Not all events are created equal – and yours might be at the bottom of the barrel. Here’s how to tell if it is, and what to do about it.
As an event management professional, you want your events to be memorable. You want them to be affairs that your attendees remember fondly, that they look forward to attending again in the future. You want them to be engaging, entertaining, and informative.
Unfortunately, that’s sometimes easier said than done.
There are many reasons an event might fall short. Many reasons it might fail to engage attendees. We’re going to look at a few of the more common issues.
It’s Simply Boring
What sort of story or narrative are you promoting with your event? Who is your event’s key demographic, and what are they passionate about? Why should that demographic care about any of the stuff you’re trying to achieve with your event?
What about your keynote speakers? Are they engaging, interesting, entertaining individuals, or do they have the stage presence of moldy potatoes? Do you have enough vendors and supporters to populate your show floor, or is it a ghost town?
There’s a word for an event without a strong, clear, targeted message, excellent guest speakers, good vendors, and a clear vision of its demographic: boring. Painfully so. For your next event, make sure you proceed with a clear idea of your message, goals, and target audience.
You’re Botching Things With Your Event Tech
WiFi is no longer optional. A mobile app is no longer a “nice-to-have” but unnecessary feature. Support for modern technology is mandatory at your event.
People are here to engage with your messaging. They can’t do that if they feel like they’re twenty years in the past the moment they step through the door. You need to make sure you’re not only supporting modern consumer technology with your event, but that you’re tapping into modern event management tools, as well.
You should also take care that you don’t go overboard, however. Being too obsessed with event technology and throwing too many bells and whistles at your attendees is every bit as bad as not having enough tech. You need to strike a middle ground, and ensure that you still focus on the human element while peppering your event with shiny new toys.
Speaking of which…
You’ve Got Staffing Issues
Are you hiring enough event staff? Are the staff you’ve brought in – volunteers and otherwise – being treated well enough that they’re able to approach your event with cheer and passion? What sort of measures do you have in place to ensure effective communication between staff and volunteers?
You need to make sure that the people you bring in to help support your event are fun, friendly, and energetic – and if they aren’t, you need to determine why. That’s really all there is to it. Your event, at the end of the day, is ultimately all about people.
And if the people running it aren’t engaged, you can’t expect the people attending to be.
Your Events Can Be Better
There are many reasons why your event might not be grabbing the sort of attention you want it to. Outlined here are some of the most common and most egregious. By addressing the issues described above, you can build better, more entertaining, and more engaging events.
Information and article provided by Brad Wayland. Brad is the Chief Strategy Officer at BlueCotton, a site with high-quality, easy-to-design custom t-shirts.