity
This one. This might be my personal favorite part of the whole event planning / event management process.
The overall idea of immersive experiences comes from the practice of experiential marketing - which I could spend hours talking about by itself, but I promise I won’t. Cliff notes version:
From HubSpot: Experiential marketing, also called 'engagement marketing', is a marketing strategy that invites an audience to interact with a business in a real-world situation. Using participatory, hands-on, and tangible branding material, the business can show its customers not just what the company offers, but what it stands for.
Your first thought might be: I’m not selling a product or a brand at my fundraising event, or at my internal leadership seminar... but aren’t you? You are selling your cause or your company’s KPIs/ SOPs / mission statement - you might not want sales, but you want buy in.
If you google experiential marketing (and you should) you are going to see examples that are completely over the top, I promise it doesn’t have to be that grand. You don’t have to go BIG to provide an experience so people leave your event with a memory that will not only last, but get you that buy in.
Just like the venue chat, the activities are dependent on the vibe of your event.
Here are just a few examples to get you noodling:
If you have a community event and the theme is mental health awareness, you can set up a station somewhere at the venue that has paper, pens, envelopes, and a drop box. Ask the attendees to write “letters of hope” to share with someone who may be struggling with mental health. Have a sign letting people know you will be sending the letters to a local behavioral health clinic. (if you do this, make sure you review before sending, people are weird).
If you are having a fancy fundraiser, have an activity like a “wine pull” available for attendees to purchase during the cocktail hour. Its interactive, everyone wins something, and it’s another revenue source.
For an internal all staff meeting, collaborate with a local organization and create a “giveback” activity for the participants. During the day they can visit the giveback station and help assemble toiletry bags that will be delivered to the local women’s shelter. You may need to pay for the supplies, but it’s a positive experience for anyone who participates in assembling them.
For a virtual event, almost every platform offers some sort of gamification. Some are more involved than others, but even a poll, a quiz or an active chat can provide the equivalent feeling of being a part of something.
Whatever you decide for your audience, it’s an opportunity to captivate attention, eliminate outside distractions, and most importantly create an unconscious positive correlation associated with your company/cause/message.
The feeling of giving back, the competitive spirit, laughing and having fun – these are all positive emotions that will stick with your attendees after they walk out the door.
5. Follow up Communication
This final one is just as important as the pre-event communication. Especially if you plan to hold the event again in the future. It’s the proverbial bow on the gift that is your event. (that’s a bad analogy, I know, and I am sorry)
So, what does this look like? Surprise, it will depend on the type of event. Maybe that should be the title of this whole thing.
Time is our most precious resource, so even if it’s a mandatory staff meeting from that CEO that threatened to fire you earlier, you want to acknowledge the time people took to participate.
A simple thank you email to anyone who purchased a ticket.
A handwritten card to a vendor who showed up and helped bring everything to life.
A video in an email announcing the final total from the fundraiser that they contributed to
A thank you email with a link to the recording for those who registered for your virtual event.
A digital copy of the slide deck and information on the presenters
And if it fits the vibe (probably not number 2), it doesn’t hurt to include a link to a post event survey asking for feedback so you can continue to improve for future events.
People like closure. That’s what number 5 is.
That’s also what THIS is, my conclusion to this long winded packed with info novel of a blog.
Each of these topics could have their own 5-page post, and I plan to do that for all of them… and the money and the food like I promised at the beginning.
If you’re interested in learning more, get on the email list so you won’t miss out on any of it.
