Event planning is something we’re covering in the winter semester. But, oh man have I gotten a crash course in it these past few months. Working with IDEAWORKS as my internship has been amazing, there is no shortage of new and interesting things to be done. But being thrown headfirst into the world of event planning must be both the most interesting job I’ve had but also the most daunting. After the whirlwind of the conference was over, I was asked by my supervisor to prepare an event planner. She was kind enough to direct me to a few resources and then set me loose.
It’s all in the details. The nitty-gritty, itty-bitty details.
When writing for PR, it’s important that you are paying
particular attention to both style and format. This is also true for event planning
in two ways. First, there is a lot of writing involved in event planning in
general. E-Blasts and announcements, social media marketing, blog writing, and
more. The most important aspect of this is that all this writing is going to be
seen by every person who is attending your conference (well, hopefully) as well
as the people who have hired you. No pressure just don’t forget the proper there,
their or they’re. Oh? You’re confident in your grammar and spelling? Are you
sure? Maybe you should read that email to an important committee member about ten
more times just to be sure.
The event planner guide had a little less pressure in terms
of self editing. My supervisor and about ten or more committee members would be
editing it eventually (did I say less pressure…well I didn’t mean no pressure).
The format of an event planner is a little less strict at least. The details I
am referring to in writing this guide is all the little things that go into a successful
event. I mean did you get that approval for funding. How about the speakers,
are you sure they’ve all approved your outlook invite? Did that one keynote
speaker ever get back to you on their itinerary? Now, remember all those small
little details and clearly write it out in a way that the next event planner won’t
run away screaming.
Good luck!
Keep your Audience close…
Imagine you’ve created this successful event, and now it’s
time to document it’s success in an event planner guide. Who’s going to read
the planner? How much do they know? Are they brand new to the event planning
world? Hopefully not, this event was your baby but to make sure it’s in good
hands you should arm them with everything you know. Part of the guide is putting
yourself in the shoes of someone who has never worked it before and trying to
find what you think is obvious and common sense. Even if something seems
obvious to you, include direction anyways. You have no idea If the successor of
your event will have the same thought process as you. Illustrating concepts
that seem large or overwhelming can help you break it down. Being greeted with
a wall of text is not always a reassuring sight. Pull in colourful charts and
illustrations. Screenshot eblasts and marketing tools rather than explain them.
Ultimately, knowing who is going to read your planner will help you create a
more comprehensive guide.
Time Flies...
When crafting an event planning guide, especially for a specific event it is important to look back on all the tasks and properly schedule them. It’s important that each task is given the proper time as well as a generous allowance when possible. Ask for things to be due a week before you need it if possible. How about requesting a grant? Apply as soon as you’ve confirmed the bare bones of your event, they will take a long time to get back to you. When relying on answers from committee members or event speakers it’s important to give them a leeway for turnaround. I mean, it sounds simple enough to ask for a 250-word bio for the event portal. It should only take a couple of minutes, right? Well, that’s not necessarily true. You are not aware of how busy they are, how long it will take them to make it to your email after answering a hundred other “URGENT MUST RESPOND” from their employers. Give them a reasonable turn around, 5 business days, two weeks, etc. and make that expectation clear. They will respect your time as you respect theirs. When requesting grants or accreditation from large companies, you’ll need to give an even larger time frame than speakers or committee members who you know personally. Ultimately, like we learned with journalists, respect each other’s time.
R.A.C.Evaluate
A part of creating a successful event timeline, and event planning guide in general is to EVALUATE. Seriously look back on all the things that went right in your event. Did you meet your attendance goals? If so, how? Successful marketing? Outreach through personal contacts? Find what worked, and then do it again. Same goes with what didn’t work. We tried a couple of new features this year at our virtual event which through a post event survey found out did and didn’t work. Some things like our networking opportunities were lacking. A downfall with virtual events for sure and expected but now that we’ve established this as true, what advice can I give to the next event planner so that they can succeed? Speak to committee members, send out post event reports and open up a conversation with your speakers. Analyze the data on attendance and attrition rates. Has anyone posted on social media or in the traditional media about your event? What are they saying? Add all of this to your planner in tips and tricks and warnings. They’ll have a much more successful event as a result.
In conclusion, I handed my event planner's final draft in last week. It's now going to be circled through the department I worked with for the conference as well as the commitee members. It's a terrifiyng thought that something I spent weeks on, nearly two months in total, will be torn apart and closely examined. But, I think I was able to pull a pretty awesome guide together, with a lot of help from the lessons I've learned in semester one. Winter term event planning? Bring it on, I'm ready for you!
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