What worked a few years ago for event planners might not work quite so well today. This is especially true when advances in event technology are taken into consideration. For example, why send paper invites when online event registration platforms will help you ticket your event and achieve so much more?
In this post, we’re going to share six outdated event fads. Even better, we’ll also show you how event professionals have adopted better techniques that enable them to sell more tickets, connect with their attendees, and make a real statement about what their event business is all about.
When you’re thinking about who your attendees would like to hear, there’s one obvious group of people to consult. The audience themselves. Crowdsourcing conference content is the latest way to ensure that you organise the conference people really want to attend. Why guess what people want when it’s so easy to get the answer from them using social media? Check out our blog How to Crowdsource Your Event Content for tips on planning your event the new way.
Printing out a ticket, losing it at the last minute, printing out another, standing forever in a queue while everyone’s details are checked… What a waste of time! Attendees are so much happier with an online event registration platform. It’s quick, waste-free, and easy. It also makes your role as event planner much easier. Get Invited have developed a range of features to help you sell more tickets. We set out how we can make a difference in our page What Can We Do For You?.
When you’re starting out, every single penny counts. It’s not surprising that in the past, most new event organisers tried to do absolutely everything themselves. From the accounts, to setting up the venue, to strategising, they did it all. Now, people are starting to realise that this approach isn’t healthy for either the event business, or the owner. Hiring part time, occasional help in the form of a VA (virtual assistant) is easy, thanks to websites like Upwork and Task Bullet. They’re easy to pay, professional, and flexible. If you’d like to find out more about hiring remote team members, our blog Should I Get a VA? has all the answers.
Why on earth would you tell people to stop spreading the word about your event? Sharing their opinions, pictures, and videos during the event is by far the most engaging, effective marketing content there is! We feel so passionately about this that we wrote a blog about it… Go on, see if we can convince you!
Staying in contact with attendees after the event is the best way to continue building a relationship with them. After all, you’ve already done the hard work – persuading them to attend your event, putting on a great show, and delivering on all your promises. It should be easy to sell your next event to them. A post-event marketing strategy involves sending the occasional email to those on your list (no spam!), creating special discounts for past customers, and even offering priority booking. We’ve covered this topic in more detail in our blog After the Event: Post-Event Marketing Tips.
Spend a few minutes scrolling through your timeline on your social media accounts and it’s obvious that the most engaging users aren’t just using text to share their messages. They’re supplementing it with everything from video to infographics to GIFs. In fact, by 2019, 80% of all internet traffic will be made up of video. Can you really afford to post social media content that doesn’t contain video or image when your competitors probably are?
How has the event industry changed for you over the past five years? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share with the Get Invited community below, on Facebook, or Twitter.
