Event planning and hosting are all exciting and fun, but not easy! Stepping into the shoes of a host is a big responsibility, and if you are planning to organize an event, you should gather all the help you can. You have to make sure you have everything in order, and your attendees leave happy.
Event planning requires detailed planning and execution to make any event successful. If you are planning to host an event, you should know about all things which should be included and taken care of while planning an event. We have created this detailed guide on event planning so you can host your event like a pro. The guide takes you through all three stages of event planning in detail.
The first thing you need to do is plan what type of event you want to host - virtual or in-person. Then decide the purpose, goals, and objectives of hosting the event. Now choose a suitable theme for your event so you can start planning and making arrangements.
Money matters a lot in event planning. Plan a budget and consult with vendors and other people in the industry to get an idea.
If you don’t want to make all the investments in the event by yourself, then look for sponsors. They could be your friends and family or acquaintances. Get local or big brands on board if you want to get more publicity.
(Pro Idea to get sponsors: You can offer to show sponsored posts in your marketing campaign. You can even use Taggbox Commerce to sell selected goodies or products by event sponsors on your website. People can make an online purchase while buying the tickets, during the event, or even the event.)
Plan the activities and schedule for the event. You need to know how you will engage people during the main event and break. Hire a team of volunteers to help you.
You need to set your marketing strategies in the starting; it’s a long process, don’t wait until the last few days are left. You can create a hashtag campaign for promoting your event on social media. Also, add the live social feed on the website to make it more lively. Taggbox is a tool that can help you.
Now it’s time to get things in motion. Select a venue that can fit your theme and host the number of people you want to invite. When you know the exact date and time, you can finally start contracting people.
Decide the menu for snacks and drinks and hire vendors for catering and decor. Consider all the AV and tech requirements.
You can display a live social media wall of your campaign at the venue with Taggbox Display to keep the attendees engaged. You can also show live announcements, count down for the next sessions, and an introduction presentation of your event on the display screen.
Things can go haywire anytime, even with a foolproof plan! Make a contingency plan and arrange for all that is required.
Connect with people you want to invite, sell tickets online, and manage registrations. It should be easy if you have a good marketing plan working for you.
Before the event, cross-check all the things in place. Do a trial run to see the flow of the event is going smoothly.
Event planning was the main chunk of the work you needed to do, now sit back, relax, and see your efforts coming to fruition. Wait, you need to host your attendees. So keep calm and present yourself well. Reach the venue before time, avoid any rush. Now put on your lovely smile, welcome the attendees and host them well.
Just after the event, ask them to share their views. It is a great way to know how well you did and what you can do better next time.
By now, you will also have a lot of user-generated content on social media shared by your attendees. You can collect them for the promotion of your future events. But make sure you get the rights and permissions before using the content. If you have used Taggbox, you can collect all the content shared by your attendees on social media. Taggbox UGC Rights will help you send quick and personalized requests.
After the successful event, you and your team deserve a little treat. You can also host a ‘success party’ if you want.
Now clear the payments of all the vendors and close all contracts.
That is all you need to know about event planning. You may require some additional things or need to drop some things from the above steps, but that will all vary with your event. Consider the above points as a checklist. It will keep your event planning and management on track so you won’t make a poor impression on your attendees and sponsors.
Best of luck with your event!
